Save Me

by Amanda Heath

  “Is she going to get really bad, you think?” Wesley asks, knowing how my mother is.

  “I don’t know. I guess we are going to find out.”

  When I make it to my mother she throws her arms around my neck, much like Wesley did. “My baby boy. If I had chosen which kid would do this to me first, it would have been Ashley. Not my baby. I thought I had years before I lost you.” Tears run down her face and I hate myself for making her cry in the first place.

  “Ma. I’m not going anywhere,” I say, trying to calm her down a bit. With everyone being here, things are going to get out of control and I don’t want my mother in the middle of it all.

  She opens her mouth to reply but the front door opens again. Uncle Grayson, Aunt Jenny, his wife, Bentley, his son and Wesley’s younger brother, and Ashley walk in. My mouth drops open at the last person. Fucking Donovan. I kind of feel like a fish when I see him. His hair has gotten way long, probably because he hasn’t had Ma and Annabella nagging him to cut it. It reaches his chin and I can feel Mom clutch my shoulder when she sees him. His green eyes that match my own are sad. The moment he catches my eye he rushes over to me. Then his arms are around me. His hand comes to the back of my head and he forces me to lean into him. “Baby bro. Look at you, all grown up. I swear you’ve aged ten years since I last saw you.”

  I’m kind of choked up so I don’t answer. But Mom does. “I’m so glad you’re here, Donovan. Courtney needs his brother. He’s been through so much the past couple of weeks.”

  Van laughs, but the sound is dry, like his own voice is choked up. “Try his whole life, Mom.”

  I pull away from Van, the emotion getting to be too much. The first thing I see is Rachel. Her mouth is parted in surprise and her eyes hold a hint of sadness not directed at herself. No, it’s directed at me. She’s sad for me. Sad for what I’ve been through.

  “Rachel, I think it’s time you get Courtney and come tell us what’s going on,” a deep voice says behind me. My eyes are still locked on Rachel and when her skin pales, it’s all I can do not to rush her.

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  Seems we need to get this party started.

  Chapter Five

  “I don’t understand why you want me to say something. The cat’s pretty much out of the bag,” Rachel states from her seat on the couch next to me in the living room. Dr. Sanders kicked everyone out of the living room except for him, his wife, my mother, Rachel and me.

  “Because I want to hear you say it,” Dr. Sanders replies, sitting back in a recliner with one foot propped up on his knee.

  Rachel huffs before she just comes right out and says it. “Pierce and I had sex over a month ago and now I have a bun in the oven.” Then she rolls her eyes as both of our mothers gasp. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

  “Yes, it was. You could use a little less attitude though,” her father tells her, and I can tell he wants to laugh when she rolls her eyes again. I’m starting to think he is only hard on her because of her reactions. He’s not mean to her or anything like that. It’s just like he’s encouraging her to be a smartass.

  “How did this happen?” Mrs. Sanders asks, her hand at her throat like she’s trying to keep her hysteria down.

  Rachel goes from staring daggers at her father to glaring at her mother. “I think you know how it happened. I think it’s been the same way for eons.”

  Mom chokes back a laugh, and I would laugh with her, but I feel as if I have the whole entire world on my shoulders. I feel kind of lucky though because Dr. Sanders hasn’t glared or threatened to kill me…yet. He just eyes me with a thoughtful expression.

  Mrs. Sanders clears her throat and ignores Rachel’s remark. “Are you sure it’s Courtney’s? Weren’t you with Kellan? This is where I get confused. I’ve never even heard you say Courtney’s name.”

  This is when my mother decides she’s going to give her input. “I didn’t know about the Dean boy being involved. Do we need to have a DNA test? I’m pretty sure you both were only together that one night.”

