by Emily Camp
“Can we stay with you?” Mindy turned toward Parker.
Bree thought it might be coming, but she wasn’t sure Mindy was dumb enough to ask. Guess she proved she was.
From the faint light coming in, Bree spotted Parker’s square jaw clench.
“Yeah!” Bryson bounced like it was some sort of sleep over. “Can we? Huh? Can we?”
Parker smiled at his little brother through the rearview mirror.
“Just one night,” Mindy sniffed. “It’s late.” Her voice quivered. “I don’t have the time to find a place … and …,” she sucked in a shaky breath. “Lloyd …,” she cried out his name.
Parker’s chest inflated. He took his time answering. “Just one night.”
Bryson cheered, causing her ears to ring. “Can we stay up all night and eat pizza and Skittles?”
Parker laughed at this.
“Bryson, it’s a school night.” Mindy held her forehead.
So now Mindy decides to be a mom? Bree gritted her teeth, staring out the window.
“But I’m hungry,” Bryson whined, and Bree knew this to be the truth because she’d been hearing his little belly grumble since they’d climbed in the vehicle.
“It’s not like we have a way to school,” Maggie smacked her gum.
Bree and Maggie both knew their mom wasn’t going to attempt to get them there. Bryson and Maggie were in a whole other school district, so it wasn’t like Bree was going to be able to cart them over in the morning, either. Mindy would be passed out to the world and expecting everyone’s pity from the recent breakup. That was only until next week, when she found another man or was back with Lloyd. Bree sure hoped not, but that was the cycle.
“We can order pizza when we get to my place, but you have to sleep tonight.” Parker looked at Bryson again in the rearview.
Bryson tilted his head for a minute. Then he smiled and shrugged. “Okay.”
Knowing that Bryson would be all right with Parker for the night, Bree was ready for home. She yawned and her eyelids grew heavy again. “Can you drop me off on your way?”
“Awe, you’re not going to stay?” Bryson poked out a lip, and his big brown eyes beamed up at her like a deer and it made her feel good to be wanted.
“I’ll come by after school tomorrow.” She pressed a kiss to his grimy little head.
***
By the time she walked in her door, she was ready to collapse. Walking carefully down the hall, so as not to wake Nate and Lexi, her foster parents and youth pastors.
“You’re home.” Lexi’s soft voice said from the dimly lit living room.
Bree paused, turning toward the noise. Lexi was curled up next to Nate on the sofa. He had a tablet in his hand, the only light in the room.
Nate stretched an arm past Lexi and flipped on the lamp. Lexi sat up from her reclined position, placing her bright-socked feet on the floor.
“I’m sorry I’m so late. I was hoping I wouldn’t wake you.”
Nate waved his hand, motioning her his way.
Was she in trouble? Things had been great since she moved in and though she did have rules, she never broke them. It was a nice change from being at her dad’s, where she could do nothing right.
She took a careful step their way, looking behind her.
Lexi frowned and looked down at her ruby red finger nails, her dark chestnut hair falling over her face.
Bree swallowed the lump in her throat. Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good.
“Have a seat,” Nate leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.
Bree eased down in the recliner, staying on the edge.
Nate’s hand fell on Lexi’s knee. Bree’s chest felt heavy. On her lap, she twisted her hands. The night had already been long, with nothing going right.
“As you know, I have a daughter in Florida,” Nate said, glancing Lexi’s way.
“Yeah,” Bree’s voice barely came out.
“Well, I was offered a job. We haven’t made this decision lightly.”
Bree’s stomach turned, feeling like she was going to throw up.
“We’ve been praying about it for a while now.”
“What?” Bree blinked and gave her best fake smile.
“We’re moving.” Lexi’s voice was almost a whisper and she wrapped her hand around Nate’s arm, leaning into him.
“To Florida?”
Nate cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah.”
“We love you,” Lexi’s voice cracked.
