Against All Odds

by Alexia Vella Deguara

  “Then why? I can't understand Cassidy please.”

  “Mum don't insist I have my own reason for not telling you. You will know but not now, later on. Please give me some time,” I pleaded hoping she will stop asking me.

  “I can't understand why. What difference would it make? Cassidy this person ruined your life. You will finish like me,tell me his name,” she shouted, she was losing her patience.

  “He didn't ruin my life, he loves me. He will be with me and I won't finish like you. Look mum he gave me this ring. It's a promise ring, we are getting married. My child will know his father. I won't do your same mistake for sure,” I shouted.

  My mum looked at me stunned. I knew I had hurt her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know darn well what I mean," I snapped. " I don't even know my own father's name. How he was, if I look like him. You never told me anything about him,” I rasped angrily. It was time that she knew how I felt about this. She looked at me with sadness, her face pale, her lips trembling.

  “I thought it was OK for you, you don't need a father. You have me,” she said quietly.

  “Yes I do. I know you love me and that you tried to do all you could for me and I appreciated that but I still have something missing in my life. Mum why? Who's my father?” I asked.

  “Cassidy I can't tell you.”

  “Good then you won't know the name of my child's father either,” I said

  determined.

  My mum looked at me incredulous.“ Is this some kind of black mail, you tell me if I tell you?”

  “I don't know but I can't understand why you always hid it from me.”

  She sighed.“Listen Cas we weren't discussing me OK. We're talking about you.”she reminded me.

  “Mum my situation is very different , this man loves me,” I said proudly.

  “That's what I had thought, he said he loved me. He promised the world to me.”

  She said sadly, her voice full of anger and anguish. It seemed that the ghosts of the past were haunting her again, making her feeling miserable. I had never seen her so sad, so lost.

  “David is different,” I shouted. I bit my lip. How stupid, I had told her his name.

  “David? It's not that Ty? Oh at least I know the name now. Cassidy why don't you tell me the truth. I'm your mother, whatever it is I want to know. I love you and will always do. I want to meet this guy. Call him and tell him to come here.”

  I shook my head stubbornly.“No.. I can't. you won't understand.”

  “Try me. Do I know him?”

  I nodded.

  “Who is it? It's not that I know a lot of guys. Can you at least tell me how old is he?” she asked.

  “23,” I replied.

  “Oh not that older then. I feel a little relieved. 23? I can't think of anyone who has that age? Maybe the mechanic?” she threw.

  If I wasn't that frightened and sad I would have began to laugh.

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “Cassidy I'm tired trying to guess, spit out the truth. Where could you possibly met him? You were always here in the past months, you weren't even going to the gym anymore. Not going out on weekends and you've been just here and the school. You can't have met him here and then you must have done this at school,” she concluded.

  My heart missed a beat. She was getting nearer to the truth. Suddenly she was looking at me strangely. Her mouth opened and I saw something in her eyes, realization. I shivered violently, she had understood. I was sure. I felt bad and I needed to go to the toilet immediately.

  “Cassidy look at me,” she ordered. Her voice mixed with anger and concern.

  “Mum I need to go to the bathroom. I'm not feeling well,” I said getting up.

  “No. Not now. Answer this question and I want the truth. Is he a teacher by any chance?” she asked looking deeply in my eyes.

  This was the end.

  CHAPTER 56

  I ran away and locked myself in the bathroom. I didn't want to respond. I couldn't. My mum came after me.

  “Cassidy open this door now! Come on you're not a baby,” she ordered impatiently.

  “Leave me alone!” I shouted my heart beating fast in my chest.

  “Have you slept with a teacher yes or

  no?” she asked.

  “Leave me alone!” I repeated.

  “Cassidy listen if your not coming out here and talk with me I'll phone Mr Daniels and ask him which teacher has David as a first name.”

  My blood went to down my feet. I was trapped.

  “No mum please,” I cried.

  “Come out Cassidy and behave like a grown up. if you're old enough to have a baby. Then you are old enough to face this. I'm waiting.”

  I found some courage and opened the door. She looked at me in the eyes.

  “So who is he?”she asked.

  “OK Mum. Yes I slept with a teacher, it was my choice," I paused, I was shivering so much I was frightened. "It's Mr Bayne,” I confessed then in a whisper.

