Crushed (43 page)

"This is why being spontaneous rarely works out, Alyssa. I'm in New York for the wedding." He rolled his eyes, knowing he'd told her this a thousand times before. Nick had invited her to the wedding as well, but she was too stubborn to come.

She'd been just as pissed to know Nick was going to follow his family's plan, even though she was basically doing the same thing.

"I'll be there soon. Don't do anything crazy."

"A Fallbrook do something crazy?" Tristan joked. "You've got the wrong family, darling."

"Trist, I'm being serious." Alyssa's voice had now turned sharp.

"Alyssa, what's wrong? If someone should be worrying, it's me. I've got a year and a half to think up some kind of argument for why I don't want to jump into the family business. Time's running out for me, but you've got years of freedom ahead of you. Minus the fiancé bit of course."

The other side of the line went silent for a long time.

"Trist, I think I might have something for you."

"Something for me?"

"Yeah, the perfect excuse for not starting the family business."

Tristan, still thinking she was joking, laughed. "That would be one hell of a birthday present."

Alyssa took a deep breath. When she began speaking, her voice was shaking. "I'm pregnant, Trist." She paused for a long moment. "Surprise."

*  *  *

"What's that noise? Oh, that's just the world crashing down around me." Tristan smiled as he spoke into the phone.

He took the deepest breath he'd ever taken, and released it.

"Nick." He began, closing his eyes as he held the cell phone tightly in his hand. "I'm a dad."

"I can't believe it." Nick's voice was filled with awe. "I can't believe you actually did it."

Nick was referring to how Tristan had hidden the fact that Alyssa was pregnant from both of their families. For nearly the entire nine-months, they'd been able to avoid questioning by both sides. Alyssa's parents were harder to convince, with only a few phone-calls now and again. However, due to both their backgrounds with traveling, neither family questioned their disappearance from society.

Tristan had a year left before the Fallbrook clan cracked down on him, and Alyssa's marriage was something that would take place in the far future. They'd had time to hide during the last few months.

Alyssa chose a small town in France to give birth. Tristan had given in to her every request, and he was not surprised that she chose France, one of her favorite locations. He'd spent many Christmas's with her in Paris when they were younger. If they weren't trying to keep the pregnancy secret, Tristan would've moved her to Paris immediately.

"I can't believe it either. It doesn't feel real." Tristan's heart was still shaking from the moment when he'd held his child in his arms. "It's a girl, Nick. A baby girl." Like most events in her life, Alyssa left the gender of the baby a surprise. She hadn't even tried to pick out a name, wanting to choose it spontaneously.

"You've done it now." Nick whispered. Tristan could see him shaking his head. "I was the one who wanted to escape...but you've done it this time."

"What do you mean?" Tristan blinked, momentarily forgetting his happiness.

"You don't think this is forgivable?" Nick's voice was serious. "Tristan, you're not a kid anymore. Think about what you've done. Having a child with Alyssa is going to be a blow for both families."

The old Nick would've laughed about how pissed their family would be. Now, his voice was serious and warning.

"This has never happened in the history of the Fallbrook clan." He reminded Tristan.

"Come on, you don't really believe that." Tristan shook his head. "Our family's not perfect. I'm not the only one who's screwed up."

"You're the only one who's willing to own up to your mistake." Nick hissed. "If this had happened to one of the others, they would've abandoned the girl on the spot."

"Abandon Alyssa? You've got to be kidding me!" Tristan's rage was building. "Watch yourself, Nick. I would never consider doing something that disgusting. This is my child!"

"That's why you're different that the rest of them. You haven't realized it yet, but you've already made your decision. When you chose Alyssa over your future, you already proved that you're better than the rest of us. I don't think I could've done it."

Tristan paused, taking in everything Nick was saying. When Alyssa had told him that she was pregnant he'd been surprised, but he'd never for a moment considered abandoning her. He'd thought of the consequences of his actions, but they hadn't mattered.

He trusted his father to support his decision to stay with Alyssa, despite knowing he'd injured his family's reputation.

"Nick, what do you think they're going to do?"

"I don't know. I honestly just don't know." Nick's voice was deadly serious. "You know they won't be happy, but I'm afraid that might be an understatement. You were supposed to walk in your father's footsteps. They had high hopes for you."

"I honestly don't give a shit about their expectations. I just don't want them to punish Alyssa for my mistake."

"You should be more worried about your own punishment." Nick paused, and when he continued his voice was lighter. "I think you're an idiot, but congratulations, kid. I'm proud of you."

"For what?"

"For doing what I could never do. I spent all those years talking big about how I wasn't going to do what they wanted, and ended up like I am now." His words were bitter, but his voice was warm. "So, was it worth it? Is being a dad all it's cracked up to be?"

"No, not at all." Tristan grinned again, feeling his dark thoughts drift away. "It's a thousand times better than I can ever explain."

