One More Chance (Chance, Part 2) (14 page)

“I’m not trying to take her away from you, but I do want to see her,” he says as he faces me.

“She’s the only part I have left of you, please don’t
try to take her,” I plead.

“Fuck,” he says as he runs his hands through his hair again, “
Hails, I’m not taking her from you, I would never do that.  How about for right now we forget about it.  We can figure things out when she’s here.”

“I need to go home,” I say as the tears continue to fall.

“Stop,” he says as he stops me by the shoulders and pulls me into a hug, “Hails, it’s going to be fine, I promise.  I’d never try to take her from you,” he says as he hugs me tightly, resting his head on my head allowing me to continue to cry into his chest. “You can’t drive while you’re upset.”

A few minutes later
, I finally get the tears to stop, “I’m good, I can drive now.” I say pulling away.

“Are you sure?” he asks intently.

“Yeah, I’m fine to drive,” I say as I walk towards my car.  I pull out my car keys and unlock the door.

“It’s going to be alright
Hails,” Liam says softly.

“Sure it is,” I say as I get into my car and drive away, leaving Liam standing there to watch me
leave.

After the
forty-minute drive home, I park the car and walk inside to see Kenzie looking worried.

“What happened?” she asks worriedly.

“I ran into Liam.”

“And,” she says as I sit on the couch.

“He knows.”

“That Lily’s his?” she practically screams.

“Yeah.”

“You told him?”
she asks shocked.

“Yes, he deserves to know.”

“So what happened?”

“Nothing good,” I say as tears start to form.

“Why not? Where is he?” she asks looking behind me.

“He’s on his way to Nina probably.”

“To call off the wedding?”

“No, he’s still getting married.”

“What?” she says looking pissed.

“He told Nina, so she knows the baby might be his and she’s staying with him.  He mentioned custody and I lost it,” I say as
more tears fall.

“Custody?
  He wants to take Lily?” she asks angrily.

“He says no, but that he wants to be her dad and he should, she’ll need him.”

“So, what about custody then?”

“He wants Lily to come to some of his games and he said Nina will be able to take her.  I can’t, she’s not even here
yet and he’s talking about Nina having her.  I can’t, I just can’t handle this right now,” I say bawling.

“Calm down sweetie, you aren’t going to lose her.  He won’t take her.  Yes, he will get to see her and be her daddy, you want that though, so I’m sure you guys can come to some sort of agreement when the time comes, but sweetie that won’t be for a little while.  Don’t stress over it yet,” she says trying to calm me down.

“How can I calm down?”

“Take a few deep breaths.”  I do as she says and I slowly stop crying. 
“I don’t like her.”

“Who?”
she asks catching me off guard.

“Nina.”

“Why?” I ask.

“She’s not right for him.  I feel like she’s shady.”

“She loves him.”

“You’re hormonal and pregnant; you
can’t see things as clear as me,” she retorts.

“Oh
my gosh, yes I can.”

“No, you can’t.”

“I assure you, I can,” I say, looking at her frustrated.

“No, you’re all rainbows and sunshine right now.  Just wait, you’ll see it soon enough.”

“What am I supposed to see?” I asking feeling frustrated.

“She’s evil.”

“I think you’re losing your mind.”

“See, I told you, you can’t see straight right now.”

“How is she evil Kenz?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I know she is.  She’s probably after his money.”

“She has a good job of her own.”

“So…she’s a greedy bitch.”

“She’s not after his money.”

“Well
, she’s after something,” Kenz says determined.

“Whatever, I don’t honestly care.  Can we talk about something else?”
I say as I wipe the remaining tears away.

Liam

“Fuck,” I mumble as I head to my car.  I make the forty-five minute drive back to Spence’s house, trying to contemplate what the hell is happening.

I’m about to have a baby, a little girl, and yet I’m supposed to get married to someone else, other than the mother of my soon to be born child.

The drive feels like it takes forever, but I pull in the driveway and head inside still trying to figure out what I need to do.

