I BELONG WITH YOU

CHAPTER 15

“Ummh thanks?” don’t judge me, I don’t even know how to react in this situation.

The general smiles as if he understood my confusion, “don’t worry, I’m so happy about getting a grandchild that I no longer care for your stupid act,” aah so that’s it then, “beside, somebody told me that Zebron was riling you up purposely,” what the hell does that mean? “so that being the case, I can’t place the blame on your actions. But, that doesn’t mean they’re justified,” then he smiles, “gosh, can’t believe I’m a grandpa now.” Oh hell!

The next day I left the military base and went back home. I should rest for today, then I will go to Bella tomorrow. So I decide to have some rest and prepare for another day.

I wake up feeling well rested and full of energy. Yeah, it’s a new day. A day where I get to meet her, my baby mama. My woman. My Bella.

She is not at her office. I went there earlier today to look for her. But her replacement said that Bella has resigned. Is it because of the pregnancy? Is she feeling sick? I have been having many thoughts about Bella vacating her job ever since I left her former office. So, I decide to go to her house to see her. I know it won’t be a warm welcome when she sees me, but I’ll try to make things right.

****************

“What the fuck do you mean you own this house? Where the fuck is Bella?” I roar the question to the woman who opened Bella’s door.

The woman shrinks and backs away from me, “listen here, I don’t know any Bella. I bought this house three months ago, from a broker. So, I’m sorry, I can’t help you,” then just as fast, she enters inside the house and locks me out. I frown, what the hell is this? What does she mean she bought the house? No, no, this can’t be. Bella just can’t sell the house and disappear just like that. An idea comes to me, I should call her, why didn’t I think of this before deciding to come here? I take my phone and dial her number, thank God it rings.

“Hello?” it’s her. I’m hearing her voice for the first time in five months.

I inhale deeply and speak softly, “Bella!” it’s not a question because I know it’s her, but calling name gives me peace, makes me feel at ease. With myself.

But I think it’s different on her part. If the gasp is any indication, Bella didn’t expect me to call her. Then she speaks, “you got the wrong number,” she hangs up before I get a chance to speak again. I could feel anger and panic in her voice. I sigh, I shouldn’t have expected Bella to be happy to hear my voice, especially after what I did to her. But damn, hanging up on me was a bit too much I think. She could at least hear me out.

I sigh and try to call her again. But she rejects my call, twice. And when I called her again, I’m directed to voice mail. Fuck! I nearly smash down my phone. The woman does know how to test my patience, doesn’t she. I know I shouldn’t blame her, it’s not her fault. I try to be calm. I need to speak to Bella, but I can’t do that when I’m upset. So I need to stay calm. And I should think of a logical way to approach this situation. I decide to go to my house first, to think.

But on its own accord, my mind leads me to my office. I find myself staring at the entrance of my garage. Uh, yeah, I’m fucked up. I park my car and walk slowly to my office. If I’m here I might as well work. I greet people as I make my way to the office. My secretary stops me when I reach near him.

“Whoa! You’re more muscular than the last time you left. Damn I like your new body.”

I lift an eyebrow at him, “don’t make me think that you’re gay.”

He laughs, then he speaks in a mocking way, “oh, for you I just might.” I roll my eyes at his comment. Because I know for damn sure that he is making fun of me. He is a married man with two healthy kids. Him, a gay? Yeah, right.

I brush aside his words, “so, how is everything here?” I ask him.

He gets serious, making me worried, “everything is fine. Well except the fact that you have a handwritten letter that came four months ago, everything else is fine,” he bends his head and open his drawer. He takes out an envelope with my name on top of it, “she didn’t tell me her name, just gave me this and said that you’ll know who she is when you read the letter.”

I take the envelope carefully, throw a thanks to my secretary and walk to my office. After I settle in my office, I open the letter to read what’s inside. When I open the envelope though, I see a very small paper, written an address on it. Just an address. No name of the sender, nothing except the address. Who sent this? I call my secretary in my office.

When he gets in I ask him, “who gave you this letter?”

He frowns, “you don’t know? You mean to say that you didn’t find the name in the letter?”

I roll my eyes, “I wouldn’t ask you if I found the name. Who was it? Someone I know?” I ask him again.

He nods, “I think you do know her. She is this pretty lady, damn pretty,” I stare at him, giving him a funny look. He clears his throat and compose himself, “okay, so ummh, she’s been here before. And you spoke to her in a friendly way. She is this red-haired woman, pretty red haired woman.” Uh, I really hope his wife doesn’t hear about this. I hate family trouble in my office.

I shake my head at him, then I think about what he told me. A red haired woman? There’s only one woman I barely know who is..... shit. “Hailey?” I nearly shout her name.

My secretary startles at my outburst, then he nods, “well, that name might suit her, she is definitely a Hailey,” he says.

I look back at the letter and read it again. Why would she send me the address? Is it hers? I remember Bella telling me that her best friend has left the city. But why would she give me her home address? I dismiss my secretary and throw my head back on my chair. I close my eyes shut and focus in deep thoughts.

