Jase by MJ Field Page B

least go the speed limit, I don’t want to be in this vehicle with you,” I felt my hands start to shake and I knew he did too.
    Jase pulled of the road and into a parking lot. I tried to open the door and he yanked my arm back towards him, “I didn’t leave you because I wanted to Carly. I left because I had to.”
    “I really don’t care,” I looked away.
    “I have one hour Carly before you need to go stand in line at the fucking airport running away from me.”
    “You did …”
    “You need to shut up and listen for ten fucking minutes Carly, just ten fucking minutes. I will start by saying, you promised your Mom you would finish school . I need you to promise me the same,” he looked at me.
    “Are you kidding me? ” I was sickened, “Do you think you have that much pull over me Jase? If you do… you’re crazy!”
    “ Carly, just listen for ten minutes please,” Jase scowled and looked down. “I should’ve told you this then. I thought I could walk away, I fucking did this for you.”
    Okay he had me, “Ten minutes.”
    “My ex’s father died. The fucker hated me. He has made my life hell for almost six years now. He blames her death on me, fuck so did I.” I watched as he took a deep breath. “He was my father’s commanding officer. If you’re not familiar with what that is, it means my father was his bitch even though he worked his way up and was a non-commissioned officer, he was still his bitch. Charlee, my ex, and I snuck around playing grab ass for two years. She was a year older than me, and she got pregnant. He forbid her to see me. Made threats about having fucking charges pressed because I was a minor. She went into labor way too fucking early and she died way too fucking young.” I immediately felt tears falling down the side of my face. “We had lawyers, my parents re-mortgaged the restaurant, twice. We sold the house and moved into a smaller one so we had more money for more lawyers. The furthest I ever got was supervised visits at a fucking shit hole place and then my father died. I couldn’t put my mother through anymore. I gave up hope. I begged her to leave it alone, not wanting that little girl to be raised without a mother and whose father was a fuck up,” he looked over at me and wiped tears off my face, “You okay?”
    “Please tell me there is a happy ending.”
    “Bitter sweet ending. I found this girl who made me want to stop being a fuck up. Stop running around with girls that I knew I would never love. I followed her ass to California and I left her, in a hotel. I pushed her away because I could not take being the one to ruin her dreams. This little brown haired blue eyed beauty took away the hurt like that,” he snapped his fingers and I smiled. “I thought that would be enough but there is this one hole in here,” he held his hand to his chest, “something still missing.”
    “ What’s her name,” he smiled, “Your daughter, what’s her name?”
    “Bella, which means beautiful. We had picked it togeth er. Apparently her father didn’t know that or he would probably have named her something else.”
    “Where is she?”
    “My house, her grandmothers are both there. She fell asleep in my arms at seven thirty. I put her in her little bed. Her eyes opened and she said, I love you Daddy ,” Jase’s eyes widened, “Crazy shit, huh?”
    “Does she live with you?”
    “She and her Nana are both here now, both living with me as of today. Best Christmas ever,” Jase looked happy, truly happy.
    “A happy ending,” I whispered.
    “Yeah,” Jase looked up and smiled quickly, “My new place is pretty nice. Charlotte took the money I sent every week for the past five and a half years and put it into an account. When Lee died, she called Mom. She and I met, first discussed six years’ worth of pain. She told me she was sorry. I get it you know, they lost Charlee. He blamed me, she stuck by her husband,” he looked up. “Bella knew about me through