“Hey,” I say
, surprised to see Nina sitting on the couch.

“Hi.”

“You’re here.”

“Yeah, I figured we better talk,
” she says softly.

“You know?” I ask confused.

“No, that’s why I’m here.  What did you find out?”

I sit on the
couch beside her, “It’s my baby.”  She lets out a breath as her shoulders slump, “I’m so sorry Nina.”

“You told me you thought it was yours, I was just praying it wasn’t.”

“I know.”

“So what happens now?”
she asks.

“I don’t know.”

“I doubt Haley is going to be okay with sharing custody of your baby.”

“She’s not even here yet, but no, I’m sure she won’t.”

“Am I losing you?” she asks without looking at me.  I can’t even form words to answer her question. “I know you aren’t over her. I kept thinking it would pass, but the way you look at her tells me you’re still in love with her Liam.”

“I do care
about her, I’d never deny that,” I admit.

“It’s more than caring, you’re in love with her aren’t you?” she asks hastily.

“Shit,” I say frustrated, “I guess a part of me still is, but I love you.”

“Are you calling off our wedding?”
she asks with wide eyes.

“No.”

“Can we get through this?”

“I don’t know.  I’m trying to come to grips with the fact that I’m having a baby.”

“What am I supposed to do?” she says as tears form.

“We’ll figure this out, I promise.”

“Our wedding is weeks away Liam.  Are we still going to get married?

“Yes
, we are.”

“Okay, then we can worry about the baby after she’s born.  I’m not losing you to her,” she says before wrapping her arms around me.

I don’t bother to say a word, because what’s there to say anyway?

Haley

For the next week and a half Kenz, Quinn, Brody, Spence, and I hang out.  Liam hasn’t talked to me since I told him the truth and honestly, I’m not surprised, I’d probably hate me to.

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” I tell Kenzie as I grab my purse and phone.

“Where are you going?”

“I need some fresh air.”

“Do you want some company?”

“No, I just need to be alone right now,” I say before I head out the door.

I drive the forty minutes to my secret spot, the lake.  I park the car and get out grabbing my phone this time.  Not wanting any intrusions, I put the phone on silent and shove it in my wristlet.  If I need it I have it, but people won’t need me right now.

“Hey Lily, we are back at the lake.  Its cooler this evening, so I figured we could take a walk.  Your daddy’s getting married
soon.  I’m happy he’s happy, though I wish he was with us.  It’s okay though; we’ll get through things together.  We’re a team baby girl, you and me, forever and always.  I’ll always protect you,” I say as I make the short walk.

Eventually
, I decide to sit and just watch the water ripple and listen to the insects make noise.

“I guess we should probably head home, huh Lily?” I ask as I rub my belly.

“Can we talk?” Liam says from behind me.

“What?”
I ask shocked, “What are you doing here?” I say with wide eyes.

“We need to talk,” he says as he takes a seat beside me on the ground.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here because we need to talk
Hails,” he says piercing me with those sexy blue eyes.

“Okay,” I say as I look towards the ground.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called you.”

“Don’t be,” I say truthfully, he has every right to be mad at me.

“I am, because I want to know what’s going on, when your next doctor’s appointment is.  I want to go.  I was angry with you for keeping the fact that I’m her dad from me. I deserved to know sooner.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you are.”

“The next doctor’s appointment is
Monday at 11:00 a.m.,” I state.

“I want to go along.”

“Okay.  When do you leave?”

“Tuesday.”
  I only nod my head, because I know if I say anything, I’ll start to cry.  He’s really getting married.  “I should probably head home,” I say as I go to stand.

“You don’t have to leave.”

“It’s probably better if I do.  Liam, I’m sorry if I caused you any problems, you deserve to be happy and I want that for you.”

“Thanks,” he says never looking at me.

“Have a good night,” I say as I walk away and head towards my car.

