Cherished by Kelly Elliott
Ari looked at Ellie, then me, and then back at Jessie. “Scott is at my house.”
Jessie snapped her head up. “Oh, thank God. I had no idea where he went, and I was so worried.”
Ellie smiled slightly. “Jessie, we kind of know what’s going on. Scott told Jeff a little bit of what had happened. Sweets, what in the hell is going on? And why did you stay away without talking to anyone?”
Wow. Ellie just went right for it.
Jessie threw her head back and let out a long sigh. “Oh god…if I could go back in time, I swear…” She moved her head back down and looked at each of us before taking a deep breath. “That night when I walked in and saw Chelsea…I think a part of me knew it wasn’t Scott, but I had struggled for so long with letting myself fully trust him a hundred percent.”
“Why? Did Scott ever give you the idea that he might leave or cheat?” Ari asked.
Ellie and Jessie looked at each other.
Jessie shook her head. “No, at least not since we’ve been together. But in high school, he, um…well, long story short, he kissed me, and let me tell you, I’d been in love with him for years before that. The moment he pulled away, we looked into each other’s eyes, and I swore I thought he felt the same thing. Then, Chelsea walked by, and he pretty much just thanked me for the kiss and moved on. After we got together, he told me he had felt so scared of his feelings for me then, so he’d run away. Yes, I know we were young and all, but…”
“But…” I said, pressing her to keep talking.
“That fear was still there for me. Anyway…me running away was just me hiding from the truth. I couldn’t take being hurt like that again or seeing him with Chelsea…or seeing Chelsea, period. They were the whole reason I finished up high school early and busted my ass to get through college in record time. I hardly ever came back to Mason because I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing them together.”
Ari nodded. “Okay, I get your reasons for leaving. I really do, but not calling anyone for the past five weeks, Jess? Then, sending the postcard saying you met someone else?”
Jessie shook her head. “I didn’t mean for that to come across like it did. I meant that I had met a friend, and I did. I met Trey the first day I got there, and we connected and helped each other through the pain and hurt. I had fun with him, and yes…being with him helped me forget about Scott.”
“I take it y’all were together a lot?” Ellie asked.
Jessie closed her eyes and nodded. “Every day. He was set to go home, but he decided to stay until New Year’s…with me. He didn’t want to go home and face questions with everyone telling him how sorry they were about what had happened.”
“So, basically, you both hid like cowards,” Ari said matter-of-factly.
My mouth dropped open, and I just looked at Ari. “Ari! Oh my god!” I said.
Ari just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. “They did.” She turned back to face Jessie. “I’m sorry, Jessie, but you left behind everyone who cares about you. For over a month, we went out of our goddamn minds, wondering where in the fuck you were. I thought Scott was going to lose everything.”
Jessie looked at Ari with a questioning look. “What do you mean?”
Ellie grabbed Ari’s arm. “Ari, maybe now is not the time—”
“No, now is the time. Scott went into a deep depression. He let his business go, and Jeff had to start taking all of Scott’s business calls. They almost lost out on a racehorse they had been trying to get for the last few months. Scott pretty much gave up on everything…but his love for you.”
I watched as the tears began to roll down Jessie’s face. I looked at Ari and shook my head.
Ari shook her head and kept talking. “I’m sorry, Jessie. You know I adore you. There isn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for you, but what you did, not even calling anyone…it was just wrong.”
Jessie sucked in a breath of air. “I know. I know it was, but at the time, I wasn’t thinking clearly, and it was just easier to forget everything.”
Ari rolled her eyes and looked away. I reached for Jessie’s hand, and she looked at me.
I smiled. “Jessie, do you have feelings for this Trey guy?”
She shook her head and started crying. “No! I mean…yes…I care about him, and we became friends. He…he…helped me forget.”
“Okay, I understand that,” I said. “But Scott seems to think you might be in love with him, Jessie. Are you in love with him?”
