Loyal

Chapter 84

Vera's POV

Colin's voice message leaves me feeling numb, unable to move. I shove my phone into my jacket pocket, resisting the urge to throw it against the glass doors of the Sea/Tac airport. His words replay in my head as I step onto the curb of the frosty PNW air. I tried to fight for this.

My aunt's dark gray Honda civic pulls up and I feel a wave of relief rush over me. After all these months, it feels good to be back.

            "Vera!" My Aunty Ray rushes from the driver's side and embraces me in a hug. Her hair is a deep auburn, barely touching her neck. She is a thick, nicely dressed woman, with caramel brown skin. I bury my face into her shoulder, trying my best not to cry. It feels so good to see her, smell her. 

            "Where is all of your luggage?" Aunty Ray looks behind me, trying to find a suitcase.

                        "I didn't really bring much, aunty." I say glumly. She nods and opens the door to the passenger's side while I climb in.

            As soon as we head out onto I-5 North, the rain starts to pour. Oh Seattle, how you laugh at my pain. Leaning my head against the window, I close my eyes, letting the familiar rhythm of raindrops cover my sadness.

            "All these months, no call, no text. Did you get any of my emails? I know you've been busy Vera, but you have to stay in touch with family. I was worried you were trying to cut me off," Aunty Ray sounds a little wounded. She's the caretaker of our family, with a heart big enough to welcome anyone she meets. Her heart also makes her very sensitive. It's a wonder that my mother, her sister, turned out the exact opposite.

                        "No, Aunty Ray. I'm sorry, I've just been very busy and out of it. I apologize."

            "No need to apologize, I know you're an adult. I just worry about you sometimes. I kept in touch with Becca for a little bit, so I know you had that internship at Levi Stadium. That must have been fun!" Aunty Ray speaks excitedly now.

            Our conversation moves to talking about the internship, and I try to give her the happiest images of my experience there. Everything minus Colin. I paint her vivid pictures of galas, planning events, watching practices. All the while I have the image of Colin in my head, throwing a football on the field shirtless...smiling as he sees me coming from a distance...

            Somewhere during the car ride I fall asleep, the gentle thumping of raindrops a familiar lull. Like clockwork, as soon as we pull up to the driveway of my grandma's house I wake up, my eyes springing open.

            For some reason, at that very moment, I feel completely and utterly alone.

            "Vera?" Aunty Ray sets the car into park and looks over to me. I look at her with complete abandon.

                        "I'm pregnant." I say, quietly.

Colin's POV

            "Tinashe will drop the charges, for a settlement," Becca says grimly.

                        "I don't care. How much does she want?" Being in the business for a while, you learn that paying people off is inevitable. Whether or not you're the one at fault in a situation. I can't believe it's come down to this. After weeks of going back and forth between lawyers, here we sit in a room: me, Tinashe, across from each other at a table, with our lawyers.

            "2 million," Tinashe's lawyer says firmly.

                        "It's done. I don't care, as long as this shit's done," I sit back, feeling defeated.