So Wrong So Right
Page 23
I rub my forehead, trying to remember the last time I saw these two get along.
“Why aren’t you more worried? You did hear it was her step-brother, who by the way is twenty, having sex with her? Right? They could be anywhere right now?” she screeches, making my dad turn the volume down on the phone.
“I heard you, but did you happen to talk to her about it? Let her tell you how she feels? Or was it done the Aubrey way and you brushed off whatever she said because you didn’t want to listen? You’re the one, if anything, that might have pushed her into his arms by telling her she couldn’t see him anymore. She’s a teenager, that’s what they do. Also, are we sure your husband didn’t do anything to freak her out? It wasn’t that long ago she was telling me how uncomfortable she was around him and how he touched her,” my dad prompts.
“She was overreacting. He didn’t mean to hold onto her so hard, but she wasn’t listening. She’s been that way about Victor since they met because he’s not you. Listen, I don't have time to rehash any of this. I need to find Abigail. If you hear from her, call me.” Her last words sound—worried, but I don’t know if it’s just an act or what.
“Will do. I’ll try a couple of people in the morning but give her some space tonight. We know she wasn’t kidnapped and if she’s with her boyfriend, I’m sure she’s safe. You know who he is and what he’s like, so she’s in no danger. Take a couple of deep breaths and we can talk tomorrow if she doesn’t call by then.”
My mom takes a deep breath that when she exhales it makes the speaker crackle. “You’re right, but you would have overreacted the same way if you saw Colin doing what he was doing to our baby girl. I never thought he would—”
“Now stop. You have no idea how it happened. I would have been mad for them doing that under my roof, but I would have had them both explain. They might be step-siblings, Aubrey, but they went through the same thing together. From what Abbs has told me they were always good friends because they knew what the other was going through. Have you ever thought about that?”
“But he’s twenty,” she says. “He shouldn’t be messing with a sixteen-year-old to get his jollies off.”
“I understand that, I’m not thrilled either by this news.” Dad glances up at us and gives us both a smirk. My dad and I talk three times a week and although I know he’s not ecstatic, he gets it now. I mean, the man did tell Colin he could marry me.
It’s amazing what happens when someone listens to you.
“But it is what it is. When she comes home, which I'm sure she will, you’re going to have to talk with her. I can come up too, to help. Now, I'll call you if anything changes on my end.”
My mother sighs resigned. “Okay, but even after we talk she'll be grounded till she's eighteen for running off like this.”
Because that stopped me before.
“I’m sure. Good night, Aubrey.” Dad hangs up after my mom’s goodbye. “We will deal with that tomorrow.” He shoves the phone back into his pocket.
“Actually, could we deal with everything else tomorrow too. My head is spinning and all I want to do now is take a shower and go to bed.”
Twenty-four hours ago, my whole life changed. It was turned upside down then went on a rollercoaster ride. I’m dizzy and trying to make the ride stop for a moment. I haven’t had a chance to process the fact that I’m going to be a mother, someone’s wife, or the fact I might not see my mother again unless she comes around. I’m exhausted, mind, body, and soul.
“Of course, sweetheart.” I stand from the couch as soon as Colin untangles himself from around me. “Just one thing, before you go.”
“What?” I look from my father to my boyfriend wondering what the hell it could be now.
“Colin, would you give us a minute, then me and you can finish talking?”
“Yep,” Colin stands and kisses my cheek. “I’ll come say goodnight in a bit,” he whispers in my ear then turns to my dad. “I’m going to grab the bags and put them upstairs.” With that, he’s off towards the front door.
“What’s up?” I ask nervously and sway my arms in front of my body.
“For one, I want you to make sure you’re okay with everything.”
“I’m as well as I could be I guess. But shouldn’t I be asking you that too? You just found out I'm pregnant, and now getting married. I’m surprised your heart is still pumping,” I joke, and he gives me a small smile.
“Trust me. I went into shock when I found out. Colin called me shortly after you two were caught, worried about you, and didn’t feel you were safe any longer. He admitted right away about you being pregnant and there was no way he was leaving your side. I had a few choice words for him, probably made him shit his pants.” He laughs, and I know that’s what he wanted to happen. “After I let him have it, he told me about what Victor did to your wrist and everything else that’s been going on. That’s when we talked options. I was pissed, wanted Victor’s head on a platter, but I know there's no way to convince your mother to let you live with me without everything escalating.”
“Because she would have to believe the abuse. Though…” I point to the side of my face.
“Yes, I would hope she would, but there’s no way of knowing for sure. She’d already blown you off before and our talk didn’t make me feel any better. Then you have Colin who isn’t allowed to take you across state lines, which makes more trouble for him,” he says in all seriousness. I didn’t even think of that. “Anyways, he told me he wanted to marry you, gave me this great speech, won me over, and trusty google let me know about how the state allows marriage with just proof of pregnancy. I gave him my blessing, but I wanted to make sure it’s what you want. There’s always other ways around it if you decide you’re not ready for marriage.”
