Sometimes, abuse like that was difficult to get out of. People didn’t understand how shitty an abuser could make you feel, like what he was saying was your fault, like you were the bad guy and deserved all the pain and suffering that he was giving you.
Cam grabbed my shoulder. “It sucks that guys like him can flaunt their money and get out of anything. If you need anything, you know where to find me,” he said. “See you in the lab bright and early Monday morning.” He threw me a smile and headed toward another group of grad students.
I grabbed a glass of water from the bar and hurried over to Michael, wrapping an arm around his waist and kissing him on the lips, trying to forget about Mason until a bit later when I knew I wouldn’t burst out in tears.
Michael glanced over at the grad students, eyes lingering on Cam, and then he returned my kiss and pulled me closer to him. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank God that’s over,” I said. “Because I’m about two seconds away from tearing off this gown and letting you give it to me right here. I didn’t think I’d make it.”
He placed his lips just below my ear and chuckled. “Wet for me again?” he asked into my ear, fingers curling around my waist.
“Always,” I whispered to him, throwing him a smile.
I turned to Mom and my friends, waiting for the thousand and one pictures she’d want to take to remember this special day. And while I usually hated pictures, I wouldn’t mind these ones. Today was a day I’d remember forever.
CHAPTER2
MIA
“So, I heard that Mason got off,” I said, spilling the tea to everyone at the dinner following the after-party at a nice sit-down restaurant.
It wasn’t that I was looking for any sort of reaction from them. I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. After what Cam had told me earlier, my stomach had been in knots thinking about Mason. I didn’t want to think what would happen if he got drunk like that again and followed an innocent person into the restroom.
“Are you serious?” Serena asked from across the table. She gave the biggest eye roll and sipped her wine. “That’s ridiculous. I hate that freaking asshole.” She glanced over at Melissa. “No offense.”
“None taken,” she said, placing a hand on her stomach.
But I could see that it did hurt her a lot. She either really loved Mason or didn’t want to face the reality of him being the biggest asshole in our lives. I didn’t know which it was, but it made me sad that she was in this alone and that Mason wanted nothing to do with her child. One day, she told me that she mentioned it to him, and he completely ignored it like it wasn’t his problem.
He probably hadn’t even told his parents about getting Melissa pregnant, not wanting them to disown him and refuse to give him money or support anymore. Mason thrived off his mommy and daddy’s money. Take it away from him, and he was nothing.
“On the brighter side of things,” Melissa said, steering the conversation elsewhere, “I went to the doctor’s last Friday to find out the gender of my baby.”
Michael almost choked on his wine. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Melissa smiled and glanced across the table at him, and then her eyes flickered to Victor, who sat across from her. Her eyes lingered for a moment, her teeth gnawing on the inside of her lip. Victor sat up in his seat, eyes on her.
“I wanted to wait until we were all together,” Melissa said, gulping and peeling her gaze away from Victor.
I eyed the interaction and tried to hide the small smile creeping onto my face.
Victor still cared for her.
Yet it broke my heart to think about how Melissa’s mistakes had broken him to pieces but that he still loved every bit of her. I didn’t know if they’d ever go back to being together again. It was clear that there was something between them. But would we ever see a Victor-Melissa thing ever again?
I sipped my water. “Well, spill,” I said. “What are you having?”
Melissa grinned. “A boy,” she said.
Michael placed his hand on my thigh and squeezed lightly.
Mom clapped her hands together and leaned forward in her wheelchair. “That’s wonderful, honey! When are you due?” Mom asked.
“December-ish,” Melissa said with a laugh. “Actually, right before Christmas.”
“Maybe you’ll have a New Year’s baby!” Serena said, clapping her hands together. “Ooh, that’d be so fun. Imagine having a baby the first day of the year before anyone else in the country.”
All this baby talk was making butterflies flutter in my stomach. I was due at the end of January, which meant that Michael would get to spend some quality time with Melissa and her baby before ours came.