  My mother's eyes widened.

  “Your History teacher? Oh My God, are you mad? Are you insane?” she shouted.

  I began to sob loudly.

  “Mum I beg you, do not report him please. He has done nothing wrong.”

  “Nothing wrong? He got you pregnant for God's sake. He crossed the line,he had sex with you and you say he has done nothing wrong!!”she shouted.

  “No, it wasn't just sex mum. We made love, we love each other. I don't want him to go to prison, please Mum,” I cried so much I was without breath.

  My mum stood in silence looking at my pale face. She tried to stay calm, I could see that she was making an effort not to burst out all her anger.

  “Call Him,” she said then.

  “What?”

  “Call him and tell him to come here. Now!” she ordered.

  “Mum please.”

  “I said now. Cassidy I have to speak to him and then decide if to report him or not. It will all depend on what he's going to say.”

  “I'm 18 mum. I'm legal and he has done nothing that I didn't want as well. You can't do this to him,” I said crying.

  “I just want to talk to him, call him.”

  I took out my mobile phone and tried to dial the number but it wasn't easy with my hands shaking so badly. I couldn't even hold the phone properly. It rang two times when finally I heard his voice.

  “Hello,” I cried.

  “Cassidy,what wrong? You're crying what happened?”he asked with concern.

  “David. My mum knows everything, about us and the baby.”I said between sobs.

  “Oh my God,is she very angry?”he asked as he breathed out.

  “Yes and she wants you to come here immediately. Please come and talk to her or else she will report you.”

  “What?OK, I'm coming tell her to wait OK. I'll be there in few minutes.”he said nervously.

  I hung up and looked at my mum..

  “So?” she said, her arms crossed on her chest.

  “He's coming.”

  “Good. Now let's go in the living room. We'll wait for him there.”

  I followed her in the living room and sat down. I kept looking at her worried face.

  “Mum,” I said quietly.

  “What?”

  “I'm sorry. I know it shouldn't have happened but please try to understand. We fell in love, he was there for me in the worst moment of my life. You know how depressed I was. He helped me and I fell for him. Mum he's a nice guy. I'm sure you'll like him,” I said hoping to convince her not to report David.

  She looked at me.

  “I hope Cassidy. I do hope,” she replied as she sighed nervously.

  “Mum. Now you know my story why can't I know yours? Please tell me something about my father. Who was he? Were you in love?” I asked.

  “Listen. I was a fool at your age. I fell for a the wrong man. After my graduation I found a part- time job so that I could have some extra money when I go to college. I used to
work as a waitress in a restaurant. The owner was a very attractive man, much older than me. He was in his forties.”She told me, her eyes were sad and her face pale. I looked stunned at her.

  “What are you saying mum? That was my father?” I asked, hoping she said no.

  “Yes honey. I fell for him. I wanted him badly but there was a problem, his age to start with and the fact that he was married and had kids,” she confessed.

  My jaw dropped.“What? A married man? Mum you can't judge me, you've done worst. That's why you never wanted me to know,” I shouted.

  “No, that's not the reason why I have never told you. There are other things. I know that what I've done is wrong. I was too stupid to reason. Listen to the whole story before you judge. I knew it was wrong but I fell in love. We had an affair which went on for the 3 months I worked there. He made me a lot of promises, that we were going to live together, that he would leave his wife for me, that I should just wait till he finds a way to tell her. Then I found out I was pregnant. When I told him he panicked and said he wasn't ready to face his family and that it was better if we ended our relationship. He tried to blame me saying that I should have been careful and that he didn't want anything to do with me anymore. I was an idiot but not that much to just leave. When my mother got to know I was pregnant she told me to get out of her house and I had to leave. I didn't know where to go, what to do so I phoned him and told him that if he wasn't going to help me, I would have told everything to his wife. He was rich so we made an agreement,” she stopped as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “What agreement”? I asked.

  “He gave me this house for my silence. I had to promise to never tell anyone he was the father of my baby and especially not to you. He told me to never search for him again and forget that he ever existed. I had to accept. I didn't have choice, at least I could give you a place where to live. This house is the only thing your father ever gave us,” she said as she burst into tears.