I collapse back on the couch and cover my face. Taking a steady breath, I look up towards my dad, then around the room for Colin. I’m sure what I’m going to say next might be taken out of context if he heard. “To be honest, I’m not sure if I'm ready. It kind of scares me and maybe not in the way you’re thinking. I pictured it a hundred times, getting married, but I expected to at least be out of high school. Now, I’m pregnant and the guy I love asked me to marry him. I don’t have the first clue on how to be a wife and a mother. What if I fail him? Or we fail each other? Or find out after having our own space we really can't stand each other?” I ask the questions that have been swirling in my head since the second he brought up the idea of getting married.
“Those are all very normal questions, sweetheart.” My dad sits down next to me and takes my hand, clasping it in his. “You’re allowed to be scared and you're allowed to wait as well. I worry it is too soon, but I know you guys love each other, so no matter what I'm going to support your decision. If you want to wait, we’ll figure out another plan.”
“I know. I'm just a bundle of nerves and have so many thoughts circling my head, I can’t keep track of them. Like, I’m still immature most days and I’ve never even paid my own bills or had a job yet. I worry he’s also not truly ready for this step. He’s only twenty and hasn't really lived, you know? I haven’t lived, but I know I don’t think I could be happier than when I’m with him.” I smile and feel like a weight has been lifted as I freely admit how I feel. Though it makes me realize what I truly want now. “I want to be scared with him. Take this chance and battle out the challenges we’re going to face, together. He loves me and I love him, and for now, that will have to be enough. We can build the rest as we grow together. I want forever with him and I'll do what I can to make it work. I want this.”
Dad squeezes my hand and I lean against him. “Alright, then I have your back, sweetie. Plus, he knows as well as you do that if he ever hurts you, I’ll chop him up into little pieces.”
I roll my eyes and giggle. “Thank you, Daddy.” I hug him, and he kisses my cheek. When he pulls away he pinches his nose together and waves his hand in front of his face. “Hey, I don’t stink that bad.” I cross my arms over my chest and stan
d from the couch. I tried to clean up as much as I could when we stopped at the gas station.
He chuckles. “I’m only teasing. I was glad to hear you were able to defend yourself in some way. Maybe we should get you some self-defense classes though. Now go, I’ll see you in the morning.”
With one final hug, I run up the stairs eager to wash this day away. I make it to my bedroom. My dad let me decorate the way I wanted to when he moved here. I like this room better than the one at Mom's. Too bad I never got to spend any real time in it.
Amongst my pale pink walls and floral bed sheets, Colin sits on the edge of my bed, resting his head in his hands. “Hey, are my clothes in here?”
He points to the bag on my desk and I hop over to grab my sweatpants, underwear, and a t-shirt. Large hands move around my waist and a prickly chin tickles my neck. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I relax and rest against his firm body.
He rests his chin on my shoulder, and whispers in my ear, “I heard what you told your dad.”
“Colin,” I interrupt, wanting to defend myself, to tell him it’s okay, but he shushes me before I can go past his name.
“I understand what you’re thinking. I had some of those thoughts too. I think about failing you and worry about keeping you happy. I don’t want a sudden marriage to ruin anything we have. We can live it up together, well as much as we can with a child.” His hands rub my stomach and I giggle.
“We can party during late night feedings?”
“Sure, we can make them interesting. Make a game out of it or something,” he chuckles. “But adding to what I said to you outside, I’m going to do whatever I can to keep you happy, care for you, make sure you’re safe, and love you. As for us not being able to stand each other, I have a feeling the both of us will drive each other nuts. It’s who we are, remember? Your smart mouth and my hotheadedness are what makes us, but it’s what makes us compatible because we love each other enough to handle each other’s crazy.”
He spins me around and pulls me into his chest. “One last thing before I force you into the shower.” His eyes stare into my eyes with all seriousness, and he brushes my hair back. “If at any time you change your mind about getting married, tell me, okay? I still plan on asking you right, but I promise I won’t be mad, and we’ll do it when you’re ready. I’ll wait forever for you, baby.”
My heart flutters and butterflies try to escape my stomach at his words.
I grab his face and kiss him forcefully, wanting to taste him, love him. Our tongues twirl and dance the tango. For the first time tonight, I know 100% everything is going to be alright.
The following morning, I awake to light kisses being peppered on my face and neck. I moan and hold out my arms wanting to pull Colin closer, but he backs away. My eyes fly open wondering why he’s not smothering me with deeper kisses and his dick.
“Good morning.” He grins and runs his hand down my face.
“It would be better if you were laying on top of me now and you know,” I wiggle my eyebrows and reach for his shirt, yanking him to me.
I need him, maybe more than ever right now. We didn’t get the chance to make love last night because I passed out, wet hair and all after my shower. He curled around me as I fell asleep, but I don’t know if he stayed with me all night. Now I’m craving his closeness, his reassurances again that everything will be okay.
He peels my hand off his shirt and laughs. “As nice as it sounds, my mom just arrived. We managed to get you an appointment at a women’s clinic over in Towson. So, you need to get up and get ready.”
I pout as I wipe my eyes and sit up. The sun is shining through the curtains and I know its way past my normal six o’clock wake up call.
“What time is it?”
