Chasing Cars

My nerves were shot by the time I got home. I was excited to go to Chris’s game, but I was afraid that Trent might have followed me home. Luckily, I didn’t see any cars following me. Not that I’d even know what to look for. And I did kind of space out for a minute when I passed a doughnut shop and considered stopping. But I made it home without any incidents.

I wanted to look nice, but I didn’t have any nice maternity clothes. And it was a baseball game. So comfort was more important than style anyway. I had a strapless dress that was more of a lazy day dress, but I could make it cute by wearing makeup and contacts.

And while I was busy putting makeup on and thinking about how cute Chris looked in his uniform, I completely forgot about Trent. At least until someone started banging on my front door. I got up and padded into the living room to look outside. Trent was standing in the hallway.

“Go away!” I yelled through the door.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’ll call the police.”

“Do it then, Marley. Or you could just talk to me like an adult.”

“We don’t have anything to talk about. Go away!”

“My wife left me because of you. So the least you could do is fucking talk to me!”

“Your wife left you because of you!” He slammed his fist into the door.

“Just fucking talk to me! Ten minutes. That’s all I want.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to talk to me.”

“Whatever you have to say, you can say it through the door.” He punched the door so hard it jolted.

“No!” he shouted.

“I’m not opening this door. So if you’re still here in five minutes, I’m calling the police.”

“Just open the fucking door!”

I went back to the bedroom to finish getting ready. I made sure to lock the bedroom door, too, just in case he actually made it inside. But that never happened. The living room stayed quiet, and I managed to get ready without him bothering me again.

I was anxious when I prepared to leave, though. I checked out of the peephole in the door several times just to make sure he wasn’t standing in the hall. And Chris called while I was looking for my shoes.

“Hey, are you on your way?” he asked.

“Just about. Getting my shoes on right now.”

“Great! I’ll see you soon.”

“Hey, Chris?”

“Yeah?”

“Something kind of—happened today.”

“What happened?” There was so much concern in his voice that my heart melted. I sat down on the bed and rubbed my belly. The baby was kicking up a storm as if they could feel my anxiety.

“Um—you remember Trent, right?” He was silent for a moment.

“Yes,” came out like a growl.

“He came by today when I was at work. He was really nice at first, like he actually thought he had a chance again with me. He said he wanted me to know he finally got a divorce. But when I shot him down, he got really upset and said I’d regret it.”

“He threatened you?”

“It sounded like it. And then he came by the apartment while I was getting ready. I didn’t let him in. He said he just wanted to talk but not through the door. And he punched it when I refused. I threatened to call the cops on him, and he left.” He was silent again.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I don’t know. You’re working.”

“That doesn’t matter. Even if I can’t be there with you, I could call someone.”

“It’s fine, really.”

“You’re scared. I can hear it in your voice.”

“I know. That’s why I wanted you to know.”

“Do you think he’s dangerous?” he asked after another long pause as I got my shoes on my feet.

“I don’t know. Maybe he is. But maybe I’m just overreacting.”

“You’re not overreacting. He followed you home. That’s cause for alarm, Mar.”

“I know.”

“Do you want me to have someone come pick you up?”

“No, I’ve got my pepper spray. And I’ll call you if I have any problems.”

“Let me just call Olivia. I’m sure she won’t mind. Or one of the guys.”

“No, it’s fine. Please don’t make a fuss over me.”

“I love you, Marley. And you’re pregnant. Of course I’m going to fuss over you.” My heart melted again. I loved him so much.

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” He groaned again like he didn’t believe me.

“Have you spoken to him at all since that day at the café?”

“Not even once. He called me a bunch of times after, but I changed my number and moved.”

“The next time you see him, call me immediately. I don’t care if he’s being nice. I want to know right away.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Be careful on the way.”

“I will.”

“I’ll be waiting for you. Let me know when you get here.”

“Okay.”

I disconnected and decided that the shoes weren’t working for me. So I changed into slip-ons instead. Then I grabbed my bag and checked the door one more time. Everything seemed okay, so I cracked it open and looked up and down the hall. It was empty. I clutched my pepper spray anyway but didn’t run into anyone on my way back down to the car. I felt much safer once I was inside and on my way to see Chris.

When I got to the stadium, I had to walk a bit of a distance to get there. Some people were hanging around outside and waiting in lines. But I’d done this enough times to know where to go to get in and get my ticket. And once I got it, I went to go find the booth Olivia was in with the other spouses who actually liked to sit outside. I would have preferred one of the fancy boxes with air conditioning. But I didn’t want to be alone.

Thankfully the boxes were private, and there were bathrooms nearby because I really had to pee. I found the closest bathroom tucked into a narrow hallway. It was empty, aside from a few others hurrying to get to their seats in time.

Then I headed out to meet Olivia and bumped directly into Trent in the hallway at the top of the stairs.

“How did you get here?” I asked as my heart jumped into my throat.

“I followed you.”

“No shit. How’d you get in?”

“Bought a ticket. It’s not that hard.”

“Yeah, but you’re in the private section.”

“Look around you. Security isn’t exactly tight here.”