Then I open my eyes, suddenly remembering the last time I spoke with Hailey. It was about her best friend, Bella. She was rooting for us to be together. Is it possible that she gave me Bella’s address? No shit. Without a second thought I practically run to my car, hop in and drive off to my house. When I reach there, I grab some clothes and take necessary things and then I start the journey following the address. Which is very far from here when you travel on road.

Now I wish I wasn’t so adamant to travel on road, alone. It’s lonely and I’m so fucking tired. I do one think that one would do in my situation. I find a hotel and settle for the night. My journey can wait, I can’t drive the whole night. Beside, I’m not even sure how Bella will react when she sees me. Although, I already know that it won’t be a friendly welcome.

It takes me two days and a half to reach my destination. The city, not Bella’s place. Finding Bella’s residence is a bit harder than I thought. I had to ask like a hundred times before I got the address right. When I reach to the house, I rush to knock and hold my breath, waiting for Bella to push me out of the door.

The door finally opens after two minutes of waiting. But it’s not Bella I’m seeing, it’s another woman, no, it’s a girl. I frown upon seeing her.

She smiles, “hi, what can I help you?” she asks politely.

“You’re not Bella,” I tell her pointedly. Then I elaborate more for her, “I was told Bella lives here.”

She nods and smile again, “yes, Bella lives here. I’m actually her helper,” oh thank God.

I sigh a breath of relief, then I smile back at her, “it’s good to know I’m not lost. Is she around?” I ask her.

“Yes,” she nods, “she is sleeping right now,” then she opens the door wide for me, “come in I’ll wake her up, well, I’ll try to. She hates when people disturb her sleep.” Pregnancy. Whoosh.

“Then there’s no need to wake her now, I wouldn’t want you to face her wrath,” I wink at her.

She grins widely at me, “I should make you a cup of coffee.” She walks away. I sit on the couch and make out a heavy sigh. Finally I get to see the mother of my child. The girl brings me a cup of coffee with some biscuits. “I’ll wake her when you’re done.” Then she leaves.

I sit alone on the living room, sipping my coffee so slowly. Waiting for Bella to wake up. Two hours pass by but Bella doesn’t wake up. Then her helper, Lisa tells me that she is going to wake her, I nod at her.

And then I hear her voice, she is yelling at Lisa. I shake my head and prepare myself for her grand welcome.

“What the hell were you thinking, to welcome in a man you don’t even know his name!” I hear her yelling at her helper. I hear some mumblings coming from Lisa, then my Bella speaks again, “that’s not the reason!” oh, she sure does know how to yell, I feel sorry for this girl. Then Bella comes to view. And I stare at her, not believing that I’m seeing her again. But it’s not just that, she has gotten bigger. And more beautiful.

When she locks eyes with me, she gasps then glares at me. I smile innocently at her and greet her, “hi Bella. You ummh, look so brand new.” The hell did I say.

Bella grits her teeth, “what the hell are you doing here?” that’s more like a roar. She gets near me, eyes wide, anger and fury clear on her eyes, “how did you know that I live here?”

I smile like she doesn’t scare me, the hell if she doesn’t, “darling, you’ll get sick if you keep shouting like that.”

After a full minute of gnashing her teeth, she finally speaks, “get out, and never come back here! I don’t know who gave you my address and I don’t care. I hope to never see you again.”

Yeah, I didn’t expect any less, not when I hurt her feelings pretty bad. I close my eyes, taking some deep breaths then I open them and look at her again, “you have every right to be mad at me Bella.....”

“Uh huh!” she sneers.

I nod, ignoring her reactions, “I’m here because we need to talk,” she laughs and not in a good way, I ignore her again and go on, “I want you to come back home and live with me....”

“Fuck you!” oh shit, my spitfire got some foul mouth. “You think you have a right to make me do whatever you want. You think you have a right to command me to your will?”

“Actually I do,” she glares at me, fire visible in her eyes, I ignore her for the third time and speak again, “you’re carrying my child, it’s only natural......”

Bella interrupts me with so much venom in her voice, “I said fuck you. You abandoned us remember! You have absolutely no right to tell me what to do. You lost us when you pushed us away.”

She is damn right. Right to the very last word, but I pretend not to understand her, “point of correction Bella, it’s you I left not my child,” shit! I just had to say that, right? Had to make things worse instead of correction them? I watch Bella’s face paling, “so I have every right to worry about you. I mean my child inside you.” Shut up man, for the love of God.

“Leave,” she speaks in a low voice, “I don’t wish to see you and neither does my child. Please.” She turns and go back to what I presume is her bedroom. I sigh, feeling like a fool for what I did to her. Now I have a long way to go. With her.

******************

Bella has locked herself in her bedroom, that’s what Lisa told me before she left the house. So now it’s me and Bella alone. I steadily walk to her bedroom door and try to knock it lightly, but all I get is a silence treatment. It’s alright, I deserve it. I know that but I keep getting irritated whenever I knock on her door and never get a reply.

