Remind Me « Chase Elliott »

Chapter Twenty // Saved

"What do you mean you're pregnant?!" I sat at the dining room table, staring down at the ultrasound pictures as my dad stood up from his chair in complete outrage. "Sadie! How did you allow this to happen?" I thought it would be smart to tell my parents once the doctor confirmed what I already knew and at 4 ½ months pregnant, I could no longer hide it. There was no way in hell I was going to abort it, so I told my parents thinking they'd support me. But I was wrong, so, so wrong.

"Is that how you lived out in Nashville? Sleeping around in hopes you'd land a singing career? I'm so disappointed in you Sadie. I'm appalled to call you my daughter." I sat in silence, what was I to say to that? I know we've butt heads every since I was old enough to voice my opinion, but this? It was too much.

"You're overreacting," my voice was so weak that I knew before I was finished with that sentence the wolf would pounce.

"Overreacting? Me? I provide you with a roof over your head, food in the fridge and money in your bank account so you can life a perfect life with hopes that you'd actually want to do something with it. But then you go behind my back and run off to Nashville only to come home knocked up."

"That's not what happened..."

"That's exactly what happened." He crossed his arms, which made him look even more menace.

I opened my mouth to say no, but he asked the one question I was dreading more than this conversation. "Who's the father?" I blinked, my throat suddenly closing up. "You don't even know!" He threw his arms up in the air looking at me with bewilderment.

"It's..." I can't say his name, I can't!

Chase and I had a long conversation of what being pregnant would do for his career. He said there will be some bumps along the road, but everything will work out. He's proof of that. His dad was at the top of career when Chase was born and his parents managed to balance home life with the racing aspect of it. "I will not leave you alone to raise our baby." I've held onto that promise for the last few months and I can't let go of that now.

"Tell me!"

"It's Chase's," I whispered.

Silence.

Then he spoke, "I knew you were wrong for him the moment you two started to date." His voice was calm, scary calm. "I thought it was just young puppy love that would be over before it even started. But then it got serious, too serious. So I had to intervene."
"What?" I blinked up at him.
"Who do you think introduced Chase to Britney?" The wind was knocked out of my chest and I felt sick to my stomach.

It made complete sense though.

Chase was never the one to go running after girls. When I met him, he was shy and stuttered, but when we got to talking about racing, he couldn't shut up. Somewhere between dirt tracks and late summer nights, we fell in love, until...

"I can't believe you would do that to your own daughter!"

"You were a distraction and if I would have told you to stop dating him, you wouldn't have listened." He looked at me, his eyes icy with no ounce of love there. I'm starting to think he never loved me because I wasn't the son he always wanted. "You're going to ruin his career if you bring that bastard into this world." His icy glare shot right into my heart and his words twisted like knives. "You've been a disappointment to the family and it ends today." He started to walk out of the room, but stopped right when he got to the doorway. "I no longer have a daughter as far as I'm concerned. I want you gone before I get back or so help me God."

That's when I lost it.

The tears that I've been holding back started to stream down my face. I reached out for my mom but she shot up out of her seat, handed me the ultrasound and ushered me to my room. She didn't say a word as she started to pack for me and as I just stood there. "You're on his side?" I couldn't believe it, my own mother!

"He's just angry, Sadie, let him cool off for a bit."

"Angry or not, he just disowned me!" Anger drove me to help my mom pack up my things in double time. By the time I threw my suitcases into the back of my truck, an hour barely went by.

It wasn't until I got to the end of my driveway when things start to sink in and then further down the road when it became impossible to drive with tears filling my eyes. I pulled over and grabbed my phone out of my purse and dialed the only number that I could. "Hey, this is Chase, I can't come to the phone right now." I hung up and pressed redial, "Hey, this is Chase." I redialed again, and again and again.

Every time I got his voicemail, panic began to bubble up inside of me. "Chase!" I cried, finally allowing the "beep" to come on to leave a message. "I don't know where I am, but I need you. My dad kicked me out. He knows. I'm so so sorry. I messed everything up." I hiccuped, rushing through my erratic thoughts. "Chase," I cried one more time before hanging up, pressing redial. Still no answer. So I sent him a text save me from this hell.

I crawled up in a ball on my seat, holding onto my phone, wishing and praying it would ring. My life was shattering all around me and there was nothing I could do about it.

I squeezed my eyes tightly and prayed. I prayed for the safety of my baby and that I would be the best damn mother and will be able to afford to give it half the lifestyle I grew up having. I prayed for Chase, for him to have endless love that my father doesn't have.

The door to my truck flew open, "Sadie?" I sat up and launched myself at Chase as he climbed in. "I've got you now, Princess," he cooed in my ear, rubbing his hands up and down my neck. "Sadie, I got you. You're safe now." He rocked me back and forth, his soothing touch trying to calm down my troubled soul.

"How did you managed to find me?"

He smiled, "I know my girl." I rolled my eyes at him. "Is that a smile I see on your lips?"

"No, seriously, tell me."

"Your mom actually. She showed up at the meeting I was in and told me everything. She's on your side, Sadie." I was shocked but not shocked, she always does stuff behind my dad's back. I waited for another explanation but I didn't get one. Then I started to laugh. "Like I said, I know my girl." I somehow drove down to the river were Chase and I always met up at in the middle of the night. My subconscious lead me here.

"You mean your girls." The fading sunlight cast a glow over Chase's face and I could see the exact moment when he got what I said.

"It's a girl?" He gasped, his eyes started to swim with tears.

"Uh huh," I smiled and handed him the ultrasound. Chase's smile grew so large and I think that was the moment it really hit him that he's going to be a dad. "You're going to be an amazing father, Chase." He touched the picture with his fingers and then repeated the motion on my stomach.

"I'm never going to let anything happen to you," his voice was so soft, "to both of you." He looked at me then, leaning in and sealing the promise with a kiss.