I felt my phone buzz in my bag. I hadn’t called Chris to tell him I was there yet, so he was probably worried. I wanted to answer it, but I was afraid of what Trent might do.

“Why are you following me?” I asked him.

“Because we need to talk. And if I have to hold you down and force you to listen, then I will.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He snatched my wrist and got a startled yelp out of me. “Let go of me!”

“We have a lot to talk about.”

“You’re drunk.” I could smell it on his breath. He smelled like old beer and sweat.

“Of course I’m drunk. What the hell else am I supposed to do? I lost everything. Even my fucking job. And for whatever stupid fucking reason, I still came here hoping you could give me some tiny bit of hope for the future. But you had to go and get yourself knocked up by that jackass, didn’t you?”

“I haven’t seen you in years. I don’t owe you anything.”

“You owe me everything! She found out about you and took my kids. I lost my job, and you just couldn’t wait, could you? Had to go and open your legs for that prick the second I was gone!” He squeezed my arm tighter.

“You’re hurting me.”

“I don’t care if it hurts anymore, Marley,” he said. “I think it would be real fucking nice if you felt what I’m feeling right now.”

I didn’t want him to see me upset or cry. I didn’t want him to know he’d successfully scared me. But I couldn’t help it. I felt my lip tremble, and tears slipped out before I could stop them.

“Just let me go. Please? I’m sorry for everything you’re going through. But I can’t change it. I broke things off with you so we could live our own lives. That’s all I did. I just wanted to have my own life. So please just let me go?”

I heard footsteps coming up the staircase, and I prayed it was someone who could help. Security or staff or even just someone who could go get them. To my surprise, it was Josh. And I’d never been happier to see him in my entire life.

“Is there a problem here?” he asked as he reached the top of the stairs and seemed to gather what was going on. Trent turned around to look him over. He wasn’t in uniform yet and had probably just been at the box to see Olivia. So I guessed that Trent had no idea we knew each other.

“We’re in the middle of a private conversation,” Trent said.

“I’d appreciate it if you let her go.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“See, I would do that. But this lady is my friend, and it doesn’t look like she’s enjoying the way you’re holding her. So if I were you, I’d let her go because her baby’s daddy just turned down the hall, and he doesn’t look happy.”

I heard him just as Trent snapped his head back toward me, looking off over my shoulder. I felt Chris’s warm, safe arm wrap around my shoulder.

“Trent,” he grunted out. “I thought we had an agreement.”

“I didn’t fucking agree to shit.”

“I told you to stay the fuck away from her, remember?” I didn’t know about that. But I didn’t question it either. “You might want to let her go now because I’ve been itching to beat your face in since the day I met you.”

“Fuck you.” Chris’s hand traveled down my arm to my wrist, just above where Trent was still holding me. I was sniffling and trying to pry my arm free.

“Let me go,” I begged. Chris and Josh were both still staring him down. Josh set his hand on Trent’s shoulder, and I was pretty sure he wasn’t being gentle.

“I’d do what she says, man,” he said. “Or we’re going to have a very big problem.”

Then Vic appeared on my other side. I hadn’t heard him at all. But suddenly, we were surrounded by Chris’s athlete gang. Baseball players who protected weak and pregnant damsels in distress. Only it wasn’t very funny because I was the damsel.

But Trent must have realized he was outmatched by three very large professional athletes. His grip loosened, and I yanked my hand back and rubbed my wrist. Chris took my shoulders and turned me away from Trent, but he kept his eyes on him over my shoulder.

“You need to leave,” he said. Trent just glared and then disappeared down the stairs. Chris turned to his friends. “Go tell security to look for him. Ask them to escort him out.” Vic nodded.

“You alright, Marley?” Josh asked. I nodded and quickly wiped the tears from my eyes.

“I’m fine.” He didn’t look convinced. But he nodded to Vic, and the two of them left us alone.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked, pulling me closer to the wall.

“I’m okay.” He pulled me to his chest and hugged me tightly. His fingers twisted in my hair, and I let go of a sigh of relief. He was there, and I was safe. Finally, he let me go and held me out by the arms so he could assess my body.

“Look at you,” he said, his face lighting up. “You look beautiful.”

“Is my makeup running?” He ran his thumbs under my eyes.

“No, it looks perfect. How’d he get in here anyway?”

“He said he bought a ticket.”

“I’m going home with you tonight. I don’t like this.” I nodded.

“I’d appreciate it.”

“What did he say to you?”

“He lost his wife and custody of his kids. As well as his job. And he seems to think it’s my fault. Either that or he thinks I owe him something to compensate for it. He seems really upset that we’re still together and having a baby. He said he didn’t care if he hurt me because then I’d know what he felt like.”

“What do you think he means by that?”

“I don’t know. But I’m glad you showed up when you did.”

“Me too.”

“Don’t you have a game to be playing?”

“Not for another fifteen minutes. I told Olivia to tell me when you got to the box. She was worried when you didn’t show up. So we came looking for you.” He looked me up and down, and then his worry was replaced by a smile. “It’s amazing how fast you grow.” I nodded.

“Yeah, look at this thing.” I patted it, and he set his hands on it.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.” Then he plopped a kiss on my forehead that made me weak in the knees.