“Shit! Damn it Bella open up! We need to talk,” I yell at her door, then starting pacing the floor. I’m an impatient man, don’t blame me if I tear her door down. When that idea strike me, I try to use it to see if it’ll work, “if you won’t open in five minutes I swear I’ll break this door Bella.” I wait but nothing comes from the other side. She knows I’m bluffing, damn her. I’m losing my cool with every second that ticks. “Fuck!” I bang the door with my fist. Then I back away and go back to the living room. I’m gonna wait for her here, I don’t care how long it’ll take but I won’t budge until Bella speaks to me.

Someone taps me and calls my name from a distance. I snap my eyes open, and stare with confusion written all over my face. When my vision becomes clear, I see a girl staring down at me. That’s when I figure out that I was lying on the couch. Wait, did I sleep here? Darn it! Then I see a blanket covering me.

I sigh and then look at the girl, Lisa, “sorry to bother you, didn’t think I’ll pass out on this couch,” I tell her.

Lisa smiles, “it’s okay, but I’m just worried about you. You slept here for the whole night,” my, she’s so sweet, unlike my spitfire.

“Don’t worry, I’m good,” Lisa nods and goes to the kitchen. I stand and stretch myself. Just as I’m about to go to the restroom, I hear her footsteps before I see her. She looks angry and unapproachable. Whoa!

“Had a bad night?” I ask her kindly.

She glares at me, “thanks to you!”

I sigh dramatic, “Bella, you can’t be mad first thing in the morning. You’ll intoxicate the baby. I really don’t wish for my child to inherit your blah blahs.” She gasps. I don’t even know why I said that. Guess I had a bad morning too.


BELLA


“Get out! I said get out of my house,” I yell at him. I can feel my insides burning with anger. Why the hell did I even let him in my house? And what was I thinking, instead of chasing him away, I covered him with my blanket. Am I that pathetic?

“I’m not leaving here without you!” that sounded like a final tone. Ha! He gave me a final tone, does he think I’m a little kid? Funny.

I give him an angry look, “if you won’t leave my house, I’m going to call the police and I promise you, you won’t like it,” I at least expected him to back off quietly, but not this. Not him getting closer to me as if I beckoned him instead of threatening him.

He smiles, clearly unaffected by my threat. Then he brings his hand on my cheek, “darling, if you were going to call the police, you would’ve done it long time ago,” damn him! He knows I’m bluffing, and he’s right, “but you covering me with your blanket gives me a different vibe, darling.” He brings his face closer to mine and whisper to my face, “you miss me. You still want me,” he searches my eyes, “and I want you too. Maybe a bit too much than ever. Give us a chance to start over, Bella.”

His last words make me speechless. They nearly make me forget the hardship and heartache I went through to forget him. How hard I tried to cope without him. I bite my lips, feeling the tears in my eyes. I back away from him and cock my head to the other side, avoiding his searching eyes.

“Go away,” I speak in a very low trembling voice, “please.”

“Bella,” a hand holds my chin gently, “I can’t live without you,” I widen my eyes at his words, “not anymore! I want us, the three of us together,” he makes me face him. When I do, he brings his face closer to mine, “please give us a chance.”

I shouldn’t feel this way, but I can’t help it. I’m softening for him, “then why did you leave me,” I ask him the question that was burning my heart for a very long time, “what did I do wrong to you?” his grip tightens under my chin.

Then he sighs and loosen his grip, “right I should tell you that,” he sighs again, loudly this time and closes his eyes. When he opens them he locks his eyes to mine, “I was scared,” I frown at him, “I know you probably won’t understand me, but I was scared of this.” He shuts his eyes again unable to go on.

I frown at his statement, “this?” I ask him because I don’t understand what he means.

Zed nods, “yes. This.” He speaks, his eyes still shut.

“Then what changed your mind? It’s been five months now since our last encounter. What made you come back to me?” God, I hope he doesn’t say it’s because of the baby.

Zed opens his eyes, “because it was bullshit. It was the wrong decision I ever made. Because no matter how much I told myself that I was right, or I was fine without you, I lied to myself. I was never fine. Not after I gave you access to my heart.” I snap my eyes at him, “yes I was scared before, I was scared to love you. But now, now I’m scared to loose you, Bella,” I search his eyes so desperately, searching for the glimpse of truth in his words. “I know you won’t believe me, but I love you Bella.” And I see only truth in his eyes. Oh God! Now I’m the scared one. So without thinking, with so much desperation ruling me, oh and lets not forget the hormones, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him on his lips. Blame the hormones please not me.

“Damn you! You shall pay for my lack of happiness in all those damn months.” My heart is bubbling up with joy, “now show me how much you mean your words,” I see his smile before he smashes his lips on mine again and kisses me like never before.

I wake to the feeling of a palm on my breast. I smile as I remember what happened earlier today. Of course we fucked, what else could we have done to celebrate our relationship other than that. But I dismissed Lisa before anything, and oh, we had a nice chat, Zed and I before we ended up fucking and fucking and fucking. Sometimes later Zed cooked for me, well for both of us. And after we ate, we fucked again some more. Damn how much I missed this.