“But … you have a daughter. I understand.” Though she was hurt, she did understand. She couldn’t imagine being that far away from Bailey.
“We aren’t going anywhere until we know you have a place to go. We would take you with us in a heartbeat, but we also know that wouldn’t be fair to Garrett.” Lexi said.
Unable to form words, Bree nodded.
Lexi leaned forward, placing a hand on Bree’s knee. “I don’t want you to feel like we’re abandoning you.”
“I … I don’t.” But she kind of did.
The room was silent for a minute, and Bree knew they meant well and would never just leave her for nothing, but she needed to get this day as far behind her as possible. “Um. I’m kind of tired.”
“Of course, we didn’t mean to keep you up.”
“You didn’t,” Bree said.
***
Though she always wanted the quiet, somehow it left her feeling lonely, too, especially now with Nate and Lexi’s news. The empty crib seemed sad without Bailey in the corner of her room. It always felt like something was missing when her baby was gone.
She toed off her shoes one at a time as she stepped toward the bed waiting to welcome her. She shimmied out of her jeans, grabbing her phone from the pocket, and crawled under the covers, not even enough energy to throw on sweats. As tired as she was, she figured she’d fall right to sleep. But now, in the stillness and the dark, the fight she had with Garrett haunted her along with everything else.
The phone chimed when she plugged it in. She scrolled down through her contacts, finding his name, and stared at the picture. It was a face shot of him holding Bailey, her fuzzy little head next to his. What was one of the things she always heard Randy and Robin telling newlyweds? Never go to bed angry? Though they weren’t newlyweds, they were still a couple. She wondered if Garrett went to bed angry then remembered he had Bailey, he wasn’t sleeping.
She began a text with a simple, Hey, then hesitated before sending, feeling silly because he’d been her boyfriend for over a year now and they had a baby together. She shouldn’t be nervous about sending a text to him. She pressed her thumb on send and it seemed like forever before the reply came. Maybe he was changing a diaper or feeding. Or he could be pacing the room with Bailey propped on his shoulder screaming her head off like Bree spent many nights.
Then the guilt hit her.
She shouldn’t have let him take her home. He needed his sleep. He was an athlete.
Her phone finally chimed, making her heart leap like it did a year ago whenever she’d receive his texts. She opened the conversation, not knowing what she expected, but it wasn’t the simple, hey, back, like they were starting all over.
She bit her bottom lip, her heart crushed as she wrestled with whether she should type I’m sorry or I love you. But what did she have to be sorry about? Shouldn’t he be the one to apologize? His dad did have her side earlier, certainly that meant she was the one in the right. For a split second, she thought about telling him about Nate and Lexi, but she couldn’t bring herself to even think it. She finally settled for typing. How’s Bailey?
The response this time was immediate. Sleeping. You should be, too.
Bailey was sleeping? Bree checked the time on her phone it was close to midnight. How did he get her to sleep? Bailey never slept at night.
She fought back the feeling of being inadequate. She typed in, Did I wake you?
No.
But nothing else. He wasn
’t going to budge and be the one to apologize this time, obviously. It was on Bree. If she wanted to be able to sleep, she needed to at least know things were okay with them.
I’m sorry. She finally typed.
Me, too. Tears filled her eyes at his reply. She hated when it felt like he didn’t understand her or was mad. How’d things go with your mom?
Same old drama.
Doesn’t surprise me.
She waited for him to say something else about it. She knew he wasn’t fond of either of her parents, and it was only because he cared.
You should get some sleep.
She smiled at her phone as she replied. I know. She left her thumb hover after sending the text then typed I love you.
Love you, too. See you at school. Though she was a little disappointed that was the end of the conversation, she felt much better knowing he didn’t hate her. Bree placed the phone on the nightstand by her bed. The screen lit up the picture of her and Garrett in the hospital right after she had Bailey. She’d framed it and kept it by her head at night. Seeing his smiling face reminded her how much he cared that day and everything felt like it was going to be okay. Though she was facing more than being a teen mom now, somehow just looking at that photo gave her the same feeling.
