Ghosts (A Christian Yelich Story)

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Double Homicide

When I woke up, Christian was spooning me tightly. His hand was up my sweatshirt and resting on my bare stomach. He had no idea what he was touching.

"Shit," I whispered before inhaling sharply. Too bad I couldn't enjoy the moment the father of my unborn child touched my pregnant stomach for the first time. And maybe the last time if he decided to run.

I could tell he was sound asleep because his breathing was heavy against my neck, so I carefully got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen. That was close.

Hannah was sitting at one of the barstools at my kitchen's island eating from a container of yogurt. "Hey, pretty momma. He must have taken the news well considering his Mercedes is still parked outside." She flashed me a smile.

"I haven't told him yet," I muttered quickly. The sentence sounded like one word.

"What the fuck, Annie!" Hannah exclaimed. "You go to your room and you tell him."

"Tell me what?" Christian asked as he entered the kitchen. He was wearing nothing but sweats, and his thick hair was wild from sleep. I wanted nothing more than to take him back to my room, ignore the issue at hand, and give him what we both needed.

"How difficult it was for Annie to not sleep with you last night," Hannah covered for me.

Christian laughed. "It was difficult for me too. How are you feeling, babe? You up for hiking?" He walked up to me, wrapped me in his arms, and kissed my forehead. "Jesus, you still smell so good," he added.

"I feel a lot better," I informed him while giving into his embrace. "Let's hike."

He gave me an actual kiss on the mouth while Hannah made gagging sounds. "I'm out," she informed us. "Annie, you need to be home by 5:00. You have an interview with Chinese media. Love you."

"Got it, Hannah Banana. Love you too."

She left, leaving me and Christian alone again.

"How about I make us some brunch before we go?" I asked him.

"That sounds awesome. How can I help?"

***

Christian held my hand as we hiked Zuma Canyon. "So, when are you coming to Milwaukee to visit me?" he asked. "I want to see you as often as I can."

I stopped in my tracks, and Christian stopped too. "We need to talk about some things first." The volume of my voice decreased with each word.

"What do we need to talk about? I love you. I want you to see me play in Milwaukee. You could bring your family too." He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, our hands still locked together.

I looked up at him. "Christian, I'm p-. . ."

Before I could complete the statement, two girls, who couldn't be over 21, interrupted us. They caught up to us from behind, and I was too lost in Christian and what I had to tell him that I didn't see them coming.

"Oh my God! Annie Delaney and Christian Yelich!" one of the girls exclaimed. "We love both of you! Are you two really together?

"Yeah, we're together," Christian said boldly, squeezing my hand. This was a new development.

"You two would have beautiful children," the other joked. "Amazing hair. Flawless skin."

I watched as Christian blushed, which I suppose was a better reaction than just flat out barfing at the thought of having a child with me. "Thanks," he muttered. "Anna would give all the good genes."

"You're both super hot."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You two are really sweet."

"Seriously, I'm in love with both of you. Baseball and movies are, like, my thing. You are the perfect couple."

Christian smiled at her. "See, Annie? We're the perfect couple, so you have to visit me in Milwaukee ASAP."

I just rolled my eyes at his charming persistence.

"You have to visit him!" both girls said, almost in unison.

"Thanks for the support, ladies. This one is difficult to convince."

We said goodbye to the girls and continued our conversation, so they could get a bit ahead of us.

"What were you going to tell me before?" Christian asked.

"Oh, I was just going to say that I'm pretty happy that we were able to see each other again."

"Just pretty happy, huh? I couldn't stand being away from you." He pulled me in for another kiss. This time, our tongues met and he lowered his hands slowly from my back to my ass and gave it a firm squeeze. "God, I missed you," he breathed out when we broke apart.

"I missed you too." And I did.

And I was about to lose him. I knew it.

***

Christian drove us from an early dinner back to my house. It was almost 5:00, and I knew Hannah was probably freaking out. She'd freak out more if I got home and Christian still didn't know he was a father-to-be. She'd probably kill me, actually. Double homicide.

Christian stood in front of me outside of his car. He took both of my hands and looked into my eyes. "Milwaukee soon?" he whispered.

I just nodded "yes" before slowly moving one of his hands under my loose t-shirt and placing it on my bare stomach. If he wasn't going to be a part of her life, he'd at least have this one moment of being close to her. Maybe she'd feel it too.

Christian looked at me in confusion before the realization of why I was doing such a strange thing dawned on him. His hand moved around my stomach, and his expression changed from confusion to pain and sadness. "Annie . . . Mine?" was all he was able to choke out as tears started building in his eyes. He already knew the answer.

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Christian. So, so, sorry," I whispered. Unlike him, I just let my tears go. "I wanted to tell you in Arizona."

"I have to go," he muttered. "I don't want to hurt you right now, but I have to go and be alone," he repeated himself.

"Christian, please, I need you," I finally admitted through sobs. "I don't want to do this alone any longer." I was weak.

Without looking me in the eyes, he brushed my stomach one last time, kissed my cheek, stepped into his car, and drove away.

I got what I thought I wanted. But I didn't expect it to hurt this much.

I collapsed to my knees and just let myself have this moment. It's what I deserved.

I wasn't even mad at him for running away. I was just disappointed in myself for needing him to stay.