  Rachel turns bright red and I’m not sure whether it’s embarrassment or anger. And then I know. Rachel stands up and her hands immediately clench by her hips. Then she explodes, loudly. “I don’t know if I should punch you in the face or start crying because this is the biggest mess I have ever seen in my life! Kellan fucking cheated on me with that whore Natasha and then broke up with me two days later. While this was going on, Annabella and Pierce were fucking each other’s brains out. The same night Kellan broke my heart, Annabella destroyed Pierce. The boy was crying, so that should tell you something right there. Being the bitch that I am, I went to his house because I wanted to see someone else in more pain than me. I spent most of my life thinking he was a dick but it turns out he’s the sweetest guy in this whole fucking state! Things got carried away and the fucking condom broke. Mistakes happen and believe you me, I wish I’d never gone over there because the last thing I want is for y’all to force Pierce to marry me!” This is pretty much yelled at her parents then she turns to my mother. “And no DNA test is needed because I got back with Kellan two days after Pierce, and I haven’t fucked him since because he’s not near as good as Pierce. So there!”

  I blink several times and take in the faces of our parents. My mother looks impressed, which is saying something. Mrs. Sanders looks like she’s about to puke and cry. Mr. Sanders looks like this is an everyday occurrence. It’s weird, but I honestly feel like my mom and I fit in here. Hopefully that makes sense to you, because it doesn’t to me.

  “Rachel, was it necessary to say all that at the top of your lungs? The entire house could probably hear you,” Mrs. Sanders chastises her.

  Rachel rolls her eyes yet again. “Good. Now I don’t have to explain it again. Can we get to the point of all this? I’m sure Pierce has better things to do than listen to our family problems.”

  Dr. Sanders looks at me and bites his lip. “Honey, I’m pretty sure Courtney is now going to be a part of this family.”

  Then my mother, being my mother, waves her hand in the air and says, “Oh Rachel, Courtney is used to drama. I’m his mother.” That’s one of the things I love most about my mother. She knows she’s dramatic and crazy. She likes to be that way and she doesn’t take anybody’s shit when they say anything. She spent the majority of both her marriages hiding who she is. Now she lives free and hopefully won’t die hard.

  Mrs. Sanders finally throws in something that makes me feel like she actually belongs here with the rest of these crazy people. “This is true, Rachel. Lily is nuts. I would know.” Then Mom and Mrs. Sanders start laughing.

  I feel Rachel’s eyes on me and I turn toward her. “I’m sorry,” she mouths. I feel one side of my mouth tip up and I reach out and grab her hand.

  “Don’t ever be sorry for things out of your control,” I tell her.

  Mrs. Sanders starts laughing with my mother again and looks at me. “Why Courtney Pierce, what a shrinkish thing to say.”

  “Mom, that’s not a word.” Then she looks at her Dad. “Can we move this along? Seriously? I kind of want to spend the rest of the day pretending I don’t exist.”

  Dr. Sanders sighs. “I think you both know what we want. You’re both eighteen so we can’t make you do anything. But there are consequences to every action. You’re both going to have a child to raise now. That changes everything. It changes where you want to go to college. It changes where you want to live. It changes how you spend your time. I hate that you both have to grow up this fast but there’s nothing to do about it now. And whether you both realize it or not, you’re stuck together for the rest of your lives.”

  I take a deep breath and look at Rachel. I can’t tell you at this second whether or not I want to be married to her. I know our sex life would be amazing because I’m physically attracted to her, but am I mentally attracted to her?

  Now, we only have like eight months until this kid arrives-

  That’s it.

  I look at Dr.
Sanders and take another deep breath before I speak. “I know y’all want us to get married but I also don’t think anyone is taking into account that Rachel and I don’t know each other. Now, if we’ve had a relationship for months, yeah, I wouldn’t say no to marriage. But we don’t. I’ve spent the majority of my life on the outs with Channing, who happens to be Royal’s best friend. Royal kept Rachel away from me and I never really gave her any thought. Then you have to think about Annabella. Annabella, who I have been in love with since I was thirteen. I’m still not over her and it’s not fair to ask Rachel to get hitched when my heart won’t be all the way in it. I want to be in my kid’s life because I know what it’s like not to have a dad around. It would probably be better for the kid if we were married, but it also wouldn’t be fair to the kid if we didn’t love each other. We would be strangers in a home with two separate lives. Don’t ask me to do that.”

  Mom has tears running down her face and I think she might jump up and mow me down. Freak woman. “Courtney, baby. When did you get so mature?”

