Corbin Arrives
Chapter 27
Addison’s POV
The Nine–Month Mark
My son Corbin arrived on Valentine’s Day, and it was absolutely fitting. It was love at first sight
when I held him. My aunt and Tandy Pearson were in the room when he was born. They both
cried in happiness. After he was cleaned up, they started taking pictures of him while he was
still in the warmer.
“Addison, he looks just like Garrett did when he was born,” Tandy called over to me with tears running down her face. I knew how much she loved all three of her children. I was happy that
she was already in love with him.
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“He is so handsome,” my aunt said with a grin while taking pictures with her phone. She would send them to the rest of the family in the group chat so they would all be updated at once. Have you decided on a name?” she asked as she turned around to look at me.
“Corbin Eddison Pearson,” I replied with a smile. My family knew that I wanted to honor my father in some way. This may be my only child, so I found a name I liked to pay my respects.
“Thank you, Addison,” Tandy sobbed. She knew that until recently, I would leave the father’s name unknown on the birth certificate. It wasn’t an attempt to hurt Garrett. I was trying to avoid scandal, and we never discussed children. I didn’t know if he wanted to be a father or not. I thought that I was safe as he wore protection. It was just last month that Tandy told me that Garrett had wanted to see me. He wanted me and was looking everywhere for me. He wanted to have a child with me. The issue was, how could I believe him? About anything. There was no trust between us anymore. It was gone. He had killed it himself.
“I did it for Corbin,” I told her quietly. One day he will want to know his father. He would probably be hurt if they didn’t share a last name. I wanted to make him a Vilario, but I changed my mind after much thought. Garrett was his father. I didn’t have a reason, other than how he hurt me, not to acknowledge him as Corbin’s Dad. Maybe Garrett will do better for his son
than he did for me.
“I know, honey. One day, Garrett will learn how bad his choices and actions were and how he ended up hurting others. Right now, he is on the right path. He is focused on college and football. He is no longer sleeping around. I was hoping that if he continues to make a conscious effort to turn his life around, maybe you will give him another chance?” Tandy
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asked with hope in her voice.
My heart sped up in excitement. If I was being candid, that was what I wanted more than anything else. My brain, however, was the one who responded to her. “Tandy, I love Garrett, but he keeps hurting me. He does not care for me, and I feel like he lied about loving me just to get me to sleep with him. He was back with Tammy the next day. I saw it with my own eyes. I am glad he is trying to be a better person, but he has only made it nine months. I think it is too
soon to say that he has changed and become a better person,” I replied critically.
“Yes, it’s too soon, but how about when the baby is a little older? Like on his first birthday? I
would hate that he missed out so much with Corbin. I get it. Actions have consequences. He
will feel awful when he finds out what it cost him. I just don’t want him to miss all of Corbin’s
firsts. His first steps, his first words, you can’t get those moments back,” Tandy responded.
She was still advocating for Garrett. I get it. From the first moment I held him, I knew I would do anything to protect him, even from his own father.
“Tandy, I get it. I understand what you are saying. But his dream has always been to have a
pro career. I am not going to take that away from him. He will eventually go somewhere else
to live. He will have to go to where he was drafted. I am sure he will get picked up in the first
three rounds of the NFL draft. He will be gone from here for the first four years as a rookie. I
will wait two years and introduce him to his son on his second birthday. I don’t have any belief
that he wants me and Corbin in his life. I know better than that. I won’t have him hating me if
you and Mr. Russell tried to push him into doing that, either,” I replied.
Tandy opened her mouth to reply, but my aunt said, “Three years. He needs to fly right for
three years. Then, Addison would consider giving him another chance. But you can’t warn him,
Tandy. He needs to wait for Addison on his own. He doesn’t need to know that she had his
baby. He cut her out of his life so easily, and she still doesn’t know why. He allowed his
girlfriend,” My aunt had to stop speaking, and her expression was one of disgust all over her
face. Her lips were pursed, and I knew she was angry but struggling to keep from saying how
she felt.
