by Chloe Walsh
"Hmm?"
"You ever tell Andi to go to a clinic again, I promise on my momma's life I will kill you. You got that?"
"Loud and clear."
****
Chapter Five
Andi
"ASSHOLES!" IVY SCREAMED AS she stomped back and forth in her bedroom the following morning.
She'd just gotten off the phone with the deputy on duty at the station and we were still none the wiser as to the whereabouts of our boyfriends.
"They can't just do this," she seethed. "There has to be some sort of law against this bullshit."
"Sheriff Brady is the law around here," I whispered dejectedly. I was actually pretty stunned that the Sheriff or my father hadn't come here and hauled me home already. Mom must have told him by now. "And my father makes the rules."
We had been over this already; it was why neither of us had gotten a wink of sleep last night. Ivy and I had talked for hours, desperately trying to hatch a plan to get me out of the mess I was in. After several hours of talking and plotting, we had come up empty.
"What bullshit," she shot back angrily. "What absolute fucking bull shit."
She was right.
It was crap.
It was worse than crap; it was sort of terrifying to know my father held this sort of power over the officers of our town.
"Someone needs to take your parent's down a peg or two," Ivy added, seeming to read my thoughts.
"I should go home," I whispered glumly from my perch on her bed. "The guys are being punished because of me." I swallowed deeply. "If I go home, maybe they'll –"
"Over my dead body are you going back to those freaks," Ivy countered evenly.
"What am I supposed to do, Ives?" I shot back weakly. "Hide out in your bedroom until I give birth?" I shook my head and forced down a sob. The thought of being pregnant still felt alien to me. "I am in so much trouble… and without my father's health insurance and money, I'm as good as de –"
"Don’t you dare say that," Ivy snapped heatedly. "Nothing's going to happen to you, Andi Davis. I won't allow it."
"I thought you didn’t care." The words were out of my mouth before I had a chance to censor them or take them back.
Ivy flinched like I had physically slapped her. "Ouch."
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, red faced.
"I deserved it," she replied in a pained voice. "I've been a shitty friend to you, but I'm trying to fix it, Andi. I'm going to make it up to you."
She had been a shitty friend to me, but the sincerity and sheer guilt in her voice made me want to believe her.
"I don’t know what to do," I squeezed out, changing the subject from our strained friendship to my broken world. "I'm really scared, Ivy." That was the understatement of the century. "I don’t even know how far along I am." My hand automatically dropped to my stomach. "What if there's something wrong with the baby?" I had diabetes. It was hardly a simple illness. "What if something goes wrong…"
"You're going to be fine," she assured me. "Andi, Nathan Cole adores you. He won't see you wrong."
"He won't see me at all if they don’t release him," I choked out before bowing my head in shame. "I really should go home, Ives…"
"Stop it! They're going to have to let the boys out eventually," Ivy told me. "What do you think Nathan will do when he gets out and finds you've been shipped off to some dungeon in the Midwest?"
"It's a boarding facility," I corrected in a small voice. "And Dad said he wasn’t going to make me go." I frowned, thinking back. "I think he's up to something, Ivy."
"Of course he's up to something. That man is always up to something! And it's not happening; you're not going back there," Ivy shot back. "So put it out of your head. Besides, your brother would kill me if I didn’t take care of you."
"Do you think he's ever going to forgive me?" I whispered.
"Jackson?" Ivy asked.
I nodded glumly. "He was really mad yesterday."
"Hell yes, he was mad," she shot back. "Andi, you're his baby sister and Nate's his best friend…"
My stomach churned. "Oh god."
"But he'll come around," she added softly. "Know why?"
"Why?"
"Because he loves you."
I felt sick to my stomach.
Just yesterday, I had a home and a family – albeit a screwed up one, but a family all the same.
Now, I was… I didn’t know what I was, but I knew I felt scared. Scared and out of my depth.
"Are you okay?"
Ivy's voice drew me back to the present and I nodded, an automatic response.
"I think so." I wasn’t okay. I wasn’t even close, but how could I explain any of it to her?
"It's gonna be okay, Andi."
How? "Yeah, I guess."
"Nate's gonna get out and fix everything."
Again, how? "I know." I was homeless. Seventeen and pregnant and homeless! How in god's name was Nathan going to fix this? Why should he have to? I was as much to blame for this mess as he was, more even. I was the one who pursued him. I'd gone after him, disregarding all consequences…
Drowning in my thoughts, I watched as Ivy stalked towards her closet and yanked the door open. "Now. Enough of this moping around. Get your butt up," she muttered as she continued to rummage in her closet.
"What – why?"
She pulled out a clothes hanger that was housing a yellow sundress before tossing it towards me. "Because I'm going to school and you're coming with me."
"What?" I asked in disbelief.
"I’m serious, Andi. Get dressed. You’re coming to school with me," she repeated.
"Get dressed," she told me. "You're coming to school with me."
"Ivy, no." I shook my head. "I can't. If my parents are looking for me it's the first place they'll go…"
"And what, cause a scene at the school and tarnish their perfectly polished reputations?" she shot back sarcastically.
