by Thomas, C. M
Copyright© 2018 by C. M. Thomas
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and specific other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN: 9781720028789 (print)
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not buy it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and obtain your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Edited by: Claudette Cruz (The Editing Sweetheart)
Cover design: Les (German creative)
Ebook formatting: Sarco Press
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental.
Contact information: [email protected]
1. edition
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the three girls who, like my husband, knew I was writing my first book before anyone else did.
Eva – We have supported each other through ups and downs for more than fifteen years. And no matter what, you’ve always been there for me. I’ll use this to thank you for your support and to remind you that I’m always here for you too.
Jeanette – I really appreciate all your support and just want you to remember that I will always support you. We haven’t known each other for more than a couple of years, but our friendship has been growing fast, and I’m happy to have you as my friend.
Maiken – You are one of my biggest cheerleaders. Your support during this process has been amazing. I’m so grateful to have you as both a colleague and a friend, and I will always support you no matter what. Remember that.
To all three of you – I hope that I’m just half the friend to you as you are to me. The three of you mean the world to me.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue: Evie
Chapter 1: Evie
Chapter 2: Liam
Chapter 3: Evie
Chapter 4: Liam
Chapter 5: Evie
Chapter 6: Liam
Chapter 7: Evie
Chapter 8 : Liam
Chapter 9: Evie
Chapter 10: Liam
Chapter 11 : Evie
Chapter 12: Liam
Chapter 13: Evie
Chapter 14: Liam
Chapter 15: Evie
Chapter 16: Liam
Chapter 17: Evie
Chapter 18: Liam
Chapter 19: Evie
Chapter 20: Liam
Chapter 21: Evie
Chapter 22: Liam
Chapter 23: Evie
Chapter 24: Liam
Chapter 25 : Evie
Chapter 26: Liam
Epilogue: Evie – ten months later
Acknowledgements
Prologue:
Evie
Two pink stripes… I gasp and rest my hands on the counter. I try to control my breathing and not crumble onto the floor. I look down at three pregnancy tests lying on the counter in my parents’ bathroom. Breathe, Evie.
I’m eighteen years old. I can’t be a mom. I’m pregnant. How can I be pregnant? Liam always wears protection. Right? I try to think back over the last couple of months. I’m pregnant. My boyfriend is about to get a record deal, I hope. My parents will kill me, and this will ruin everything. Right?
Can I do this? Be a mom at eighteen? I know my parents won’t support this, so I have to do it on my own. Can I do that? Liam will help, that I know. But I can’t ruin his future. He and his brothers always wanted to be famous in the music world. I can’t ruin that. He will give it all up for me and our baby. I can’t let him do that.
I slide down along the wall and sit on the floor. Why me? I come from a very religious family; my parents don’t believe in sex before marriage. Me? I really don’t care. As long as it is with someone you love. And that I do—I love Liam.
From the moment I saw him. Even though back then it was not love, but more liking a boy. We were, after all, only six years old the first time we met. I was playing with his twin, Amy. But from that moment I always had this feeling of being drawn towards him. And I know he felt the same—he told me many times.
Now we’re days away from our high school graduation ceremony, and I’m pregnant. This was supposed to be the time of our life. Me going to college to get my degree so I can work with children from abused homes. Liam working towards his dream of being able to earn a living by playing music. This will ruin everything. But an abortion is not an option. I would never forgive myself if I had one. I need to figure this out.
The front door closes with a loud bang. My parents are home.
“Evie, you home?” my mom yells.
“Yes, in the bathroom,” I answer. I hurry to get up from the floor, take the three tests and the packages they were in, and put them all in my backpack. Then I walk out. “Hi Mom, Dad. You had a good meeting?”
“Yes, it was very educational,” my dad says, and walks down the hall to his office. Both my parents are teachers. They work at a private high school in Colorado Springs, where everyone is as religious as they are. I went to school there until I finally convinced them that I would be fine at the high school here in Hoover Ridge. How I convinced them I can’t tell, but I think my mom helped convince my dad. That was two years ago. I love going to school with Amy, and of course Liam. The kids at my old school were never my friends, I really didn’t fit in there. My religious beliefs are just not the same as those of the other kids at my old school, or my parents, for that matter. Which is properly why I didn’t fit in at my old school.
The rest of the night seems to go like every other, and I go to sleep around ten. Liam is in LA right now, and won’t come back before Friday when we get our diplomas. I fall asleep resting both my hands on my stomach.
“We can do this, little one, promise,” I whisper before I close my eyes.