“He allowed Tammy to bully my Addi for years. Continually harping on her weight. Addi is a
beautiful woman, both inside and out. The bullying she was subjected to has affected the way
that she sees herself. The damage had been done. She is working hard to get past things, but
Garrett ripped her heart. She may not admit it, but I see it. It is obvious to anyone who loves
her that she is still hurting over what he did. No excuses. He screwed up, he needs to walk the
walk, before I believe him either. It is a good time frame. He needs to make it to Addi’s
twenty–first birthday, and she might give him another chance. It would be best for him to start
a relationship with his son. On the bright side, he already has the first nine months under his belt. He just has a little over two years to go. If he can do this, he may see all the milestones
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Corbin Arrives
with their second child. A blind man can see how much she still loves him,” my aunt said with
a grin.
My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “Am I that easy to read?” I asked.
“Only to someone who knows you, honey. We know you, and you have loved my son your whole life. That was why Ana and I started dreaming of our families being united in marriage,” Tandy admitted with a sigh. I sighed, too; my mother doted on Garrett the way Tandy doted on me. They had always wanted us to be together. Whatever happened was never on me. I wasn’t the one who was responsible for breaking our friendship apart. That was all Garrett. I didn’t know what Tammy said to him to get him to cut me off like he had, but I was sure she was
involved.
“OK, I am sure he can do it. I won’t tell him about Corbin. But, no matter what happens between them, I want Russell and I to have a good relationship with him,” Tandy said as he
stroked his soft brown hair.
“I agree. I want the same thing myself. That was why I mentioned including you and Russell when we first discovered Addi was pregnant. Even though she was still hurt about what happened, she decided instantly that she wanted you both to know your grandson. Addi is sweet, and you have known her for her entire life. I also hope that Garrett will also come to his senses. I also want him to meet the baby. I agree with Addison, but he also needs to grow up and see that his choices led us here. Corbin is a direct result of that. Addi just wants to ensure he won’t instantly accept them out of guilt or responsibility. She doesn’t want him to blame them ten years down the road for costing him his chance at the pros,” my aunt admitted.
“I don’t want him to blame me for missing out on what he wants the most,” I admitted.
“Addison, I think you’re what he wants the most. He’s still looking for you. He is so worried. I think you should meet him without the baby. To see how he feels,” Tandy suggested. I just
shook my head.
I worried he would have all of Garrett’s features, which might make it hard to keep him hidden. A few minutes later, I watched as he opened his eyes in the low lighting in the room. My smile covered my face as I saw my baby looking up at me with my green eyes. That was enough of a difference to keep him from being Garrett’s twin. I was thrilled that he had the same eyes as
and my father. His name is set in stone now.
me,
He was a handsome little guy. He was holding my finger as I tried to nurse him. It didn’t go well, but the amount of love I had for him was incredible. I would do everything in my power to keep him happy and healthy. I had hope that Garrett would follow through and continue to become the man that we needed him to be. I wanted us to be a family. My hope was
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Corbin Arrives
short–lived, as it crashed and burned just a few minutes later.
My head was screaming at me that he wouldn’t be able to do it. Not for three whole years. It would be impossible for him to deny himself. The most I could hope for was a year, two years, tops. Most likely, not even that. He has shown me numerous times that I don’t matter to him, over and over again. I felt I should’ve spoken up and insisted he have a shorter timeframe, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to do that.
I knew that if he met our son, he would instantly fall in love with him, too. Was I being greedy by wanting him to want to be with us because he loved us? Was that too much to ask? For Garrett to love me, for me. Not just as the mother of his son. My mind and heart were warring against each other. I could see both sides.
My mind was still fueled by anger. Anger at being deceived so easily. My heart wanted him to love us so badly. I had loved him for years. Since we turned fifteen, I have held out hope that Garrett would talk to me about what happened. His insistence that I ‘knew why he was mad at me‘ was incorrect. I still don’t know why to this day. He always refused to talk to me about it. But it didn’t matter to me what the reason why was anymore. I didn’t need to know why. I had just been happy to be with him.
Now, my heart insists it can all work out because, in the back of my mind, I still hope for it to happen. Holding my baby in my arms didn’t help at the moment. I knew for the rest of my life, I would have a daily reminder of my love for Garrett.