She shook her head. “No. I love Scott, and we’re having a baby, and…” She broke down in tears again. “Oh my god,” she cried out as she rocked back and forth in the chair. “I let Trey touch me. I let him kiss me, and the whole time, it felt so wrong, but at the same time, it felt so right. I don’t love him…I don’t love him!” she yelled.
I glanced up at Ari and Ellie. They both had tears in their eyes. I noticed Ellie rubbing her stomach. I closed my eyes and felt sick to my stomach. The idea of finding out I was pregnant with the love of my life’s child and knowing another man had touched me…
Oh god, poor Jessie.
“Jessie…did you have sex with Trey?” I asked.
She snapped her eyes over at me. “No! I didn’t even let him give me an orgasm. I made him stop. Even though I thought Scott had cheated on me, I was still in love with him, and it felt wrong.”
Ellie took a deep breath and started to rub Jessie’s back. “Jessie, honey, take a deep breath and calm down.”
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.
“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.
After we put Jessie in the front passenger seat, I turned and looked at Ellie. “She’s gonna be fine. She’s probably just experiencing cramps.”
Ellie looked white as a ghost, and Ari was crying.
“Ari, you know this. You know you can have cramps early on in the pregnancy,” I said. I looked at Ellie and touched her arm, causing her to jump. “Ellie…I need you to drive. Ari can’t drive, sweetheart. Can you drive, Ells? Follow me to the hospital, okay?”
Ellie turned and looked at Ari. She looked back at me and nodded her head. I quickly walked to the driver’s side of my car and got in. I looked at Jessie, who looked scared to death.
“Heather…what’s wrong? Am I going to lose the baby?” She began to cry.
“No, you’re not.” I took off and headed to the hospital.
The whole way, I prayed to God that I hadn’t just lied to Jessie.
I burst through the hospital doors and began looking around for one of the girls. Jeff was right behind me. We had stopped at Garrett and Emma’s place to drop off Luke and Grace, and then we’d headed straight to the hospital.
My hands were shaking, and I didn’t see Ari, Ellie, or Heather anywhere. I walked up to the nurses’ station. I was just about to ask for information when I heard Heather’s voice.
“Scott.”
I turned and looked at her. I tried to read her face for any signs. I was so scared that Jessie had lost the baby. Heather smiled that sweet smile of hers and walked up to me.
“She’s fine,” Heather said.
“The baby?” I felt tears building in my eyes.
“The baby is fine also.”
I let out the breath I had been holding and collapsed into Heather’s arms. “Oh, thank God. Oh, thank you, God.”
Heather pulled back and looked at me. “She just had some cramping, which is normal.”
I looked at Heather, confused. “Cramping?”
She nodded her head. “Just think of it as her body’s way of trying to get ready for what all is about to happen. Her hormones are in overdrive, and then add in the stress of everything on top of that. She just needs to try to de-stress.”
My face fell, and my knees felt weak. I caused this…oh my god.
Heather must have read my face. “You didn’t cause this, Scott. Please, just calm down, and try to relax before you go in the room. Ellie, Ari, and Sharon are in there.”
I nodded and took a few deep breaths. “Where is she?”
“Come on, I’ll take you to her room. They aren’t planning on keeping her in the hospital, but they wanted to get some fluids into her.”
I stopped outside the door. I couldn’t move. I was frozen in place. Heather took my hands in hers and smiled.
“What if she leaves me for him?” I whispered.
I saw the tears in Heather’s eyes as she shook her head.
“She won’t because she loves you so much, Scott. She. Loves. You,” Heather said, stressing each word.
“But she cares about him, Heather. How do I know she’s not going to be thinking about him, wondering what if she hadn’t gotten pregnant?”
“Oh no, Scott, don’t think that way.” Heather wiped a tear away.
I smiled and took another deep breath as I opened the door. Everyone looked up, but the only person I saw was Jessie. The moment her eyes met mine, I wanted to run to her, to grab her in my arms and tell her how much I loved her. But I couldn’t.