I drive the forty minutes home and see a worried looking Kenzie and Quinn.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“I
told you I’d be back later,” I say.

“That was hours ago.”

“I needed to think.  I’m fine,” I say as I sit on the chair.

“What happened?” Quinn asks with a look.

“I ran into Liam.”

“And?”
Kenz says looking eager.

“He’s coming to the doctor’s appointment on Monday.”

“Did he call off the wedding?” Kenz asks looking hopeful.

“No, he leaves on Tuesday.”

“Seriously?” she asks looking angry.

“Yes, he’s still getting married
Kenz.”

“Ugh, why?”
she complains.

“Because he loves her,” I snap feeling angry.

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Yes
, he does,” I argue back.

“Okay, everyone calm down,” Quinn says as she sits beside me, “A part of Liam will always love you, that’s how it works, but he does seem happy with Nina.”

“See,” I say with a glare to Kenzie.

“You’re both wrong,” Kenzie defends.

“How are we both wrong?” I practically shout.

“You know him, how do you not see it?  The way he looks at you and talks to you
; tell me you don’t feel something.”

“Of course I do,
” I shout, “I’m still in love with him and I’m carrying his child.  How could I not feel something?” I yell, standing up, needing to get away.

“Where are you going?” Quinn asks worriedly.

“To my room, I need to be alone,” I say as I walk towards the stairs.  I go into my room and lock the door, not wanting any company.  I change and crawl into bed hoping I can get a good night’s rest.

Chapter Nine

Quinn and Brody are leaving on Wednesday to head to Ohio where Liam and Nina are getting married.  Kenzie declined, so she could babysit me, though I don’t know why.

“You can go to the wedding, I’ll be fine until you guys get back,” I state to Kenzie for the fifth time.

“I’m not going and that’s that; so would you stop bugging me about it?” Kenzie snaps at me.

“
I don’t need a babysitter.”

“And I don’t want to go to the stupid wedding,” she says harshly.

“Why not?”

“Because I don
’t like her and I don’t agree with this senseless wedding,” she says before walking out of the room.

“What was that about?” Quinn asks looking confused.

“I don’t really even know.  What time are you guys leaving tomorrow?”  I ask Quinn.

“
Around eight.”

“Damn that’s early,”
I state, “How long’s the drive?”

“About four and a half hours, but Brody’s supposed to help with something at 1:30 p.m.
, so we have to make sure we are there in time,” Quinn says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I know it, it’s already Wednesday and I already feel like shit. Between feeling like a whale and it being summertime, I’m miserable.  Then there’s the fact that Liam’s getting married on Saturday.

“I need to talk to you,” Kenzie says as she sits down nervously on the couch.

“What’s going on?”  I ask as I sit down.

“You need to stop this wedding,” she says with a straight face.

“Why?”

“Because, you can’t let Liam marry that troll.”

“Troll?  Kenzie what aren’t you telling me?”

“She’s an evil bitch,” she says matter of fact.

“Tell me something you haven’t said already.”

“I knew she wasn’t a good person.”

“What happened?” I ask feeling frustrated.

“She’s with Liam because he’s in the NFL, not because he’s a great guy,” she says hastily.

“How do you know that?”

“I overheard her on the phone.”

“When?  Where?” I ask stunned.

“I was over at Spence’s house and she stays there with Liam when he’s in town,” she says looking nervous.

“Why were you at Spence’s house?” I ask confused.

“Dropping something off, but that’s beside
the point,” she says quickly, “The point is she is not good for him.”

“What did you hear Kenzie?” I ask slightly frustrated.

“That she’s about to get what she’s always wanted,” she says looking pissed.

“Excuse me?” I ask frowning.

“Big house, cars, that she can shop and go wherever she wants, that Liam will never know what hit him by the time she’s done,” she says not holding back.

“
Kenz, when did you hear this?”

“A few weeks ago.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything to anyone?”

“Because
, you need to stop this wedding,” she says with a stern look.