“A little after eight. I tried waking you up earlier for breakfast, but you were out cold. I figured you needed the sleep and you can eat on the way, but we need to get going. They’re squeezing you in.” His hand lands on my belly and he places a kiss on my forehead.
“Okay,” I whisper and look down at his hand. I’ve seen this tiny peanut growing in my belly, but it’s his hand when he touches my stomach that makes it all feel real. “You never mentioned how your mom took the news.”
“About the same as your dad. Shocked, worried, happy. She gave me a hug, then smacked me on the head for not using a condom.” He shrugs. “But she’ll be happy about being around her grandbaby.”
I frown and my forehead wrinkles remembering him telling me we were jetting out of the country. “We need to talk about that because I didn’t think you were serious about moving to France. I don’t know if I want to. What about my dad? I don’t get to see him enough already. And once we’re married, won’t it be okay?”
Colin purses his lips and moves his hand away from my belly. “You’re right, we can talk about it later,” he says and stands from the bed. “Now get ready, we leave in fifteen minutes and grab your bag because we’re going to the hotel after.”
“Okay,” I mumble and realize there’s no point in getting into it now. I try to put the conversation on hold, even though my mind won’t shut up, thinking about every scenario.
Moving out of the bed, I throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. My cheek is still red, with a hint of blue where his fingers hit me. Thankfully, I grabbed my makeup bag in my mad rush and it contains my concealer. I cover up what I can and leave my hair down, so it hangs over my cheeks, for extra cover.
Once I’m ready, I make my way downstairs and three pairs of eyes turn to me from the couch, their voices going quiet.
“I guess I know how to silence a room. Is my zipper undone?” I joke and look down at my pants. “Nope, that’s not it.” I look back at them. “I know I don’t stink anymore… so you must have been talking about me.” They all glance at each other and I have my answer for sure.
They aren’t subtle in the least.
“Hope it wasn’t bad.”
“Of course not, sweetie.” Naomi is the first to talk and stands up, walking over to hug me. “It’s good to see you, hun. How are you doing?”
“As good as can be expected,” I tell her as I embrace her hug. This woman is about to be my mother-in-law. My only mother now, maybe.
The thought is like a fork twisting in my heart as if it were spaghetti noodles. I even dreamt that she walked away from me when I told her about the baby.
“Do you want something to eat before we go?”
“Maybe just an apple for now. The nerves are still dancing in my stomach.”
“You should eat more than an apple, Abbs,” Colin interjects rising to his feet with my father.
“I’m fine. I’ll eat at lunch, I promise.” I walk to the kitchen, leaving the three of them alone to talk more about me as I get an apple. Don’t know what they could be talking about without me. Though I guess it seems I’m the last to know of any plans.
We make our way to the car and I settle in the backseat with Colin. He grabs my hand and presses it to his lips. “When we’re done with the appointment we can head over to the courthouse to get our license if you want?”
“Sure,” I say nonchalantly, knowing there are bigger issues at hand that my brain hasn’t stopped taunting me about. “But do you think we could talk of these plans about moving to a foreign country and how you plan to get me in there?” I seethe, realizing too late how harsh my tone sounds. It wouldn’t be the worst thing, but I would just like to be part of the discussion. Instead, it was just an additional weight dropped on my shoulders adding to all the major life changes about to take place for me.
My dad clears his throat from the front seat and looks back at me nervously. He knows something. Naomi gives me a small smile when she looks back at us and nods to Colin.
“Not everything has been planned out and it wouldn't be for a bit. We do still have to work out the requirements to get you there, but since I have dual citizenship, it makes things a little bit easier. We have to look into it more.”
“We don't have to move there if you don't want. When I said it, all I could think about was getting you far away to a place we could start over. My mom mentioned living with her until we could go out on our own. One step at a time.” He takes my hand again.
I choke back the tears that have piled up in my throat. All these different emotions are getting to me and I'm not sure if they're baby related or not. It’s just such a huge step that I’m not sure if I’m ever going to be prepared for it.
“Dad, what do you think of that?” My voice cracks from my raising anxiety to pack up my entire life and ship out.
“Colin and Naomi mentioned it to me. If you wanted to go, I would more than encourage you to go. I'll know your safe with Nom.” My dad smiles brightly at Colin’s mother. She returns the same knowing smile, with a twinkle in her eyes.
I don't fucking lie, there was a damn twinkle. And did he call her Nom?
My jaw drops, and I look to Colin who doesn't look nearly as shocked by the baby making eye fucks in the front seat. Forget about Paris. What the fuck is going on here?
“And I would visit or think about my own life changes,” he finishes and I'm once again trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Maybe I'm in some twilight zone.
“Am I missing something?” I squeak and point at the couple in the front seat.
“It seems our parents have hit it off over Skype,” Colin murmurs while shaking his head making his wavy hair dance.
“I’m still confused. When were you guys talking over Skype?” I turn to Colin and smack him in the stomach, “and why didn’t you tell me.”
“I only found out myself. Chill.” He rubs his stomach in mock pain. He should be glad all I did was smack him.
“Stop keeping stuff from me. Now, someone explain. Please. Because the pregnant girl’s brain in the back is about to explode from the overload.”