  “When that whore got rid of him.” Mrs. Sanders gasps, but Rachel just looks at her, begging her to say something. Then she huffs and stands up. “Daddy, I know you aren’t going to back down on this, so how about we make a deal? I assume you called Mimi, so when she gets here I know neither of us will have a choice.”

  Dr. Sanders stands too and watches his daughter as she paces around the room. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Well, we have like what, eight months?” He nods and she continues. “Then let Pierce and I get to know each other. Let us decide if we want to get married or whatever. And you can’t push us or shove us down each other’s throats. Mimi won’t care as long as we are married before the kid is born. And I’m her favorite so that helps things.”

  “You’re her favorite because you are just like her,” Mrs. Sanders says. Then she looks at my mother. “I would know, since she’s my mother.”

  “I remember. They really are alike,” my mother states, a small smile on her face. “We went to high school together, baby. Close your mouth,” she throws at me and I realize my mouth is wide open. This shit just keeps getting stranger and stranger.

  Rachel stops pacing in front of me. I look up and meet her warm brown eyes. “What do you think?”

  That’s the million-dollar question. I don’t know Rachel’s grandmother but I’m starting to think that you don’t mess with that woman or not listen to her. And if she’s anything like Rachel, I already like her. I don’t know if I want to get married just because I knocked up Rachel. In this day and age unplanned pregnancy happens all the time and a wedding stopped being required a long ass time ago,.

  But, if I think about it long enough, I really don’t mind getting to know Rachel. She’s been on my mind since the night all this shit started. We connected on a level I haven’t connected with anyone before. The sex was great and that’s a major plus. I don’t think I could get hitched to someone who just lies there.

  It’s the eyes though. Those warm brown eyes staring back at me. She’s hopeful and she’s scared out of her mind. My protective instinct starts crawling up the back of my neck. I want that fear gone. I don’t want her to be scared of anything ever again.

  “I’m down, G,” I tell her softly, and I’m graced with one of her smiles.

  “Thanks, Pierce.”

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah, no thanking me.”

  She grimaces. “Right.”

  Dr. Sanders comes over and places his arm around Rachel’s shoulder. “We’ll let you two figure it out then. I think you’ve both shown enough maturity to handle it on your own.” He kisses his daughter’s head and then looks down at me. “Who did that to your face? Channing or Royal?”

  “I passed out when Rachel told me she was pregnant. I hit my face on a kitchen counter.” The lie rolls right off my tongue. I don’t honestly think Royal would get in trouble but I don’t want to be a snitch, regardless.

  “Ah, Royal then. His anger can be a problem sometimes. Though, I’m happy to see he’s looking out for his sister.”

  He turns to walk away when Rachel ruins it all. “Well, yeah, but that was before he spit at Pierce’s face.”

  Dr. Sanders squints his eyes and stalks to the door. “Royal! I don’t ever want to hear of you spitting in anyone’s face again! Do you hear me? I don’t care what they did. That is disgusting and out of line.”

  “Sorry, Dad.”

  “I think we are going to turn your room into a nursery. That should be punishment enough,” Dr. Sanders returns.

  That’s when Royal shows up at the door. He moves past his dad and comes to face me. “Sorry, bro. I was really upset and you didn’t deserve that.” Then he holds out his hand. I shake it, not saying anything, because I really don’t have anything to say. “But you did deserve the face punch.”

  “Royal!” three different Sanders’ yell out.

  Chapter Six

  Headlights flash through my bedroom window, waking me from a dead sleep. I look over at my alarm clock, noting the time is 1:30 a.m. I groan and hope something really bad didn’t happen. I know for a fact that my mom, Donovan and Ashley are all in my house. Mostly, I know this because I went to sleep after everyone else.

  I hear a car door shut and shortly after that a knock on my window. I get out of bed on the left side, the side near the window, and peek through the blinds. A pair of gorgeous brown eyes stare back at me. “Go to the front door,” I tell Rachel before turning around and finding my boxers on the floor near the bed.