“
I’m not stopping anything, but you should have told him,” I say slightly frustrated.

“Hails
, this is your in, use it,” she says with wide eyes.

“It took me forever to tell him he’s going to be a father
, what makes you think I would tell him about his fiancé’s conversation, which I didn’t even hear?” I ask annoyed.

“
Haley this is the perfect time, you can stop this wedding,” she says like she’s solved everything.

“I’ll be back
in a few hours,” I say to Kenz as I stand, needing to get away from her and this conversation.

“Where are you going?”

“Just out.  I need to be alone for a while.”

“Okay, if you need me, call me,” she says not questioning me any further.

Liam

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Spence asks for the second time.

“I’m doing the right thing, right?” I ask, looking for some type of answer.

“Dude, do you want to marry Nina?” he asks as he stands directly in front of me.

“I don’t know.”

“Then I guess you have your answer.”

“My answer?” I ask confused.

“When you get married
, there should be no hesitation.  If you were marrying Haley on Saturday, would you be feeling this way?”

“
Why do you have to bring her up?” I ask annoyed.

“You aren’t over her and she’s the reason you feel
hesitant.”

“Nina’s great,” I state.

“She is great, but is she who you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

“Fuck,” I say as I pull on my hair, ready to rip it out.

“I think you need to go talk to Nina,” Spence says before walking out of the room.

I grab my phone and call Nina to find out where she is.

“Hey baby,” she says excitedly.

“Hey, where are you?”

“I’m downstairs having a drink with my mom.”

“Okay, when you’re done
, can you come to my room?” I ask nervously.

“Sure, I’ll see you shortly,” she says before disconnecting the call.

Sitting on the bed, I can’t help, but think.  I look over at my bag, which I’ve yet to unpack, and see the picture.  Standing up, I walk over and grab the small photo that I got at Haley’s doctor appointment on Monday.

I can’t help but stare at the baby, my baby, who will be here before I know it.  Nothing can prepare you
when you hear the heartbeat and to see the baby moving on the monitor like that.  It was the best feeling in the world, but it has also made me think even more.

About thirty minutes later, Nina’s knocking on my door.

“Hey,” I say as I greet her when she comes in.

“Hi babe.
What’s wrong?” she asks with a worried look.

“I don’t know.”

“Baby talk to me,” she says as she sits down beside me on the bed.

“Should we be getting married?”
I ask confused.

“What?  Yes, why shouldn’t we?” she shouts.

“I’m about to have a baby with someone else.”

“Liam
, if you were able to have another chance with Haley would you take it, if I wasn’t in the picture?”

“I don’t know.”

“Be honest and answer me.”

“Fuck,” I say as I stand up and start pacing.

“I need to hear you say it.”

“Yes I would, but it’s not that simple.”

“You’re right because I am in the picture, but Liam, you need to follow your heart.  Does your heart say me or Haley?” she asks with tear filled eyes.  “I can’t go living our lives together if I’m not the one you want to be with.”

I stop pacing
and turn to look at her, “I’ve done a lot of thinking since finding out Lily’s mine.  I love you Nina I do, but I need to see if Haley and I can work,” I say as I see the tears fall. “God, I’m so sorry.  This isn’t fair to you,” I say as I pull her up into a hug.

“
It’s better I know now, then after we were married,” she says through tears.  “What’s going to happen now?”

“I’ll
go and tell people the wedding’s off.  You don’t have to stay, this is my fault, and I’ll deal with everyone.”

“I need to go,” she says as she rushes out of the room quickly.

“Fuck,” I say as I drop to the bed.  “What the hell have I just done?”

Instead of trying to talk to anyone tonight since it’s late, I head to bed, making sure to set my alarm early
, so I can fill everyone in.

Haley

Thursday’s here and I can’t sleep.  I’ve lain in bed and it’s already 11:00 a.m.  Knowing Liam’s getting married in two days ends my chances of ever truly having him again.  It’s like I knew it was going to happen, but my heart didn’t want to believe it.

