Page 8 of Enough
I lie down my brush as a sudden rush of concern washesover me. I furrow my brows and cross my arms. “What did you do, Gram?”
She sighs. “I called his parents. I told them. They had a right to know what their son was about to walk away from.”
My jaw drops to the ground. Never in a million years did I expect to hear that. I uncross my legs and jump up from the step. My hands sweep into my hair as I hold them against my head. “Please tell me you’re joking!”
“Well, I figure your mama is in heaven and they don’t make errors in judgement up there.”
“It was a dream! You called them based on a dream? Oh my God, Gram!” I begin to pace.
“Now dammit, Ev. Don’t use God’s name in vain. It you want to swear, then go ahead, but keep Him out of it. His name is for praying and thanking.”
I stare at her in disbelief as I’m pacing. Mike’s going to be furious. His father is hard on him as it is. This will probably send them, and him, over the edge. “What did they say? What did you say?” I question fearfully.
“I told them you were pregnant and that Michael suggested it would be best if you terminated the baby. I told them he hadn’t contacted you in days and that you were going to raise the baby on your own if he didn’t step up and take responsibility for his actions.”
My mouth hangs open. It took some big-ass balls to call them like that, but everyone who knows my grandmother knows that Kaylynn London has balls of steel and doesn’t back down from anything. “How did they respond?”
“They were kinda groggy. I guess it wasn’t the best way to be woken up, but I had somethin’ to say and I was gonna say it!”
Grandma Kay’s hands fly to her hips. I know she means well, but oh crap… She really did a number on my newfound plans. I close my eyes and place my fingers back into my hair, scratching and scrunching it as I try to think what to do.
“I know it wasn’t how you wanted to handle it, but that boys’ parents had a right to know. They weren’t very happy with their son, I can tell you that!”
Just as she speaks her last word, my phone starts to buzz in my back pocket. I reach back for it without taking my eyes off of her. As I lift it into view, I glance down to see Mike’s name and face on the screen. Oh boy…
“It’s him,” I whisper as if he’ll hear me. I place the phone to my ear as I accept the call.
“Everly?” he asks.
“Hello,” I respond firmly. Upon hearing his voice, I’m reminded of how angry I am with him for how he treated me the last time I saw him.
“She called my parents! She called my fucking parents!”
“Yeah, I know,” I respond. “So what?”
“So what? Are you serious? Why would you have her call them? We could have discussed this like adults. We didn’t need to get our families involved.”
“Uh, last time I checked, we did discuss it and you were anything but adult about it. You acted like I had the plague. You haven’t reached out to me in almost four days, Mike. Four days of me dealing with this on my own. Of knowing you didn’t want it and didn’t give a shit about me.”
“That’s not true. I do care about you. I’m confused and overwhelmed. I just needed some time to think. To process everything.”
“God d—” I glance over at my grandmother and rememberher correction. “Gosh darn it, Mike. I thought you loved me. I thought you’d be there for me, but you pretty much told me you didn’t want the baby and that I needed to make a decision. That’s not support. That’s leaving me on my own, which is what I am now and how I will raisemychild. On my own!”
“So now it’syours? You kept correcting me tooursand now it’s yours? Come on… And what could you have possibly had to gain by having her call them? Do you know I’ve been on the phone with them half the night? I barely got any sleep.”
I roll my eyes and Grandma Kay sits down on the step with her arms crossed. “You poor thing!” I offer with fake pity. “You barely got any sleep last night? I’ve barely slept in days. I’m scared and alone.”
“You’re not alone,” he responds in a hush.
“Yes, I am, and that’s fine with me.”
I hear a car door slam and turn to see him approaching me. He must have been sitting on the street this whole time. He slips his phone into his pocket. Grandma Kay leaps from her sitting position and makes a beeline for the house, giving us some privacy. If I know her at all, she’ll be watching from inside.
“Hi,” he states in a whisper.
“Hi,” I respond with my arms wrapped around me. I wasn’t expecting to see him, and the shock of his presence makes me tremble.
“I’m sorry for being so selfish. This isourchild, and I should have never put this all on you. I do love you and I will be there for you and this baby if you’ll have me.”