"They wouldn’t dare." She dropped her hands to her hips and stared hard at me. "Get your ass up, girl. We're going to school. I'm going to send Jackson a text and let him know where we'll be in case they're released this morning."
Releasing a heavy sigh, I threw the covers off my body and climbed out of bed before retrieving the dress she had thrown at me.
This was a really bad idea.
****
Chapter Six
Nate
THE REST OF THE NIGHT PASSED by in uncomfortable silence.
Every once and a while, the sound of Jackson's light snores filled the room, but aside from that, there was nothing.
Nothing but darkness and silence.
I didn’t close my eyes for longer than a minute or two the entire time.
I couldn’t.
Where was Andi?
Was she okay?
Was she still with her parents?
Had they sent her away?
They'd told us the people from that fucked up boarding school were on their way… Goddamn! Everything was beyond screwed up and I had never felt more helpless in my life.
Dawn was breaking outside the tiny window in our cell when the sound of clanking filled my ears.
Without thinking twice about it, I threw my leg up and kicked Jackson's mattress before leaping off my bunk.
"What the…" Jackson muttered as he slowly rose up.
"Someone's coming," I explained. "Get your ass up."
"’Bout fucking time," Jackson grumbled before jumping down from the top bunk.
"Time's up boys," Sherriff Dipshit announced as he yanked open the door of our holding cell. "Your folks are here to collect ya'll."
We both looked at each other simultaneously before gaping at the Sherriff.
"What about the charges?"
"They've been dropped."
"Dropped?" I cocked a brow.
"Why?"
"By who?"
"Do ya'll wanna stay for another night?" the Sheriff growled in annoyance. "Because that can be arranged."
"Then get the hell out of my sight. Now."
He didn’t have to tell either of us twice.
Bolting out of that cell as fast as our legs could carry us, Jackson and I followed the sheriff, retrieving our possessions on the way out.
My heart all but fell into my ass when we walked into the reception and were greeted by… Clive fucking Davis?
He smiled calculatingly at me. "You and I have some talking to do, son."
****
"SIMMER DOWN, QUARTERBACK. Adriana is back at the house," Clive announced from the driver's seat of his BMW when I demanded to know what the hell was going on – for the third fucking time.
Confused was an understatement for how I was feeling as I sat in the back seat of Clive Davis's flashy car with Jackson beside me.
"What happened to St. Bernadette's?" Jackson asked then, and I was glad. It saved me a conversation. "What changed?"
"Circumstances have changed," Clive shot back coolly. "Unlike your mother, I'm not prepared to send my pregnant daughter to a catholic affiliated boarding school."
"Never knew you cared so much about her," Jackson shot back dryly.
"Think about how it would look," Clive replied without hesitance. "Clive Davis's knocked up daughter arrives at an all-girls catholic convent?" He shook his head. "No. I'm afraid that won't do." He shuddered at the thought. "It would be terrible publicity for business."
"Is that really all you care about?" Jackson asked in a quiet tone. "How things look?"
"Perception is all that matters," his father replied. "One of these days you'll understand why."
"I won't," Jackson shot back.
"So, what?" I demanded, feeling like Clive Davis was dangling my future in front of me. "You're gonna lock her up? Out of sight, out of mind? Or try and force her into an abortion?" My fists curled tight at the thought. "Let me just tell you straight; you even think about pushing that girl into something she doesn’t want and I'll –"
"You'll what, hotshot?" Clive shot back tauntingly. "Fight me?" He laughed again. "Be realistic, Nathan."
"Oh, believe me, I am," I shot back through clenched teeth.
"And there will be no abortion," he affirmed with a nod.
"Never planned on there being one anyway," I growled, finding it harder and harder to stay in my seat and not lunge forward and knock this prick out. "I'll take responsibility for her."
"Oh, you most certainly will," Clive countered dryly. Pulling into his driveway, he killed the engine and exhaled a heavy sigh. "Because you're going to marry her."
Marriage?
I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out.
"What?" Jackson squeezed out, sounding equally as winded.
"Lost for words, quarterback? You only need to remember two." My girlfriend's father swung around and smirked at me. "I do."
"Wait, wait… Let me get this straight." I pressed my thumbs against my temples. "First, you wanna send her off to boarding school to keep her away from me, and now you want me to marry her?" I shook my head, unable to comprehend the full extent of Clive Davis's twisted mind. "You're fucking crazy." He was certifiable. A grade a fucking lunatic.
"What I'd like," Clive shot back coldly, "is to go back in time and stop you from impregnating my teenage daughter." His eyes flashed with anger. "But I don’t have a time machine, so all I can do now is damage control."
"Damage control?" I gaped at him.
Was he serious?
"Here's the deal, you little punk," Clive hissed, turning in his seat to face me. "This can go one of two ways; Adriana remains at the house and is homeschooled until the child is born and put up for adoption, or you can make all this right and marry her." Clive shrugged emotionlessly. "Either way, this farce ends. I will not have shame brought down on my family because of this."
"Shame?" I narrowed my eyes in disgust. "It's the twenty first century!"
