Catch Twenty-Two

by James, Marie

  I lower my head as I walk past, hating that they may be being mean to her, but at the same time I’m grateful they’re too busy to direct their anger and hatefulness in my direction.

  After clearing the hallway they’re in, I slowly make my way to Room 214, pausing outside the door in an effort to gain control over myself, but all the resiliency I built up in the hallway fades away when I open the door to find Zeke sitting in the front row with a smile on his face. His eyes light up when I walk inside as he moves the chair beside him out so I can sit.

  There are several girls in the room, two staring back at me with sneers on their lips. One girl watches me with bright eyes and a flush to her cheeks, and I can tell she’s embarrassed to be in here. I imagine the look in her eyes matches my own.

  “Welcome to Family Planning,” Mrs. Hampshire says as I take a seat.

  The teacher busies herself with something on her computer, giving me the opportunity to look over at Zeke.

  “What are you doing here?” I whisper-hiss.

  He smiles at me. “Haven’t you heard?”

  He taps his finger to the end of my nose when all I can do is stare at him.

  “I’m going to be a teen parent.”

  I swallow, refusing to pay attention to the joy rushing through my veins. He promised yesterday afternoon that he was going to prove to me that he wants this baby as much as I do, I just didn’t expect him to do it so openly with others around. If I’m not careful, he’s going to slip past the walls I’ve been trying to build up around my heart.

  Zeke presses his lips to my temple before taking out a notebook from his backpack.

  “Here,” he says as he slides a protein bar across the desk. Next he pulls a Gatorade from his backpack. “I didn’t know if you had breakfast.”

  The teacher doesn’t say anything even though snacks and drinking in class have always been forbidden. Looking around the room, I notice several of the other girls have crackers and drinks on their desks as well.

  My eyes catch on Paisley, a girl I had no idea was expecting. She narrows her eyes at me before looking at Zeke, and it’s then that I realize he’s the only guy in this room. Maybe I am the lucky one, having his support. It doesn’t seem these girls have that. I feel both elated that Zeke is here for me and sad that these girls may be facing their pregnancies alone.

  “Oh, God,” Zeke groans, dragging my attention back to him, but then I catch sight of the movie playing in the front of the room.

  “First, we’re going to discuss vaginal births, then we’ll touch some on cesarean sections,” Mrs. Hampshire says as we all watch with wide eyes as the camera zooms in on a baby’s head crowning from its mother.

  I don’t bother with the protein bar or the Gatorade as my eyes lock on the TV. For the first time in weeks, something other than morning sickness threatens to make me sick.

  “I’m excited to be a dad,” Zeke says, his face white as we leave the classroom. He looks moments away from either getting sick himself or passing out. “But if I’d watched that prior to today, I think I may have taken a little more effort with that condom.”

  I chuckle, the laugh catching in my throat when he grabs my hand in the hallway. It can’t possibly be this easy, can it?

  One minute we’re bitter enemies when he’s got Bronwyn, the beauty queen hanging off of him. The next minute, we’re watching live-action childbirth and planning our future. It doesn’t seem real, and I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “Zeke?” I stop when we get to an area that isn’t as busy with students and turn to him.

  “Hmm?” He uses his free hand to brush hair from my face, and this time I don’t hesitate as I lean into his touch. His thumb skates over my bottom lip as he looks into my eyes. “What is it?”

  “Is this real?”

  “This?” he asks, his eyes darting to the hand caressing my face. “Or this?”

  Without a care of who is watching, Zeke bends, pressing his lips to mine.

  I groan at the first contact, but he urges my mouth open, swallowing the whimper that escapes when he deepens the kiss.

  I’m breathless when he finally pulls away. “You can’t kiss me like that in public.”

  “I love you, Frankie Young, and I plan to kiss you everywhere.”

  The glint in his eyes tells me he isn’t only talking about our geographical location.

  I bite my lower lip to keep from beaming up at him. I don’t want to give this boy my heart, but if I’m being honest with myself, I know he’s had it since long before I left Utah.

  Before I can say something stupid, like tell him I love him, too, Zeke grabs my hand and drags me toward my next classroom.

  He presses his mouth to mine once again in the doorway, uncaring of who sees, and even though I swat his chest when he pulls away, the smile on my lips doesn’t leave for the rest of the day.

  Chapter 45

  Zeke

  “We still have time,” I barter.

  Frankie and I are sitting in my truck in front of her house. The sun is setting, taking its late fall warmth and leaving behind near frigid temperatures. Honestly, it’s the perfect setting for a murder scene, which I’m sure is only moments away with what she’s planning.

  “We have to tell them eventually,” she murmurs, seemingly no more interested in doing this than I am.

  “Mom promised she wouldn’t say a word until we’re ready,” I remind her.

  What Frankie knows and what I won’t say out loud is that even though Mrs. Young acted excited for her best friend from school to be in town, they haven’t spoken since Mom got settled. Yeah, Mrs. Young helped Mom find a job and set her on the path to get the small house we’re living in, but other than that she’s been as absent for her friend as she has been for her daughter. Mom won’t admit it, but she’s angry with Mrs. Young because of it.