  “It was really hard having you and raise you on my own. I suffered a lot and that's why I feel awful now. I don't want you to pass from all of this.”

  “I can't believe this, so I will never know my father. I can never meet him ,at least once?” I cried.

  My mum looked at me sadly,“No honey,you can't. He doesn't want. Cassidy I never saw him again. I don't know where he is. I don't know even if he's still alive. He must be around 64 now.”

  “Oh my God. I can't believe it. Mum after this, you can't ruin my life. You can't report David, mum let me stay with him please. Please accept him!” I

  shouted desperate.

  “Do you love him?”

  “Yes mum I do,” I said.

  In that moment we heard a knock on the door. I got up and ran to open the door. In front of me there was David. He was pale , worried and frightened. He was so tensed.

  “Cassidy are you OK?”

  “Oh David.” I went to him and hugged him tight to me.“ I'm sorry. I know that we said we were going to do this after graduation that -”

  “SSH it's all right. I'm not mad at you. I can never be mad at you. I love you so much Cassidy.”he said as he cupped my face.

  Then I felt him pulling back and tremble. I looked behind me and saw that mum was looking at us. I grabbed his arm hugging it tight.

  “Mum,” I said.

  “Hello Mr Bayne. I can't say it's a pleasure seeing you but come in,” she said while she went in the living room and sat down. David looked at me and together we followed her in. He sat down and I sat besides him still holding his hand.

  “Ms Hastley. I know you're angry and you're right to be angry. This shouldn't have happened but I love your daughter and I want to marry her.”he began.

  My mum looked at him and then said something that I wasn't expecting. “You don't have to do it because she's having a baby,” she said.

  I looked at her stunned.

  “It's not because she's having a baby. I want to marry her. I want her to be my wife. I had already asked her to marry me before she got pregnant.” David said.“ I have to leave to another town and I want Cassidy to come with me and I wish that she'll come with me as my wife,” he told her.

  “What? you're leaving? To go where?” she asked worried.

  “It's not very far from here. I'll be working in Brown's College. We'll find an apartment there.”

  My mum stayed a minute in silence thinking, probably on what to say then.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself. You know that because of your carelessness she won't be able to go to college. Do you think it was fair seducing a student? Jeopardizing her future for what?” she said angrily.

  “Mum stop it. he didn't seduce me. He-”

  “No, don't worry Cassidy. She's right to be mad. I would have reacted in the same way. Ms Hastley, she will go to college. I give you my word, probably not this year but she will go,” he said calmly.

  “How? who will take care of the baby?”

  “I'll do. I could find work during evenings when she's home or else I can hire a nanny. Listen I'll do anything for her,she will continue her studies in a way or another I promise.”

  My mum looked at him in silence. She seemed surprised.

  “OK and when are you planning to get married?”she asked.

  “After her graduation, maybe July,” he said.

  There was silence again. I squeezed David's hand. She kept looking at me and then at him. Finally she broke silence.

  “Good that means I have about another 2 and a half months to organize a decent wedding for my only daughter” she finally said.

  I looked stunned at her, my face brightened up.

  “Mum, that means it's OK. That you won't report David,” I asked incredulous.

  “No but if he ever does anything to harm I'll kill him with my own hands.”

  David smiled.

  “That won't be necessary Ms Hastley. I would never do anything to harm your daughter. I love her very much.”

  I hugged David tight. I felt so happy so relieved then I stood up and ran into my mother's arms.

  “Thanks Mum. Thank you, you made me so happy,” I shouted with tears in my eyes.

  “I want you to be happy. That's what counts for me. I want you to have what I never had and if he can give you that then I'll be happy,” she said.

  Then she offered David a drink and he stayed some time there, talking with her. I stayed at his side, holding his arm all the time. Still not believing that he was really there. Then after David had gone away my mum came and sat near me.

  “Honey,are you sure you want to get married so soon? I mean you can do that after you have the baby. I know he said he isn't marrying you because of the child but I don't want you to regret it, you're still very young,” she said with concern.

  “Mum, David is not marrying me because of the baby. Listen there is something else I have to tell you which probably will make you change completely your opinion on David.”I said trying to find the courage to do it.