“What is this, evie?” my dad yells. I jump up from bed holding the covers close to my body. My dad is holding some piece of paper. I can’t see what, he is waving it around in front of him. His eyes are focused on me and the anger is streaming from him.
“I don’t know,” I answer, sleepy. I’m still not fully awake. But what he asks me next wakes me up completely.
“You don’t know? Are you pregnant?” my dad yells. His voice is sharp and angry. I look down at my hands and then close my eyes. How did they find out so fast? I look up at the paper my father has in his hand again. It’s the leaflet from the pregnancy test. Shit! I can’t lie to them, they will know.
“Yes,” I whisper. Tears are rolling down my cheeks.
“It’s that Camden boy, isn’t it?” my mom spits. My parents don’t like Liam. They hate that I want to be with him. They have forbidden me to see him, but I really didn’t care, so for the last two years we have been hiding our relationship from my parents. I think everyone else in town knows about it. But my parents sometimes can’t see beyond their own nose. Or maybe they just don’t want to see it.
“Yes.” I still don’t look at them.
&n
bsp; “Well, so much for us trusting that you would stay away from him,” my dad barks before he turns around and stomps out of my room.
“You stay in here until we figure out what to do about this and you,” my mom adds before she follows my father and slams the door behind her.
This can’t be happening. They will send me away or something. They will never be embarrassed around town because of this. Or among their friends in their community. Their religious community will never accept this, even if my parents would somehow accept this. I know they won’t, but for some reason I have this tiny hope that they love my enough to help me instead of kicking me out, or worse, sending me away. I look around for my phone. It’s not here. I must have left it in the kitchen last night. I need to call Liam. I need to get out of here before they send me away.
I walk out of my room and down the hall to the kitchen. I can’t see my parents around, so I quickly take my phone from the kitchen counter and start walking back to my room.
“I will take that.” I hear my father behind me. I turn around, knowing that this will only get worse if I don’t listen to him. Not that he would hit me or anything. But I don’t like when he gets angry. And right now, I know he is on the edge, which is the only reason why I don’t want to push him. I give him my phone and walk back to my room. I know I won’t get anywhere near the landline, because the only one in the house is in my father’s office, and knowing him, the door is locked. It always is when he isn’t in there. Why we even have a landline when it’s locked away I don’t know. I don’t think my parents use it; when they talk on the phone, it’s always on the mobile, not the landline.
Maybe they will just disown me or kick me out of the house. That would be okay. Or not okay. But better than them sending me away. I could find a small apartment and get a job. I also have some money saved. That will get me some time to figure out what I have to do next. And I need to talk to Liam. With his help we can make this work. With his family, who I know will support us, we can make this work. I just have to find a way to call him.
I don’t get the chance to call Liam before my parents make a decision that will change my life forever, because later that night they inform me that I will be moving to a home for teenagers who one way or another have embarrassed their family by not waiting until marriage to have sex, by being gay, or other things that are against the “rules.” I scream, yell, and cry, asking them not to send me away. But no matter what, they won’t listen. So here I am, on the way to some ranch called Crossroad Ranch, out in the middle of nowhere. When we get there, I take a quick look around while my father talks to the man who is responsible for this ranch. There are animals grassing on one side of the main house, while on the other side there are grasslands and more buildings. But what really catches my eye is the big fence all around the property. How am I going to get out of here? When we drove onto the ranch, we drove through a gate that only opened after my dad punched in a code.
My father gets a key to my room and then they move all my things into the room.
“You are going to stay here until I say otherwise, is that understood?” My father points a finger at me.
“You can’t keep me here against my will. I’m eighteen years old,” I yell. My heart is raising and jumping in my chest. The anger runs throughout my body. I have to fight this, not only for myself but for my child.
“I can, and I will. I’ll pay a lot of money to have you live here. And they will make sure you stay here. Don’t try to run. You won’t get far,” my dad responds. His voice is so calm, like this doesn’t affect him at all.
“But you’re my parents, how can you treat me like this? I know I embarrassed you both, but this is insane.” My voice, on the other hand, is full of emotions—hurt, anger, frustration. My body is trembling with emotions.
“This is the only way, honey.” This is the first time my mom says anything. “Don’t fight us about this, we know what’s best for you right now.” That’s more my dad than her talking.
This is hard for her. I can see it in her eyes, they are full of tears, but she is keeping it together. Probably so that my dad doesn’t get angry at her too. How can he do this to me? He is, after all, my father. Shouldn’t he want to keep me safe, help me when I need it and protect me?
“Please, Mom. Don’t make me stay here.” I start to cry again.