Chapter Three
Bree elbowed her way through the sea of sweaty guys and giggly girls.
She’d always dreamed of going to college, though now just the thought of getting through high school was enough to make her panic. Last night, she didn’t even have the baby and still couldn’t wake up in time. With her hair pinned up in a sloppy bun, she threw on one of Garrett’s old tee shirts and the jeans she had on yesterday. She’d barely had time to brush her teeth, let alone slap any make-up on.
By the time she’d reached her locker, Jake Porter was blocking it. Jake was the classic player. He could probably have most girls in the school, so why did he still think or care to have a chance with Carly, who occupied the locker next to hers, after what happened over the summer?
She could only see the back of Carly’s blond curls. Her face was buried in her locker. Bree couldn’t hear what Jake was saying to her, because of the murmurs and jeers in the hall around her, but his slimy smile and creeper eyes on Carly’s backside gave Bree a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She cleared her throat. Jake’s pea green eyes turned to her.
“Hey, baby mama.” He quirked his mouth sideways like he was clever.
“Move.” She shoved her shoulder between him and Carly.
“Easy,” Jake backed away, hands palms up toward her. Then his ADD obviously kicked in, because he was shouting down the hall harassing another victim. Bree couldn’t understand why he didn’t learn anything from the school shooting last year. If he had the achy scar she bore on her leg, then maybe he’d remember the cost of bullying.
“Thanks.” Carly’s locker clanged shut. She leaned against the metal door, her books tucked under her hand.
“No problem.” Bree dug into the mess on her shelf. Last year, she was more organized. It was Carly who jammed papers and notebooks and anything else she could fit into her locker.
Where was her geometry book again? That thing seemed to have legs of its own. She shuffled through papers, the form for the school daycare that she kept forgetting to fill out, the tests that she didn’t get the grade she’d wanted on because every time she tried to sit down with Bailey to study, Bailey squalled until Bree stood and paced around the room with her on her shoulder. She wasn’t used to getting anything below a B. If she brought a C home when she lived with her dad, she’d be grounded for weeks.
“I have your geometry book.” Carly held it out.
Bree stopped her frantic searching to look at her best friend. She wanted to hug her. Mr. Aiken was one of the teachers who seemed to give her a harder time for having a kid. If she showed up to class without a book, it would only give him justification for how he treated her.
“You left it at Parker’s.”
“Thank God.” Relieved, Bree let out an exasperated sigh and tucked the book under her arm. Last night, before church, she’d done her homework at Parker’s apartment with Carly while they took turns walking Bailey around and picking Parker’s math-genius brain.
With the bell close to ringing, the hallway traffic thinned. “We better get to class.”
“I can’t believe Parker let Mindy stay last night.” Carly fell into stride beside her.
Of course Carly knew. Parker wouldn’t go a full night without talking to his girlfriend.
“He only came because of you.” Bree kept moving, a little faster now. If she stepped into the classroom even a second late she would get flack for it.
“Slow down, would you? I don’t want to break a sweat before first period,” Carly huffed from a few steps behind.
“I don’t want to give Mr. Aiken a reason to fail me,” Bree called over her shoulder.
“I think you need to join the track team or something,” Carly panted, though increased her steps.
This made Bree laugh. “Sure, I’ll fit that in right between three A. M. feedings and afternoon diaper changes.”
Carly giggled at this. Why was she so giggly this morning? Carly wasn’t the morning person out of the two of them. Then again, Carly was always able to get her full eight hours of sleep. That was, unless she chose to sacrifice a few of them to texting her boyfriend. Bree missed the days when she did that. Somehow, missing sleep by choice didn’t seem as tiring as not being able to choose.
The bell chimed just before she stepped foot in the room. Mr. Aiken looked at her from his perch, leaning against his desk. His wire rimmed glasses sitting on his rat-like face.
