Illicit Affairs

Chapter 28

Ryan's POV

Chase and I sat in relative silence until Erin joined us. She explained that Mia, after a shower and change of clothes, was in her room sleeping. She gave Chase the evil eye the entire time she relayed this to us, so we explained to her what Chase's motives were for his outburst. Erin said she understood his tactics but while Chase was going to go the tough love route, she was sticking to her way. I think my sister just didn't have it in her to be mean. As for me, I was going to continue to be supportive.

Now we were back to somewhat awkward silence. All of us simply taking in the whole fucked up situation and none of us really knowing how to fill the void.

"Jimmie." Chase's voice cut through the quiet around us, and I didn't know what he was up to until he handed his phone to me, revealing a text message from Jimmie.

Jimmie Jam:
Chase. I've been trying to get in touch with Mia. Understandably, she's not answering her phone but I'm worried about her and need to know that she's okay. If you've heard from her, can you please call me.

"What should I do Ry?" Chase asked me.

I hated leaving Jimmie in the dark. This message told me everything I needed to know. It clearly showed how much he cared about her.

"I think I'm going to call him." I said. "Mia's probably going to be pissed but we can't just leave him hanging."

"I agree. At least let him know she's not alone." Chase said.

Before I could overthink it, I pulled up his contact and called him. The call went straight to voicemail. I shouldn't be surprised. He's probably being bombarded by the media too and has no idea why I'm calling. I'll just send him a text instead.

Jimmie, please give me a call when you can. It's about Mia.

Almost immediately my phone rang and Jimmie's name flashed across the screen.

"Ryan...what about Mia? Have you talked to her?" He asked impatiently.

"She's at my house. Chase is here. He just showed me your text." I replied.

I heard him sigh in relief. "Is she okay?"

How do I even respond? Mia's not okay. Not really.

"She's pretty shaken up. She's resting right now. My sister is also here. We're taking care of her." I replied.

"How did she end up at your house? Wait...are you two together?"

"Yeah. We are. No one but Chase and Erin knows. We've been keeping it on the down low." How crazy was it that I wasn't just talking to Jimmie, my friend, but to my girlfriend's father? That was a lot to wrap my head around.

"How are you doing Jimmie? I know this must have come as quite a shock." I asked, genuinely concerned about him as well as Mia.

"Definitely a shock." I could actually envision him running his hand through his hair. "It makes so much sense now though."

"What makes sense?" I asked confused.

"It's crazy Ryan. There was a time when I first learned that Erika was pregnant that Mia could possibly be mine, but there was a paternity test that said otherwise. I remember feeling relieved and disappointed at the same time. I knew I wasn't in a position to be a father, but I couldn't help but be let down. The crazy thing is I felt a bond with Mia when she was just a baby. A really strong pull to her that I couldn't even begin to understand. I just assumed it was due to my relationship with Erika..." his voice trailed off.

I was really curious as to exactly what was his relationship with Erika Hendrick, but I didn't dare ask. It was none of my business.

"How did Chandra and your daughters take the news?" I asked, to change the subject and out of pure curiosity.