Sharon smiled and nodded. “Well…looks like dad is here now. Come on, girls. Let’s give them some time alone. I’ll be back, Jessie, in a few minutes. The IV drip is almost done, and then I’ll get that out of your hand. Then, we can get you ready to head home.”
As they all walked by, they each gave me a strange look.
Was that pity I saw in their eyes?
The moment the door shut, Jessie smiled at me. “I’m sorry if you were scared. The doctor said it’s normal to feel cramping, and some experience it more than others. Hopefully, it won’t last long.”
I looked at the IV bag.
“I guess they thought I was dehydrated or something,” she said with a weak smile.
I came and sat down on the bed. She reached for my hand, and when she touched me, I felt that familiar zap run through my body.
“I was so scared, Jessie. I don’t know what I would have done if…” I couldn’t even finish my sentence.
“I know. I was scared, too, but everything is okay.”
I looked her in the eyes. “It will always be in the back of my head, Jessie, and I’m always going to wonder.”
I watched as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“I don’t love him,” she whispered.
I nodded. “Well, I guess you’ll find out soon enough.”
She looked at me, confused. “What do you mean?”
“He’s heading to Mason.”
“Who’s heading to Mason?”
“Trey,” I whispered.
“What? Why? How do you know this? Oh my god, did you ask him to come here?” She tried to sit up.
I just looked at her. “No, I didn’t fucking ask him to come here. He said he got my number from the hotel clerk, the one you borrowed the phone from to call me. He called me and said he was coming to Mason.”
She shook her head. “Why?”
I stood up and ran my hands through my hair. I walked to the window and looked out. “Because he said he loves you, and he thinks you love him, too. He’s not giving up unless he knows this is what you want.”
“Scott, you have to know I love you,” she said as her voice broke off.
I turned and smiled at her as I nodded. “I know you do, baby. I know you do. I love you, too, and I’ll do…I’ll walk away if…”
I felt a tear run down my face as her eyes widened in surprise.
“If you decide that you need time…I’ll wait for you. I’ll always
“Need time for what?” she asked.
“Jessie, I know you’re confused. I could tell by your reaction this morning when I went to reach out for you. You have feelings for this guy, and you need to figure out just what they are before we can even talk about our future together.”
She began shaking her head. “No…no, Scott. I don’t need to figure out anything. I know what I want and whom I want. I just need time to forget about him, and—”
I sucked in a breath of air.
“No! Wait…that’s not what I meant.”
I walked up to her, leaned down, and gently kissed her on the lips. She reached up and went to grab on to the back of my neck, but I pulled away.
“I love you, Jessie.”
She was crying, and a part of me was dying inside, knowing that I was the reason she was crying.
“I love you, too, Scott.”
Sharon walked back in the room and started to take the IV out of Jessie’s hand. Sharon began to give Jessie some paperwork on prenatal care, a prescription for prenatal vitamins, and her discharge papers.
Sharon smiled and said, “Now, go home and get some rest. Just take it easy for a few days. Eat some fruit and veggies and drink lots of water.”
Jessie smiled and nodded her head.
We walked out of the room and into the lobby. Ari, Ellie, Heather, and Jeff all jumped up.
Ari walked up and gave Jessie a kiss on the cheek. She whispered, “I’m sorry for being such a bitch.”
Jessie smiled. “No. You were being honest.”
Ellie and Heather each gave Jessie and then me a kiss on the cheek. We all walked out together, and Jeff and I talked a little bit about the New Year’s Eve party we were throwing at Gunner’s place.
I got into the car and looked over at Jessie. “Do you want to stop and get the vitamins now or later?”
She looked at me and gave me a weak smile. “Later? I’m just so tired.”
I nodded, and I started driving.
As Aaron and Jenny’s house came into view, I noticed Jessie sit up a bit straighter.