“Miss Morris, Miss Ley, so nice of you to join us today.”
Jake coughed something in his hand, but Bree didn’t catch what the word was, and she didn’t want to know either. With him being on the football team, she could tell Garrett about it, but she didn’t want Jake to even think he was getting under her skin.
Bree apologized to Mr. Aiken, and shuffled to her seat with her head down. Unfortunately, Jake sat directly behind her and, for some reason, he felt he was entitled to stretch his long legs out on either side of her desk. He didn’t make any attempts to move. She had to step over his bright blue high top, though she was tempted to step directly on his foot.
He let out a low chuckle and, when she glared at him in response, he winked.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Porter?” Mr. Aiken tilted his head to the side, looking around the students in front of Jake.
“No sir, none at all,” Jake replied.
Bree stared at the graffiti that had been carved into the desk, a barely legible You’re mom is … the last word scratched out. She rolled her eyes at the ignorance. At least if you’re going to leave a mark somewhere, make sure you use the correct form of “your.”
Satisfied there were no more distractions, Mr. Aiken collected homework then headed to the whiteboard for instructions. Bree dug her glasses out and propped them on her face. She hated wearing them and only did so when she absolutely needed to. Her vision wasn’t bad enough to wear them all the time, so contacts were out.
“Baby mama.” Bree felt Jake’s sour breath on the back of her neck. She didn’t respond, only looked up at the board, trying to pay attention. Of course, that didn’t deter Jake. “Garrett was dragging at practice yesterday. Why don’t you take care of your own kid? You’re killing his game.”
Even though she knew Jake was only trying to get a reaction, the comment still hit a spot. She already felt guilty. Garrett was good enough he had a chance to get a scholarship for football, but not if he was too tired to play to his full potential.
Then Jake began tapping her ankle with his foot, which was still stretched beside her, and quietly rapped, “She a baby mama, always full of drama.”
Bree finally snapped around, “Shut up.” It came out louder than she’d wanted it. There were a few ‘oohs’ that came f
rom some of their classmates, mostly the ignorant boys.
“Miss Morris,” Mr. Aiken’s voice sent a heavy rock of dread to her stomach, “Mr. Porter.” At least he wasn’t singling her out. Bree turned back around in her seat. “Why must you two disrupt my class every day?”
Bree opened her mouth to reply, to tell him it wasn’t her, that it was Jake, but she didn’t get the chance.
“Perhaps whatever problems you two have, Principal Turner can help you figure it out.” He pointed toward the door.
Bree practically jumped from her seat. Her eyes burned. She bit her bottom lip. Keeping her face down, she held her books against her and shuffled toward the door, hearing Jake argue with the teacher behind her. Arguing wasn’t going to do her any good, Mr. Aiken hated her.
The halls were empty, and she went through with a million things going around in her mind. She knew going to high school and having a baby would be hard, but it didn’t seem to be difficult for Garrett. He didn’t have teachers looking at him like his future was over. He didn’t have classmates harassing him for making her take care of the baby the nights she had to.
“Wait up!” Jake’s footfalls were quick behind her, which only made her walk faster. “Geez, can’t you take a joke.”
She continued to ignore him, barreling into the office before he could catch up. To her surprise, that was even worse. Paige Mullins, her arch enemy, sat on the other side of the desk. Of course she’d be a student aid. She seemed to always have her nose in everything.
Paige’s bleach-blond hair sat in perfect ringlets over her shoulders. Her make-up looked as if she’d just stepped out of a Sweet Sixteen Magazine, with bright, glossy lips and thick, dark eyelashes.
Bree tried not to compare herself. With the changes the pregnancy made to her body, she was no longer comfortable in her own skin. Not having time to primp only made her feel frumpier.
“Coach’s been waiting on these, thanks.” Garrett’s voice coming from the other side of the door made her heart drop.
Paige smirked at Bree, then turned her pageant-perfect smile toward Garrett when he appeared in Bree’s view with a box under his arm.