I get up and grab a bite to eat before getting a shower.  I can’t sit in this house all day and dwell on what’s happening.

“Going somewhere?” Kenzie asks as I walk down the stairs.

“Yeah, I can’t stay here today.”

“Do you want company?”

“No, it’s okay.  I’ll be back later,” I say before heading out.

Turning my phone off, I throw it in the center console, not wanting to be bothered today.  I drive to the lake for a little quiet time.

Once I park the car
, I get out and grab a blanket to sit on and also a bottle of water, because it’s already scorching hot today.  I sit under the tree because it offers some shade and watch the water and the small ripples in it, not believing how my life is about to change.

Liam

“What’s going on?” Brody asks confused as he answers his hotel room door.

“The wedding’s off,” I state as I walk into his room.

“What?  Why?” Quinn interjects out of nowhere.

“Did you know that Haley’s having my baby?” I ask the two of them.  Neither one of them can look at me, “How the fuck could you not tell me?” I snap.

“She said she was going to tell you,” Brody says quickly.

“
We wanted to tell you?” Quinn confesses

“You should have told me,” I say
, glaring at Brody.

“It wasn’t our place to tell.  She said she was going to tell you,” he says.

“Next time, don’t fucking lie to me about something as serious as that,” I holler.

“But you didn’t even remember having sex with her,” Quinn states.

“Yes I
do,” I admit.

“
What?” she asks with wide eyes.

“I know what happened that night. But stupid me, I believe
d you two when you told me she had a one-night stand and got pregnant.  I only really thought about it last week and did the fucking math to realize you both fucking lied to me,” I seethe.

“It wasn’t our place to tell you. 
Hails said she would tell you and she planned to before Lily comes,” Quinn says softly.

“So you’re not marrying Nina because Haley’s having your child?” Brody asks.

“It’s more than just that.”

“You still love her,” Quinn says as a statement, not a question.

“Yeah I do and I need to know if we can make it work before I give up completely.”

“Oh
my gosh, have you called her?  She’s going to be so flipping excited,” Quinn squeals.

“Am I missing something?”
I ask feeling lost.

“
She’s still crazy in love with you,” Quinn says, like I should already know.

“No
, she’s not,” I say.

“Wow, you really are stupid,” Brody states
, while he shakes his head.

“She wouldn’t marry me,” I
remind them.

“B
ecause of all the bullshit that happened with me, Kenzie and you two; she thought you would come back, but you didn’t,” he says.

“You moved on instead,” Quinn chimes in.

“I was pissed.”

“We know, we all know, but you never came back to talk to her, you just left,”
Brody states.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, what matters is that you aren’t getting married and that you are having a baby with Haley.  You two can talk now,” Quinn says excitedly.  “I’m going to call he
r and let her know the wedding’s off.”

“Don’t,” I say quickly.

“Why not?” she asks confused.

“That needs to come from me.”

“Are you going to call her then?” Brody asks me.

“No, I need to let everyone know the
wedding is off and then I’ll drive to Michigan to tell her.  So please, I’m asking you two to not say anything.  Don’t say anything to Kenzie either because she’ll tell her.”

“Okay,” they say in unison.

“I’ll see you guys later, I need to go piss some people off,” I say as I exit their hotel room.

I inform everyone in the wedding party and to say some of the bridesmaids are pissed would be an understatement.  Next
, I head to my parents room to tell them what’s going on; thankfully they aren’t pissed or too upset with the news.  Nina already told her parents, who reamed me out for a solid thirty minutes, before I left to go inform everyone else.

By the time I head down to my car
, it’s already 2:30 p.m.

“We’re following you,” Brody says from behind me.

“Okay,” I say as I throw my bags in the truck and hop in the driver’s seat to head back to Michigan.

Quinn

My phone starts ringing like crazy at 6:22 p.m. from Kenzie.

“Hey, what’s up?”