  I make it to the front door a few moments later and let Rachel in. She’s in short pajama bottoms and a matching tank top. Both are black with pink skull and crossbones with bows covering her outfit like polka dots. Freaking cute. “What’s wrong Rachel?” I ask her, catching the nervous look in her eyes.

  “This might sound really stupid and I’m trying really hard not to care.” Then she walks into the house and heads toward my bedroom.

  I drag a hand down my face and lock the house back up. When I reach my bedroom, she’s lying in my bed under the covers. “What’s going on?” I rephrase my earlier question.

  She peeks up at me from her position and lets out a deep breath. “Okay. I got to sleep a few hours ago. While I was asleep I had this dream that I was full term and they had to cut the baby out of me. Well, they didn’t give me any pain meds and that shit hurt. Plus the kid wasn’t a human being; it was a snake with baby arms and baby legs. God, I hate snakes!”

  I hold back my laughter at her words and sit down on the end of the bed. “It was just a bad dream. I promise our kid isn’t going to come out a snake with arms and legs.” Then a chuckle escapes past my lips.

  Then she lets out a soft laugh and sits up herself. “Well, I know that. I tried to go back to sleep but then I freaked myself out thinking about having a C-section or pushing a ten pound child out of my vagina. I mean, how do you come back from that? Plus, I’m going to get freaking huge. And at some point I’ll probably piss myself because I can see Wes and Paisley making me laugh so hard I can’t control my bladder. They would do that shit just to spite me.”

  I laugh because she’s right. At least I know Wes would. “Well, I don’t know how all that stuff works, so I can’t tell you what’s going to happen. But women have been having babies since the beginning of time. I think you’re going to be fine, babe. I’ll be here to hold your hand the whole time.”

  She sits still for a moment, staring at her hands, then she looks up at me and I’m shocked to see the relief in her eyes. “You promise?” she whispers, one tear sliding down her cheek.

  I swiftly move across the bed and place my hand against her smooth cheek. I use my thumb to catch the tear and I lean down to kiss her forehead. “I promise, I swear and I’ll throw a pinkie promise in there just to be sure.”

  She laughs and looks at me strangely. “You’re really not what I thought you were.”

  Not having a response to that, I make her lay do
wn. I get up and flip the switch on the wall and climb back into bed. I get under the covers but I don’t touch her. Sure, she’s the mother of my unborn child but that doesn’t mean I have free reign to touch her whenever I want.

  I’m almost asleep when something occurs to me. “Why did you come here?” I question, my voice deep and harsh with sleep.

  I hear Rachel move before she answers. “I don’t really know. I can’t sleep a lot sometimes, so I drive around, but tonight I ended up here. I just went with it.”

  Without thought I tell her, “You can sleep here whenever you want. I don’t want you driving around anymore.”

  “Okay, Court,” is her sleepy reply.

  I smile before sleep drags me under.

  ***

  Roses.

  That’s the scent filling my nose. I think it’s coming from the soft strands of hair stuck to my face. A warm softness is plastered to my left side and my hand is spread out on a smooth surface.

  My eyes snap open and immediately look down to see Rachel Sanders fast asleep and cuddled into my side. One of her arms is thrown over my waist, which almost hides the fact that my dick is hard as rock.

  Fuck.

  “Courtney?” My mothers voice sounds before she knocks on the door. Rachel twitches but her eyes don’t open. Luckily, I have the time to pull the covers up over my erect manhood before my mother opens the door. “Oh! Thank goodness! Mrs. Sanders called saying they couldn’t find Rachel. I told them she wasn’t here. I guess I should have checked first.”

  “You think, Ma?” my voice rumbles and I flinch because that was loud.

  My mom’s cheeks flush and she chuckles before shutting the door. I hear her voice through the door as she talks to someone. Probably Ashley or Donovan. “I better go call Rachel’s mother. She is, in fact, here.”

  “What’s going on?” Rachel asks, her face smushed into my chest.

  I scratch my head before I gently climb out from under her. There’s nothing like my mother walking in to get rid of my hard on. “Your mother called my mother. Apparently you’re missing. She told them you weren’t here before even looking in my room.”