"I wouldn’t care if it was the fifty-first century, you little shit," he shot back, snarling. "No daughter of mine will be an unmarried mother at seventeen." He leaned closer. "My wife would prefer Adriana to have a termination and be done with it. I don’t share the same beliefs, but that could change if there was no other option…"
"Are you threatening me?" I leaned forward in my seat, not one bit scared of this bastard.
"Take it however you like," Clive shot back coolly. "But be certain of this; I won't be funding your bastard."
"What, like my sister did yours?" I hissed, feeling like a dick for calling Callie a bastard, but needing to vent all the same.
Clive smirked. "That's completely different."
"How?"
"I already had two children when your sister got pregnant, one of which was a girl," he told me. "I had no need for another daughter."
"You're something else, do you know that?"
"Be realistic, won't you! I was married, Nathan," he added. "It's not as if I could publicly claim the child – not that anyone would have believed a little slut from Riverside if she talked and tried to pin it on me." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, the mechanic was more than happy to take the child on as his own."
"That’s because he believes she's his," I snarled.
"Sure he does." He threw his head back and laughed. "Don’t be so fucking naïve."
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Jackson moaned as he covered his face with his hands. "This is so fucked up."
"True," his father replied without an ounce of emotion in his voice. Turning his attention back to me, Clive looked me square in the eye and said, "What's it gonna be, quarterback…"
"She's not here!" Liv Davis screeched, appearing out of thin fucking air at the car window and almost giving me a goddamn heart attack.
"What'd'ya mean she's not here?" I roared, panic churning inside of me.
"She bolted last night," she replied, focusing on her husband. "Took his truck."
"For Christ's sake, Liv," Clive growled. "You couldn’t keep a goddamn eye on her?" He slammed his hand against the steering wheel in obvious frustration. "You had one job, dammit! We need to contain this," he growled. "If she goes and tells her friends about her predicament then –"
"And where the hell were you?" his wife shot back, interrupting him. "You're the one who told her to wait in her room for you!" She scoffed. "All night?"
"I was cleaning up the shit storm that erupted last night," he spat. "Jesus Christ."
"Hold up," Jackson announced as he scrolled through his phone. "She's with Ivy." He frowned before adding, "Says here, they're at the school."
The moment I heard those three words come out of Jackson's mouth, the fear and worry that had been choking me since I heard the words "she's not here' come out of his momma's mouth simmered down a little.
"Thank god," I managed to squeeze out.
"Yeah." Jackson exhaled loudly as he slid his phone back into his jeans pocket.
"I'm gonna go to the school and get her," I announced as I threw the car door open and leapt out.
"You made a decision yet, boy?" Clive called out, halting me in my tracks.
My heart hammered in my chest as I turned back to the car.
"I have," I replied, nodding slowly.
"And?"
I had no fucking clue of what I was going to do, or how I was going to take care of this girl, but I knew for damned sure that I would die trying.
I looked her father square in the eye and said, "I'm keeping her."
****
Chapter Seven
Andi
"CAN I PLEASE SPEAK to him?" my voice shook as I waited for the officer's reply.
"I'm sorry, that's not possible right now."
My heart sank. "Then what about my brother? Can I speak to Jackson?"
"Hold on for a second…." There was a long pause. "I'm afraid that's not possible, either."
"This is ridiculous." Pressing the palm of my hand against my forehead, I exhaled a shaky breath. "It'
s been almost twenty-four hours." Twenty-four long hours of waiting around and not knowing a damn thing. "They haven't done anything wrong and you guys know it."
"Hang up," Ivy mouthed from where she was leaning against the neighboring locker. "You're wasting your time with those jerks."
Reluctantly, I pressed the end button on my phone and rested the back of my head against my locker.
"I can't take this, Ives," I whispered. "Knowing he's in there because of me?" I shook my head and bit back a moan. "It's killing me."
"Stop that," Ivy ordered as she caught ahold of my arm and pulled me in for a hug. "The last thing we need is for you to get sick over this." She wrapped her arm around my shoulder, and walked me towards my next class. "Have you taken your insulin?"
I nodded, thankful for the emergency stashes I kept in my locker and at Ivy's house. "But when I run out…"
"Hey! None of that talk now, ya hear!" she scolded. "Think positive thoughts."
"Why?" I shot back when we reached my classroom. "Are positive thoughts going to provide me with an unlimited supply of insulin? Or a healthcare plan? Because without either one, I'm in serious trouble…"
"Well," Ivy squeaked out, looking over my shoulder. "I don’t know if positive thinking will get you a health plan, but would you be opposed to a hot-as-the-fiery-depths-of-hell baby daddy?"
My heart stopped. "What?"
Ivy nodded towards something over my shoulder. "Get him, girl."
I swung around quickly and locked eyes on Nathan at the far end of the corridor, striding towards me like a man on a mission.
The sight of him caused the dam inside of me to burst clean open.
"Nathan!" The air escaped from my lungs in the biggest sigh of relief I'd ever experienced.
He was back.
He was here.
He was mine.
Stumbling towards him, I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face.
By the time I reached the bottom step of the stairs that separated us, I was an emotional wreck.
