Until Her (Sequel)

chapter twenty-two

Somehow, over the next blurry half-hour, Adam was forced, with a gun to his head, to call Sophia over to the warehouse, and to come alone. I was so confused, so lightheaded and fuzzy, that I could barely sit up straight. Carter tried to obtain food for me, but Cole was more pissed off than he was before. When another hour had passed, a car finally pulled up outside of the warehouse.

"Ah, finally." Cole said smoothly when Sophia nervously came in, keeping his hands on the gun. She was tearful at the sight of all of us; dirty, begging for escape, and overwhelmingly confused. I tried to get myself to breathe but was unsuccessful.

"All of you, over here, now." Cole demanded, letting the gun do most of the talking.

"Let's start by telling a little story," he said, chuckling. Sophia tried asking questions, but Cole wouldn't let her speak. Instead, we all stood spaced apart in a horizontal line in front of Cole.

"Twenty-nine years ago, you had a son." Cole pointed at Sophia. She cowered under his accusation. Everyone looked, especially Carter. "Twenty-nine years ago, you gave up that son." His tone grew more and more bitter with each word. "So that son grew up, tried to make a name for himself. He even took on Mommy's maiden name to stand out."

Baker... Cole Baker. I never knew Sophia's maiden name; I never needed to. She became family when I married Carter, so she wore the James name in the same way that I did.

Cole caught on to Carter's apprehensive expression, so he sauntered over to him, running the tip of the gun over Carter's chest. He did his best to remain solemn while Cole tormented him. I eyed him as his jaw tensed, his chest tightened... Cole didn't stand a chance against Carter.

"What do you think about that, brother?"

Carter said nothing.

"And you got the be the perfect poster-child, brother." Cole spat. Carter winced, pressing his lips together to form a tight line. Cole focused his attention to Sophia, tucking the gun back underneath his shirt. Thank God.

Cole sized up Sophia like she was prey. She tried to turn away, but Cole only came closer. "Mommy Dearest, why don't you explain to the family what you've been hiding all these years?"

All eyes fell on her. I had never seen Adam so stunned. Sophia hesitated, stuttering on each word her lips tried to form.

"Spit it out, woman! Tell them why you gave me up but decided to keep him!" Cole yelled, pointing at Carter. Carter and I finally caught a glance of one another. He looked so bewildered, I thought he might pass out.

"I..." Sophia started to say.

"What does he mean, Sophia?" Adam whispered. "What have you been keeping from us?"

Sophia paused again, playing with her wedding band.

"Say it, and no one gets hurt." Cole smirked.

Overwhelmed, Sophia finally spoke. "I got pregnant at nineteen. I had just graduated high school, and your father and I... well, we just weren't ready to support a child." She admitted. Carter's face looked betrayed, a darkness looming over his eyes. "I wanted to keep you, Cole, I did. But your father... he had his entire soccer career ahead of him. He couldn't afford a child. So, I... we gave you up." She whimpered, tears falling down her cheeks.

Adam's face twisted into a sneer. Hearing this angered him, but it was his fault all of this happened.

"And it's the biggest regret of my life, Cole. I never should have let them take you out of my arms at the hospital. I should have fought for you. I'm so, so sorry..." she sobbed. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I grabbed Carter's hand and squeezed.