Sinful (WICKED #2) | ✓

BONUS - REUNION I

HE HAD ALWAYS HAD his good memory. When he was younger, Chase couldn't help but boast about it, but as he got older, those words tasted bitter on his tongue, stinging on the open wounds his memory created all over his body. The first time he had met Mateo they had been children, the last time he had seen him he had been smiling. He was going to take care of Gabriela, he was going to conquer the world. Chase never doubted any of it, even though he chuckled at the thought of anyone taking care of Gabriela.

The girl was all sharp wit and cold looks, so hyper independent that it was hard to even get close to her. That didn't mean Chase didn't like her though, because he would have been blind to not see how amazing she was. She was the kind of person who paved her own way so elegantly people couldn't help but be mesmerized by the way she didn't let anything stop her. Most times he had wished he was like that, so determined, so driven to reach the full potential of what he could be.

Amelia always had said he was made for the stars. He still couldn't believe his luck that she had chosen him out of all people to be with, his wife like an angel from the heavens. How could he not love her soft smiles, her calloused hands, her honey eyes and crooked nose? She was so beautiful, not despite the injuries years of professional baseball had caused, but because of them. For a moment he was taken back to the first time he had gone to watch one of her matches. It had been one month after they had graduated, the ache of losing a home still fresh in his heart. He had wanted to call Mateo, but he knew his best friend had recently joined the army and was probably too busy for this all. So instead he had gone alone, keeping the seat beside him empty for no reason at all.

To see Amelia in action only made him fall in love more, but he had respected her choice when she stopped. It was hard to make it as a woman in professional sports, she had said, but he knew she still loved it dearly. A couple of years after, when they were working in the same company, the main consistency in his life was his weekly calls to the Martinez residence. At first, he had just thought his best friend had gone abroad on a mission, but later on he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he just didn't want to speak to him anymore. Perhaps he was the only one hung up on the friendship, one which had meant the world to him. Perhaps him keeping Mateo up to date with everything which was going on was unwanted, simply a nuisance.

Still, he had picked the phone up again, heart beating so quickly he thought it would leave his chest, unable to keep himself from sharing the news he had just heard.

"Mateo," he had said, tears prickling in his eyes," Mateo, I don't know if you're still living here, but I need you to know this, I do." He had breathed out, serotonin coursing through his veins. "Amelia is pregnant. I'm going to be a father. I can't believe this, truly -"

Somehow the words had seemed stuck in his throat then as he had looked at his wife sitting in the living room, a hand on her stomach.

"I'm sorry," he had said," I don't know, I just thought you'd be here, through all of it. I know that's clingy and that you're busy, but you're my best friend. Would it be too selfish to ask if you could be the godfather?"

"Hello?"

His heart had dropped, the voice unknown to him.

"This is Chase, right?" the woman on the phone had said.

"Yes," he had said, unsure as he added," Gabriela, is that you?"

"No, I apologize," the woman had said," I'm afraid I'm not who you're looking for. I am sorry for not informing you sooner, but I didn't want to take this away from you. Besides, you sounded so much like my grandson, it was comforting to finally have someone call me."

"What?" Chase had blinked," isn't this the Martinez residence?"

"It was," the woman had said," years ago. They moved out quickly. Unfortunately I have no idea where they went."