"How so?" Nick laughed at how awed his friend was.

"One of the nurses here told me that a woman becomes a mother when she finds out she's pregnant, but a man becomes a father when he holds his child for the first time." Tristan felt tears well in his eyes, but he pushed them away. "She was so pretty." He confessed to his friend. "How did an idiot like me ever have a part in making something that beautiful?" He laughed into the phone. "I could jump from the highest point in the sky, and never feel even a fraction of how happy I was when I saw her."

"Does this mean you're retiring from extreme sports?" Nick seemed surprised.

"I'm a dad now, Nick. I can't be running around doing stupid stunts anymore." He ran his hands through his hair, still trying to take all of his emotions in.

"Wise words for eighteen." Nick mused.

They both fell silent, each caught up in their own thoughts.

"How's Alyssa doing?"

"She's..." It was impossible to explain Alyssa's reaction to the pregnancy. Throughout their time together she'd grown quiet. More quiet than he'd ever known her to be. She'd lost the sparkle in her eyes, and she rarely smiled.

Even when she held her child in her arms, she had only cried.

"She's still in shock."

"It's going to be difficult for her." Nick mused.

"Yeah, but we'll get through it together." Tristan's determination wasn't convincing enough for his friend.

"She's going to have to change a lot. You know how much she loved traveling around the world on a whim. Somehow it feels like she's going to have to clip those wings of hers to stay grounded."

It was a sacrifice Tristan hadn't even considered she would have to make. In his mind, it would be easy to give up that lifestyle, but for her it would be difficult.

"We'll figure it out." He promised himself and Nick.

"Well, I've got to go." Nick sounded reluctant to hang up. "Keep me updated."

"I will, trust me." Tristan smiled as he hung up the phone.

He'd been standing outside of the hospital, taking in the fresh air. He knew it was time to return to Alyssa, and as he walked back to her room, he felt like he was walking on a cloud.

The plan he'd been fearing would never be the same again. He'd never considered risking everything for Alyssa. He loved her in his own way, but not passionately enough to fight his family.

However, his love for his daughter was unquestioningly stronger than anything he felt for Alyssa. At this moment he felt like he would move mountains to make that little girl happy.

With a foolish grin on his face, he opened the door to Alyssa's room.

His smile faded to confusion as he noticed the made-up bed, and the empty space which he'd seen her in only an hour before.

He turned to look down the hallway, his eyes searching for someone to explain what was going on.

"Tristan." A deep voice ordered from behind him.

He turned and stared up into his father's eyes.

*  *  *

"Where is she?" He asked calmly at first.

Father or not, he knew where this was going.

"Where is she?" He repeated, but his father's face was impassive. "WHERE IS SHE?" He shouted, gripping his father by the collar.

The gears in his mind were clicking into place. The haze which he'd experienced over the last six months was clearing.

Nick had been able to see the reality in front of them, but Tristan had been so caught up in his own foolish happiness to see clearly.

"Don't." He warned his father. "Don't do this. I'll do everything you say. I won't screw up again, I promise."

He didn't know what his father had planned, but he knew this kind of situation. He knew that he was about to have everything stripped from him, in the cold manner in which only his family knew how to do.

"You won't screw up again. That much I can promise you." His father's eyes were impassive. "I still can't believe you thought we wouldn't know. Did you think I was an idiot?"

"I thought you trusted me." Tristan's voice was becoming weaker. "Please, tell me where you took them."

"I didn't take them anywhere." His father raised an eyebrow as he shoved his son away. "Why don't we take this somewhere private?"

He moved into Alyssa's hospital room, and Tristan followed, shutting the door behind him.

"You're a clever boy, Tristan. You know how to take risks and deal with people. Your face draws others in, and you've created a strong circle of allies."

"So what?" Tristan whispered, knowing his defeat was coming.

"You're too gifted to lose everything now."

"Why does this have to change anything? It's just a child!"

"There's no such thing as 'just' a child. If you'd married the girl it would be different."

"This wasn't planned!"

"Obviously it wasn't planned! I thought you were smarter than knocking the girl up, which is why I allowed you to associate with her. Then, you continue to disappoint me by thinking you'd actually get to keep the child."

"What?" Tristan couldn't explain how his heart felt when his father tore it out of his chest with his words.

"You, more than anyone, should know how important our image is to our family. It's everything we have. Other family's lose their wealth to bad decisions, or wastefulness, but we've remained strong over decades of changes in the economy. People invest in us because of our pristine image. You will not be allowed to tarnish it with this child."

"Then throw me out!" Tristan shouted, his rage building. "Throw me out of the family, and see if I care! Disown me, and let me live my own life."

"No." His father answered.

"What?" It had been the only card Tristan knew how to use.

"You should follow the example of Miss Ellison and accept your fate. She understood the seriousness of her mistake, and called me months ago to ask for my help."

"She called you?" The depth of her betrayal had only just begun.