  My throat nearly closed when we decided it was time to tell my mom, but after she got over the initial shock, she was almost as excited as we are. She wrapped Frankie in a hug, and I could tell by the look on my girl’s face as she clung to my mom, not wanting to let go, that it was exactly what she needed.

  Frankie has been staying at our house while her parents are gone for work, and even though we haven’t revisited what happened in the barn that night, she lets me hold her every night. I’m grateful that she’s finally coming around to believing that what I told her is true. I don’t even have the urge to push her away any longer. If anything, I want to hold on to her and never let her go. I’m surprised she hasn’t begged for distance because I’m smothering her so much.

  “I think I just want to get it over with. I don’t know if they’re going to try to ground me or kick me out.” She sighs again as she looks up at her childhood home.

  “You turned eighteen two weeks ago,” I remind her.

  She spent her birthday with Mom and me—a small affair with Mom making supper for the first time and a cake that Frankie said was delicious. Her parents didn’t even bother to call. All she got was a two-word text from her dad. Her mom didn’t even bother at all.

  She was sad, even though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, and it makes me wonder if she’s only spending time with me because she’s so desperate for the love and attention I shower her with daily. Even if that’s the case, I’m not giving up. This girl and that little boy she’s carrying are my entire world.

  Frankie looks down at the small black and white sonogram picture in her hands, a small smile playing on her pretty lips.

  “We’re having a boy,” she whispers, her voice full of awe and love.

  We just left her appointment with her doctor. We only just found out what we were having, and the second the sonographer told us we were having a boy, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and hope that my dad was just as happy as I was with the news.

  “You wanted a little girl,” I whisper.

  Her eyes look up finding mine, and there’s something there that’s been missing, something that I’
ve been praying would eventually brighten her sad eyes.

  “I love you,” she whispers, and even though I cherish hearing those words finally fall from her lips, I knew she felt that way before her mouth even opened.

  Her walls are down. I’ve managed over the last couple of weeks to crush any doubt that she had built up to keep me away.

  “Frankie,” I whisper as I cup her cheeks. “I love you, too.”

  My heart is pounding in my chest as I look into her eyes. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on, and she’s finally mine.

  She blinks, a lone tear running down her cheek as I lean over and press my lips to hers. The kiss isn’t sexual, but still filled with passion. It doesn’t hint at the millions of things we want to do to each other. It’s filled with love and the prospect of the future we’re building with each other.

  “I’m staying with you tonight,” she says when I pull away.

  “Of course you are,” I say with a smile.

  “I want to be with you,” she says before her teeth dig into her bottom lip.

  “We’re together.” I press another tender kiss to her lips. “Always.”

  “Be. With. You,” she repeats slowly.

  Her meaning hits me right below the belt, and I have to clear my throat before suggesting that we head back to my place and get an early jump on those plans. I’ve wanted her every second of every day, but I’ve kept those feelings separate while trying to gain her trust.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I tell her, hastily unbuckling my seat belt and climbing out of my truck.

  She’s laughing at my craziness when I open her door and pull her out of the vehicle, but it doesn’t last long.

  By the time we’re in the kitchen with both of her parents, neither one of us are in a joyous mood any longer.

  “Mom, Dad,” Frankie begins, and I clasp her hand in solidarity. “We have something to tell you.”

  Mr. Young’s eyes narrow at our joined hands, and Mrs. Young barely turns around to pay us any attention. Even while in the same room, the woman is an absentee parent.

  “I told you two, no hanky-panky,” her dad says in a low, even tone.

  “It’s a little too late now, don’t you think, Paul?” Mrs. Young finally turns around to face us, a full glass of tea in her hands. She raises an eyebrow at her husband, who just looks defeated.

  He flops back in the high-back stool he’s sitting on.

  “Go ahead,” he urges with little emotion. “Tell us what you did and how you plan to fix it.”

  Frankie stiffens beside me, and just by the grip she has on my hand I know that she can tell that they already know.

  “Y-you know?” Frankie stammers.

  “That you’re pregnant?” her mom says with a scoff. “Of course we do.”

  Her dad’s finger taps on a stack of papers on the countertop in front of him. “Paper trail.”

  “At least you’re being responsible and keeping your doctor appointments,” her mom says on a sigh.

  “And you plan on sticking around?” Mr. Young asks as he looks up at me.

  Frankie’s hand is trembling in mine, and I think it’s more anger than fear. This is the weirdest conversation I think I’ve ever had. I expected this man to drag me out of his house by the scruff of my neck and beat the crap out of me on the front lawn, yet he’s just sitting there, cool as a cucumber, waiting for me to answer his ridiculous question.

  “Yes, sir. I love your daughter. Having a baby so young isn’t ideal, but I’m—”

  “Going to marry my daughter immediately,” her mother interrupts.

  Frankie chokes, making a sputtering sound as she turns to face her mom. “What? Married? We’re only eighteen.”

  “Yet, you’re adult enough to get pregnant,” her dad interjects. “I think it’s the best thing.”

