Cherished (Wanted 4)

Jessie sucked in a ragged breath and tried to calm her breathing down. She looked at Ellie and gave her a weak smile.

“Now…what happened between you and Scott that has Scott at Jeff and Ari’s place and you here, crying?” Ellie asked.

Jessie took a deep breath and quickly let it out. “Everything seemed perfect. We just shared one of the most amazing nights of my life. Then, Scott said that Lark—Scott’s friend who had brought him to Belize and then took us back home—had come to see if I needed help packing up while Scott had checked me out of the hotel. Lark saw me talking to Trey, and he saw…he saw…”

Ari, Ellie, and I all leaned forward and said at the same time, “He saw, what?”

“He saw me kiss Trey good-bye,” Jessie said as she closed her eyes.

“Like, what kind of a good-bye kiss? A peck or a kiss-kiss?” Ari asked.

Jessie opened her eyes. “A kiss-kiss.”

Ellie put her hands up to her mouth. “Why, Jessie?”

She began shaking her head. “I don’t know! I guess I felt bad for him because I was just leaving him so suddenly. He seemed so hurt, and he wanted something more than friendship. It started out as just a friendly kiss, but Trey quickly made it into something more, and I stopped it immediately. I’m not sure what all Lark saw.”

“Whoa…wait. He wanted to be more than friends?” Ari asked.

“Yes, but I kept telling him I wasn’t ready. Then, I started to figure out that maybe it wasn’t Scott who was with Chelsea. Like I said, I think a part of me always knew. Anyway, that was the day I called Scott and my dad when the storm came in. I called Scott first and told him I needed to talk to him. When I called him again later, I told him where I was. Then, everything started falling into place—how I had been feeling so bad and I hadn’t had my period. I took a test in the middle of the damn tropical storm, and that was when I found out I was pregnant—on Christmas Eve. I told Trey, and he tried to tell me he would take care of the baby and me if Scott didn’t want to. It was a terrible night because the phones had gone out, and I couldn’t get a hold of Scott. I ended up sleeping in Trey’s lap the whole night, and—”

“What?” all three of us called out again.

Ari stood up. “Jesus H. Christ, Jessie. You say you don’t have feelings for this guy, but when you find out you’re pregnant with another man’s child, you sleep in the guy’s arms all night long, and then you lead him on even more by kissing him good-bye.”

I looked at Ari as Ellie stood up.

“Ari, stop this. Stop yelling at her,” I said.

“No, this is bullshit.” Ari looked down at Jessie, who was crying again. “You need to figure this shit out and figure it out fast. You clearly have feelings for Trey.”

Jessie started shaking her head.

“Yes…yes, Jessie, you do. What happened between you and Scott this morning?”

Jessie wiped the tears away. “He asked if I was sure I really wanted to move in, and then he brought up Lark seeing me kiss Trey. I got mad and asked if he had Lark spying on me. Then, the guilt from me kissing Trey good-bye hit me like a brick wall, and when Scott reached to touch me, I pulled away. I don’t know why I pulled away.” She began sobbing hysterically. “I just feel so dirty, knowing I kissed another man and let him touch me where only Scott should be touching. Oh my god, I’m so confused.”

She looked up at me, and my heart broke.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Jessie, if you truly didn’t have feelings for this Trey guy, you wouldn’t be sitting here, saying you’re confused.”

“No! No! I want to be with Scott. I love Scott. I’m not sure what in the hell it is. I think I’m feeling guilty more than anything. I don’t have feelings like that for Trey! I want to have this child with Scott. I want to move in here and raise her together. I don’t want anyone else!” Jessie screamed out.

Then, she stopped suddenly. “Oh god.” She put her hands down to her stomach.

I jumped up and looked at Ari and Ellie. “Jessie?” I said.

She slowly stood and then leaned over. “Oh my god…no…please, God, no,” Jessie barely whispered.

Ellie bent over and looked at Jessie. “Jessie, tell us what’s going on, honey.”

“I have a pain…in my stomach.” Jessie tried to take a deep breath.

I looked up at Ari. She was standing there, frozen.

“Ari, call Scott and have him meet us at the hospital. I’m taking her to the hospital here in Mason,” I said.

“My mother is working there today,” Ellie said as she took Jessie’s arm and helped her out to my car.