The next time we got the ball, we did it again.
The crowd was going absolutely apeshit as we turned the game around, driving back the visiting team despite insurmountable odds. I was a Marine. We didn't give up. We couldn't. And the team was right there with me. By the end of the quarter we had done the unthinkable.
We'd won.
The crowd went apeshit, screaming and cheering. The team hoisted me up on their shoulders, carrying me around the field.
I looked towards the stands, hoping to see my woman. I saw a glimpse of red hair and grinned.
Speaking of insurmountable... yeah, I was not giving up on that either.
Bellie and her mother had left already by the time the guys set me down again. As soon as I got into the locker room I texted her, hoping she would celebrate with me. She had to be impressed. I'd done the impossible. With my team, of course. It was a group effort. But still, it was one hell of a debut.
Meet me.
I showered and toweled off, smiling as my back was slapped repeatedly. As soon as I was dry I checked my phone, my mood deflating.
Belinda had written back but it was a far cry from what I'd been hoping for (something along the lines of 'take me stud'). She said exactly one word. The only word I did not want to hear.
No.
Belinda
He wouldn't stop staring at me. His eyes were two icy blue laser beams burning into me with their intensity. That's what I was thinking the entire game. Somebody was going to notice that Kyle kept looking over his shoulder like that.
My dad was going to notice.
I closed my eyes, praying that it was just a guilty conscious that was making me so nervous. And lord knows I had enough to feel guilty about. Now I had two secrets from everyone I loved.
And one from Kyle.
A big one. Really big. Huge.
A baby.
I'd gone to the clinic just a few days ago. I could still see the nurse. Hear her telling me it was far too late for the morning after pill. If I wanted to end the pregnancy, I'd have to end the pregnancy the hard way. A D&C or chemical abortion was the only route left to me.
Neither sounded very good. I'd felt revulsion at the thought of doing something so drastic. So final.
In fact, the idea filled me with horror. I had stood up, numbly accepting the pamphlet from the nurse, and left. It was strange to think about it in retrospect.
I'd known, in that one instant, that I was keeping my baby. It wasn't even a choice. It was just there... the truth. I was keeping it no matter what anybody had to say about it. My mother would freak out. My father would go ballistic.
And Kyle, well, he would be trapped for life from one not-so-innocent mistake.
I lifted my chin. There was no way I was going to let that happen. Any of it.
I was going to do the one thing left that I could.
I'd leave. Just go somewhere else for the duration of the pregnancy. Somewhere new, where nobody knew me. Nobody would know I was the good girl who got knocked up. Nobody would know I was supposed to be ashamed. I'd just be a regular girl who just happened to be pregnant. End of story.
When the time came, I would inform my parents that they were grandparents. Yes, I'd been stupid and swept away in the moment. A guy like Kyle could do that to you.
But I was done making mistakes. From here on out, everything was going to be deliberate. I had another person to think about. My baby. And I loved it already. I had to think ahead, plan to put us in the best circumstances from here on out. Not under my parents' roof. Not trapped in a dead-end job. Not scraping by and going without. Not just surviving.
We were going to be thriving.
The first thing I needed to do, was apply for a transfer to one of our remote campuses. Or another school altogether. Maybe Washington State. Or a semester abroad.
I almost smiled to myself. One semester was not enough time.
Two semesters abroad.
My hand wandered to my stomach and I closed my eyes.
The size of a jellybean and I was already feeling protective. I had already bought prenatal vitamins and ginger tea. I might not be ready, but I was willing.
I was going to do this.
As soon as the game was over I told mom I wanted to go home and rest. I was tired and hungry. I'd watched Kyle play with a sense of awe. He was incredible. A true athlete. When football was played well it was almost like watching a ballet, only with big hunky guys. But as soon as the game was over, I was gone.
I told myself I would never see him again.
I told myself, this was goodbye.
I just didn't expect it to hurt this much.
Chapter Ten Kyle
I stood at the bar, surrounded by people. The whole team was here. Well, first strings anyway. And me.
Celebrating.
Haha. Yeah, well I wasn't really in the mood. But I was more than happy to drink.