even though I had it, I couldn’t for the life of me tell her before James. The sudden announcement of him having other affairs left a bad taste in my mouth. Had I been conned? Were my suspicious right all along? “I’m not going to sit here and listen to you belittle me. If what you’re saying is true… If James had been lying…” I couldn’t continue. I had to get out of there.
As I darted for the exit I heard her threatening my future. “End this today, or your scholarship with be retracted, and I’ll make sure you never get accepted into any graduate program out there.”
It didn’t take me long after leaving the dean’s office to start blowing up James’ phone. He owed me an explanation. I wanted answers, and I wasn’t going to wait until he was in a better mood.
“Cammie, now is not a good time.”
“I just saw your wife, James. We need to talk. Now!”
The line was silent for a few moments. “Meet me at the house in an hour.”
“Do you have anything to say to me beforehand?”
“I will see you in a bit.” He hung up without notice. For a little while I stood there staring at my phone expecting him to call and apologize. When it didn’t happen I became irate. How could he treat me like this after everything I’d risked for us to be together? None of it was making sense.
James wasn’t at the house when I arrived. Just like the other times we’d met there, I headed upstairs to the back bedroom to wait. While the time passed, I started researching the college and any information I could find on James. There was little listed. He’d won several awards and donated his time to multiple charities. Then I decided to call in for reinforcements.
My sister Cassie was dating a FBI agent. With his credentials he could certainly do a background check on James to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. I knew the results wouldn’t be immediate, but just knowing I may have an solution for everything made the waiting a bit easier to handle.
The call went well. She took down his information and promised to get back to me. Since she was in a bit of a hurry, it was easy to end the call without much explaining. All I said was that my shady professor was hiding something and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t on the FBI’s most wanted list. It wasn’t like I had to nerve to tell her the truth, not yet at least.
James showed up after it had fallen dark outside. He looked rough, like he hadn’t slept the night before. I rushed over to comfort him, completely forgetting about all the unanswered questions I had stored up for his arrival. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m better now. Forgive me for earlier. I have something personal I’m dealing with.”
“I think you should sit down. There’s a few things I need to address.”
“If it’s about your meeting with my wife you can save it. I know about the pictures.”
“So she’s aware we’ve been having an affair. Is that what you were mad about earlier?”
He shook his head and left my comforting arms to pace around the room. “Part of it.”
“Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
“What else did you need to address?” He changed the subject. I wanted to know why, but something was more important than photos or concerns.
“James, I’m pregnant.”
I don’t know what I expected out of him. I think in my messed up head I assumed he be ecstatic. I figured he’d grab me, spinning me around in celebration. There was no smile. His grin was angry, disturbed even. His eyes lit up as he approached me, taking me wrist as he spoke. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“No,” I pleaded. “It’s true. I’ve been sick. I took a test this morning.”
“My wife. Does she know?” He was almost shaking me. “Did you tell her?”
I pulled out of his hold. “No! Of course not. I’d never do that to you.”
James turned his back to me. He held his hands up in the air and let out a growling sound. “This can’t be happening.”
“It is. I can assure you it’s not a joke.”
He took me by the arm again and started leading me down the stairs. “Where are we going? You’re hurting me, James.”
“We need to make sure. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Since he was in rare