He quickly grabbed the phone and dialed her number. He was silent as he listened to her and about 20 seconds into the call all of the blood drained from his face. I could feel the panic creep up on me as I watched his ashen face that was frozen in disbelief. When he hung up the phone he sat there quietly staring at the phone.
I was afraid to ask but I knew that I had to.
"What happened?"
My words must have jarred him out of his trance because he looked at me like he didn't know that I was in the room. His eyes began to fill with tears and I felt sick to my stomach. Something was definitely wrong.
His voice was deadpan as he slowly told me the news. "There was a train derailment in Paris and all 164 passengers were killed." His voice broke as he uttered the next words. "Sophia was on the train."
My stomach dropped into my feet and I got up and rushed over to him and put my arms around him. "Oh Sebastian, I'm so sorry." As soon as the words came out, Jaden popped into my head, and to say that I was terrified to ask about him was an understatement. "Please tell me Jaden wasn't with her."
The tears were flowing freely as his sad eyes held mine, and he let out a deep sigh. "No, he was at home with the nanny."
Thank God.
I gave him a tissue and gently caressed his back as I stood next to him. "What can I do to help you?"
He sat there with his head in his hands and I felt so bad for him because I could see how badly he was hurting.
"I have to get to Paris, I have to figure out how to tell Jaden his mommy won't be coming home." He collapsed against me, his shoulders shaking as his body was racked with sobs.
I rubbed his back trying to comfort him, my mind racing trying to figure out how I could help him.
"I will be here if you need me for anything, Sebastian."
He looked up at me with sad eyes as he stood up. "Thanks. I should probably go make arrangements to get to Paris. Mother is going to go with me. I will be in touch."
When he left my office I sat there shell-shocked. Sophia was dead. I couldn't focus on anything so I just sat at my desk and stared out the window. A few minutes later I heard a light knock at my door and turned to see Bev there, with bloodshot eyes.
"Come on in Bev." I found out a few weeks before that she had known Sebastian since he was a teenager and he thought of her as family. She was visibly upset as she sat down in my office.
"The news is awful, just awful." I handed her a tissue to wipe away her tears. "That poor little boy will have to grow up without his mother."
"I know, it is awful, just terrible, but the good thing is he has a father who loves him and plenty of other family who love him."
Bev looked at me with her red eyes. "Yes, I suppose so. Elena, you might think I am crossing the line here but I have to say something. I don't know where you two stand right now, but he is going to need you now more than ever."
I was surprised by her words. Did Sebastian tell her about us?
"I will be as helpful as possible Bev."
She looked at me and furrowed her brow. "I'm talking about being more than helpful Elena. Sebastian will need you. I don't mean to stick my nose in but I have never seen him behave like this over a woman as long as I have known him. When he talks about you his whole face lights up and I have never seen him so happy. Before this tragedy, I had never seen him as sad as he has been since you called things off."
I had to stop her because she didn't know the whole story. "Bev, obviously you know some of what has been going on with us but there's more and it's complicated. Things are going to be even more complicated now with what has happened to Sophia."
She shocked me by reaching across my desk and holding my hands. "I know dear but he will need you, and I can tell that you need him too."
I was a little taken aback by her words and I normally would have been annoyed that someone was meddling into my personal life, but Bev was a sweet lady and I could tell that she had good intentions. I also knew that it took a lot for her to say what she was saying because she was the type of person who tried to keep things strictly professional while we were at work. So whatever Sebastian had said to her obviously had struck a chord.
"I know you care about Sebastian Bev, I will be there for him."
It was easier for me to say that than to launch into a long explanation of everything that had been going on with us. And besides, I really was going to be there for him, he was hurting and I hated seeing that.
She smiled at me and patted my hands before standing up. "Good, well I better get back to work. If you need me I will be at my desk."
I threw myself into work to try and get everything that had happened off of my mind, and it almost worked. A few hours later Sebastian stopped by my office to say goodbye. He had stopped crying and he almost looked like himself again except I could see the sadness in his eyes.
"I am going to pick up my mother and then we are going to take the jet to Paris. Jaden is staying with Sophia's parents so at least he has family there." He reached out and caressed my cheek. "I will call you as soon as I have a chance."
"Okay, I'm here if you need to talk. Have a safe flight."
Chapter Seventeen – Making Up
Over the next few days I jumped for the phone every time it rang hoping it was Sebastian. Finally, on Friday afternoon, he called me and it was such a relief to hear his voice, he sounded much better than he did the day he got the news.
"How is Jaden?"
"Kids are really resilient, thank goodness, so he's doing okay. The funeral was yesterday and he cried the whole time but then he crashed for the rest of the afternoon. He misses his mom and I don't think he quite understands what's going on, but he knows that his mommy is in heaven now."
"And you? How are you doing Sebastian?"
"I'm okay, it's been tough but we're going to be okay. My mom has been incredible. When we get home I would really like for you to meet her, Elena."
"I would love to. Do you know when you will be coming home?"
"We will be back in about a month. I have a lot of loose ends to tie up here and I have to get some things in order. Can I see you Wednesday the 23rd for dinner?"
"Yes, of course."
No more turning him down, no more needing more time. I loved Sebastian and I wanted to be with him. The fact that he had a son would just have to be something that I accepted if I wanted to be with him. He and Jaden were a package deal, one that I was now positive I wanted to accept. I hated to see him hurting and when Bev insinuated that I was the reason that he was hurting so much before the tragedy happened, I couldn't stand to think of it. I didn't ever want to be the one who hurt him so deeply.
"I can't wait to see you, Elena." I heard the happiness in his voice and it made me feel good. "Are you doing okay? Are you ready for your court date next month?"
With everything that he had been through that week I was shocked that he remembered my court date.
"Yes, I'm ready. I just want it to be over Sebastian. I want that chapter of my life to close and I'm ready to make a fresh, new start."
"I know sweetheart. You know I would be there if I could, I hate that I can't be there for you."
"It's okay. We weren't even really on speaking terms when I found out about it so why would you be there?"
"Just because we weren't speaking regularly would not stop me from being there to support you Elena. I love you and I want to be sure that you will be okay. I'll be on a plane when you're in court, and then you'll probably be sleeping when I land so you'll have to fill me in on everything that happens when I see you on the 23rd."
"Okay, I will. Thanks for calling Sebastian, and I just want you to know that I've been thinking about you and Jaden and you're both in my prayers."
"Thank you, Elena, that means a lot to me. I have missed you so much and I cannot wait to see you next month."
"Same here."
When we finished our call I felt like I was on cloud nine. I had not felt so happy in such a long time and even though it was under a really sad circumstances, I was happy that things were getting back to the way they used to be between us.
That night I called Chloe to tell her what had happened.
"Oh my gosh Laney that is so awful! How sad for that little boy!"
"I know Chlo. My heart broke for Sebastian when he found out, I had never seen him like that. It was weird because it was like a light switch was flipped and I suddenly knew that I had to be with him. I didn't care about any other stuff that had happened between us, I just wanted to be able to make the hurt go away for him."