  Without another word, Frankie tugs on my hand, dragging me toward the front door.

  “Where do you think you’re going, Frances?” her mom says to our backs. “I didn’t give you permission to leave.”

  “Permission?” Frankie says as she spins back around. “I don’t need your permission. I’m a pregnant adult who’s getting married soon, aren’t I? I’m staying the night with my fiancé.”

  It’s my turn to sputter as she drags me from the house, but it’s too cold to have any sort of serious conversation right outside in the open, so I help her inside my truck, finding it hard to keep the grin off my face when I notice her red cheeks and angry eyes.

  “Fiancé?” I finally manage with a laugh as I pull away.

  “Shut up,” she hisses, her arms crossing over her chest as she glares at me. “I was angry. I say stupid stuff when I’m angry.”

  “You know, it’s not such a bad—”

  “Finish that thought and you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight,” she snaps.

  Frankie isn’t any calmer when we pull up outside of my house. Her breaths are rushing out, making it hard to see out of the front windshield that’s fogging up.

  “Hey,” I say after putting the truck in park and turning to face her. “It’s going to be fine.”

  She refuses to look at me, but we’ve spent enough time together in recent weeks that I know she isn’t mad at me. Even still, I don’t want her upset.

  “They don’t even care. They want me gone. If I’m married, they don’t even have to worry about me anymore. It’s just one more way for them to forfeit any responsibility.”

  I pull her against my chest. This amazing girl is my responsibility now, and she has been since we came together in the barn, but I don’t imagine she cares to hear about that right now. All she can focus on is her parents once again disappointing her. All she wants is their love and attention, and even after finding out that she’s going to be a mother, they’re only thinking about themselves. She’s an afterthought, and that’s what kills her.

  “Are you saying you don’t want to drive to Vegas and get hitched right now?”

  She sighs loudly, pushing against my chest so she can sit up and face me.

  “Seriously?” Her tone is flat, but I can see the mirth dancing in her pretty gray eyes.

  I shrug. “It’s going to happen, eventually. You know that, right?”

  “You’d marry me today?”

  “Without hesitation,” I tell her.

  “I still want to punish you for being so mean to me all those times,” she says after a long moment. “So I don’t think marrying you right now is the best idea.”

  “I’ve had blue balls for months, doesn’t that count as punishment enough?”

  I smile at her, giving her a quick wink so she knows I’m not seriously upset about just sleeping when we crash into bed at night.

  “I’m not marrying you tonight, tomorrow, or next week, but,” her hand clasps mine in her lap, “I guess we can solve the other problem tonight.”

  My grin is as wide as the Grand Canyon when I press my lips to hers.

  Chapter 46

  Frankie

  “When will your mom get home?”

  I’m shaking as Zeke unlocks the front door. I know what I promised in the truck, but tonight feels different from the way that night in the barn did. I want it, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time, I’m terrified.

  I’m not scared that he’s going to hurt me or that he’s going to leave me. He’s proved every step since he made his confession to the whole school at my locker that day that he’s committed. He hasn’t said one mean thing to me. His lip hasn’t curled up in anger other than that time he caught Vaughn looking me up and down during lunch last week. He’s gone above and beyond to take care of me, pampering me like I never could’ve imagined. And I was cautious at first, pushing him until I was sure he’d snap and tell me to leave.

  He’s rubbed my feet when I complained about them hurting. He has left the house at odd hours when I lied and told him I had weird cravings. He’s let me sleep on the weekends even when I know he was itching to go to th
e movies and out to eat like we’d made plans to do. Not once has he complained. Not once have I found him with a look of derision on his handsome face.

  Slowly, it became obvious that he was doing exactly what he wanted to do. He wants to take care of me. He wants to make sure I have everything I need to be comfortable. He hasn’t looked in the direction of another girl or denied the way he felt for me to the guys that he played football with. Not once has he been caught doing anything suspicious on his phone or having a conversation with Bronwyn when he didn’t think he’d be caught.

  He’s proven himself over and over, and even though I’ve wanted to say it forever, I didn’t have the courage to tell him I loved him until today. Until I saw the way his eyes teared up when he heard his baby’s heartbeat for the first time at my appointment. Not until I watched his throat work with emotion as he looked down at me like I’m the most precious thing in his world.

  I knew it was time. Just like I know tonight is the perfect time for us to come together the way we did in Utah. Only this time, it’ll be filled with love and the promise of a future rather than heartbreak on the tail of him saying goodbye to his father.

  I know he’ll be there to hold me in the morning. I won’t have to worry about waking up alone and crying with his loss. We’re facing this together, and I have no doubt that he’d marry me tonight if I told him that’s what I want. He’d drive to Vegas with a smile plastered on his face the entire way, and I know that he’d do it not only because I want him to, but because it’s what he wants as well.

  But, we have time for all of that. At least I hope we do. Tomorrow is never promised, and we’re both aware of that, but right now, tonight, we have each other, and I plan to make the most of it.

  “Not until late,” Zeke whispers.