Page 66 of Two Weeks
Clouds gathered overhead and in the distance thunder rolled low and long. They had maybe ten minutes before the rain hit. Cole waited, listening.
“It’s hard to explain, but I think I heard a voice. Not a real voice, but... I don’t know.” She hesitated. “It’s like I could feel God telling me to trust Him. My baby girl would have the most amazing life with Aaron and Lucy.”
Cole nodded. “What about you?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to ask. “What do you want?”
She leaned closer and put her hand on his face. Then she stared into his eyes. “I want to be with you.” Doubt flickered in her expression. “I’m not sure about raising a baby. That’s the truth.”
A flash of lightning lit up the sky not far from where they were sitting. “We need to go.”
“I know.” They stood but the rain came before they could make their first move toward the house. Like most Indiana springtime storms, the rain came in buckets. The rain simply released all at once right over them.
“Come on!” Cole shouted over the sound of the sudden downpour. “Run!”
They held hands and sprinted across the property. Thunder shook the ground and they moved even faster. By the time they reached the shelter of the porch they were drenched.
“Cole.” She was out of breath, making a sound that was more laugh than cry. “Hold me.”
And he did. He opened his arms and she fit right between them, up against his chest. “Elise.” He brushed the rain from his face, still breathing hard. He whispered into her wet hair. “Sometimes... I’m so scared.”
“Me, too.” She held him tighter. Like she was only a child herself. “Why does life have to be so hard?”
Cole had no answers. Not for himself and certainly not for her. All he knew was that the idea of her placing the baby for adoption hadn’t only eased the boulders. It had allowed him to breathe again.
And that had to mean something.
•••
LONG AFTER ELISEwas in bed that night, when sleep wouldn’t come and the storm raged outside, Cole’s words played over and over in her heart.Sometimes... I’m so scared.
So scared.
She had known for too long that Cole wasn’t being completely honest with her. Yes, he loved her. She could tell by the way he looked at her. But he didn’t really want to be with her. Not yet, when they were so young. That’s what his eyes told her even if he didn’t say the words.
What did either of them know about raising a baby? And how could they plan to be married when they’d hardly even dated? All because he wanted to be like his dad.
Elise rolled onto her side. As she did the baby moved. The feeling was more of a kick this time. The flutters were gone, since the baby was getting bigger. Her doctor told her she would probably be showing to the world by mid-June. At the latest.
Which meant she and Cole could go through graduation in love with each other. Spending their free time together. Cheering each other on through baseball games and paintings. But all of it was only pretend if Cole Blake was afraid.
How could she let him give up his dream of attending Liberty University and becoming a doctor if he was scared of what was ahead? And what about her dream of being an artist? Since she’d moved here she hadn’t painted anything at all until Cole found the easel and paints from his mom.
But now that she was filling a canvas again, all she could think about was NYU. Her desire to become an artist had only grown stronger over the past weeks. Something she hadn’t told Cole. Which meant neither of them was being fully honest, the type of honest they would need to be before they packed up for Louisiana. Before they even considered marriage.
She had talked to her mother today, told her she was having doubts again about the baby. About keeping her. This time her mom had seemed different, less willing to push Elise toward coming home and bringing Cole. Which all lined up with the way she felt God telling her to trust Him by placing her baby for adoption. Some thing she wouldn’t have experienced if she hadn’t gone to church with Cole’s family. And today her mom had seemed to be on that same page.
“This is a decision that will change your life forever,” her mama had said. “I’ll stand by you, baby girl. Whatever you choose.”
Her words brought Elise a feeling of relief. For a while there she had thought her mom might be disappointed if she placed the baby for adoption. But now things were completely back to what Mr. Green had told her. This was her choice. Completely hers.
And how much of her decision to keep the baby in the first place was because of Cole? Because she could picture him by her side, bringing the newborn home, feeding and changing her. All the little milestones were only beautiful in her mind because she had Cole right next to her. How could she even consider letting Cole pass up going away to college? It was beyond selfish of her. Agreeing with him that he’d be fine taking classes online? That was terrible.
Staying home to raise a baby or going away to college. There was nothing even a little similar between those two plans.
She rolled onto her other side. If Cole was the only reason she was excited about keeping her baby girl, what did that say about her desire to be a mother? Elise exhaled long and troubled. Tomorrow she would tell Aunt Carol and Uncle Ken about the baby. Everything was getting so real. So complicated.
No wonder Cole felt scared. They both should be terrified.
Her thoughts did spins and somersaults pulling her one way and then the other until finally she fell asleep. Suddenly she wasn’t in her aunt and uncle’s flowered little guest room. She was in her mama’s house in Louisiana. And Cole was sitting on the couch working on a laptop.