“Don’t make your mother feel guilty about this. It’s not her fault, it’s yours. You understand?” my father commands. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. I just nod. I know I can’t do anything about this. I just hope that I find a way to get out of here. I feel defeated.
“We will come visit once a month. And if you need anything, you can use the phone in the main house,” my dad says.
“What about my own phone, can’t I get that?” I know the answer to this already. He’s not stupid, he knows if I get my phone, the first thing I will do is call Liam or Amy.
“No. You will just call that boy and make him come get you. If you need anything, you can call us. Our number is the only one you are allowed to call,” my dad says, and leaves the room. “And don’t think you can borrow a phone from any of the other residents here. The only phone here is the landline in the main office.”
My mom comes over to me and gives me a hug.
“Stay strong, honey. This won’t be forever, okay?” I look into her eyes. They are full of sorrow.
“Okay, Mom. But please talk to him. Make him reconsider this.”
“I will try, honey,” she says before she leaves.
I look around the room. It’s small. There’s a bed and a small kitchen, if you can call it that. There is also a small table with two chairs and a small bathroom. I hope and pray to God that I don’t have to live here forever.
Chapter 1:
Evie
It was a little over three years since I last stepped foot inside this house. I took a look around the kitchen of my childhood home. It looked exactly the same as it did when I left. The kitchen and dining room were one big room. Kind of elegant, but at the same time very cold. There were no colors on the walls; it was all clean and white. Almost sterile, like a hospital. There was a big table with chairs around it. There was a cooking island with three chairs in front of it. The whole room looked exactly like my mom wanted it to look.
I remember when I was a child, if I left a fingerprint on anything, she would come right behind me and clean it. The only thing I really loved in this room were the big windows; they brought some much-needed brightness into the room. The reflections from the windows when the sun was shining gave the room some much-needed life. It gave the room colors and warmth.
The house hadn’t change at all since I left. Well, I didn’t really leave; I was forced to leave. This was my first home, my only home. I didn’t consider the room I spent the last three years living in as a home. More like a prison. But now I was here. Why?
My parents died in a car accident about three weeks ago. The grief I should be having over losing both my parents like that was not there. Maybe it would come at some point. Because no matter what, they were my parents and I loved them. I still loved them. I didn’t go to their funeral, and some might think less of me for not going. But I just made myself sit and cried over the people who took my freedom away from me. More than that, they took Alana’s dad away from her. For that, I would never forgive them. One thing was for them to decide that I shouldn’t be with Liam, but for them to decide that he shouldn’t get to know his daughter, and her not to know him, was unforgivable.
Right now, I was seeing this as the way for me to get my freedom back. That they had to die for me to get out from that awful place wasn’t right. I knew my mom tried multiple times to get my father to change his mind. Or so she said. I believed her, I could see it in her eyes. She wanted to have Alana and me close, but like in everything else, my father had the last word.
“Mommy.”
I snapped out of my own thoughts when I heard my daughter calling for me. My daughter. That was still weird to say or think, even though she would be three years old this September. I looked over at her and smiled. She was sitting on the couch, rubbing her eyes.
“Where we are, Mommy?” she asked, looking around. When we came here, she was sleeping from our long drive. She just woke up from her nap on the couch.
“This is our new home, baby girl. You like it?” I walked over to her and sat down beside her.
“Like, me like, Mommy.” She clapped her hands and crawled down from the couch. Of course she would like this. It was much bigger than the room we had back at Crossroads. And here she could get her own room. Once I figured out how to deal with all of this. I had some decisions to make before we settled in here.
Did I really want to live in this house? It needed at lot of changes if it was to feel like a real home. Warm and safe, kind of like Liam’s parents’ house. I always felt so safe and welcome in their house; that was what a home should be like. If I decided not to sell this house, it needed some major changes. New furniture for starters and some color on the walls. Anything for it not to be so sterile. But right now, I just needed to get us settled here, then I would figure the rest out, I hoped.
“Mommy will just get the rest of our stuff. Don’t touch anything, okay?” I looked at my beautiful daughter. She looked more and more like her dad, Liam. Especially her face and eyes were so much like Liam. Her eyes were green just like Liam’s, and her hair was black. She had the same facial structure as Liam. She just looked a lot like him. Just thinking of him made my heart break just a little more than it already was. She was the spitting image of Liam, which was also why I knew that the moment he saw her, he would know. She was his daughter.
Tomorrow he would be coming home for the summer. Or at least that’s what I read on the front of some gossip magazine, when I stopped for gas. I knew that at some point very soon, he would figure out I was home.