Page 29 of The Best Bad Boy

“She did?”

“Well, she said it was for the best. And that she had the courage to leave her family now because of this whole thing. How long have you known about us, by the way?” Did all of my team know? Was I the only fool who thought we were being secretive? I knew Kevin was aware, but I was confident he'd never tell another living soul.

“You poor sweet fool,” Maria said harshly. “You think we didn’t notice the change in you? How happy you were? It’s a far cry from the grumpy man we usually live with.”

“Oh,” I hesitated. “So everyone knew?”

“Of course,” Maria said. “And we were all happy you were happy. Finally.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll go wash the linens from the spare room. Yours too. They probably need it,” she said and hurried out of the room.

A few minutes later, Maria called me. Her voice sounded higher than usual, and I jumped to my feet and wondered what had happened now.

“Yes?” I said as I hurried down the hall.

“Come here. Look at this.” She held a piece of paper in her hand.

“What is it?” I asked. I felt alarm even though I had no idea what it was.

“It’s a note from Sarah,” Maria said. “She left it on the bedside table.”

“Oh.”

Maria handed it to me.

Anthony,

I’m so sorry again for the trouble I caused you and your team. I never meant for this to happen. I’ve always tried to live an honest life, despite my upbringing, and I know I’ve failed this time. I hope you accept my apology for all of it. I understand why you sent me away, and I want you to know that my time here was wonderful and that being with you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I hope you feel the same way and remember it even after I’m gone.

I love you. May we meet again in a life easier than this one?

Sarah

I stared at the note. It had an ominous feel, like a prediction of something negative. Surely Sarah wouldn’t do anything drastic to herself, would she? I felt panic rising inside me. Was I reading too deeply into it? I had no idea what to make of it, and that scared me.

“There’s more,” said Maria. She handed me a plastic stick. I looked at it closely. It was a pregnancy test. There were two pink lines on the display.

“Oh my god.”

“I told you,” Maria said. Her voice rose. “You need to go find that sweet girl. This is your responsibility,” she said.

“I know that,” I snapped angrily. “Why didn’t she just tell me?!”

Maria opened her mouth to reply, but I waved my hand. I grabbed my phone and punched in Kevin’s number. He answered on the second ring.

“What’s up?”

“How far are you from where you dropped her?” I asked. I felt panic as it continued to rise and suffocate me.

“About an hour,” he said. “I took back roads. Got there and back fast. No limits.”

“Turn around!” I commanded.

“What?”

“Turn around! Go back to her. I was wrong,” I said. “I’ll meet you there.”

---