Page 38 of Trusting You
“I don’t know if I’d call it ok,” she teased.
“Really?” I shifted to face her.
“I’d say he did pretty good. I mean, you’re still here. Most guys would have run,” she flipped her hand in the air as she nibbled her lip.
“I’m not most guys,” I stared at her as we sat there. It was odd, really. I mean, why wasn’t I running? If she would have told me last summer when we met that she had a son, I would have bolted so fast and never looked back. She was different though, and maybe it was because I saw a little of me in Brooklyn. She wasn’t what my mom was. She was trying. She was going to school. She wanted to do well for him, and she was sacrificing her happiness to do so. She was lucky her parents helped as much as they did. I’m sure if it was me, my dad would do the same but he’d always told me he wanted more for me. “How do your parents feel about this?” I waved my finger between us.
“They worry. They want me to be happy, but they worry that I won’t make the right decision. I’ve made a lot of bad ones over the years,” she looked away as if she were thinking about something. “Brook’s dad wasn’t a very good guy,” she muttered. “Sorry, I know you don’t want to know about this.”
“No,” I touched her arm. “I actually do.” Thinking about her being with another guy, one that fathered her child, was the last thing that I wanted, but I did want to know the story there.
She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath as if she were talking herself into the conversation. “Ok, but I warned you,” she laughed with little humor. “His name was Jason. We met in tenth grade. He was the guy that all the girls wanted to date. He was popular, and good looking. We were paired up in English class for a group project. I was the girl everybody wanted in their group. I was smart,” she smiled and shook her head. “I got good grades, and I know Jason figured he could sit back and let me do all the work. At first I think I might have been a challenge for him, but he didn’t know that I’d crushed on him for years. We became friends after that, and I started hanging out with his friends. My best friend dated one of his friends, so when we all hung out together we just seemed to pair up naturally. We started dating at the beginning of our senior year. My parents could tell from the day they met Jason that he was bad news. They warned me, but I didn’t listen.”
“First I started defying them, then when they forbid me to see him, I went behind their backs. We snuck around for months. It became a game. Jason and I would meet after school, I’d sneak out and go over to his house. His parents were never home,” she rolled her eyes. “He began pressuring me to have sex with him after we’d been together for about half the year. I’d already had sex, so it wasn’t that I was a virgin, it was that Jason seemed to want to corrupt me almost. The one and only time we did it, Jason didn’t use protection. I was drunk, and not really thinking about it either. A month later, I started throwing up. After taking a home test, I found out Brooklyn was coming,” she glanced back at her son before sighing. “I told Jason right away. At first he acted like he was happy, and we were going to be a family. That lasted about three months, then Ashlyn, a girl he dated before me, broke up with her boyfriend. Jason asked her out, and acted like we never existed.”
“I’ve been raising Brooklyn on my own with my parents’ help ever since. I love him, but he looks just like his father. I just can’t understand why Jason wouldn’t want to be a part of his life,” she shook her head before leaning back against the seat and closing her eyes.
“He’s an idiot.” I knew I sounded cavalier, but I couldn’t help it. Anybody could see that Mel was doing a great job. Her son was loved, and happy. Just seeing her with him tonight showed me how much she cared.
“Yeah, well,” she shrugged before gritting out, “the idiot doesn’t pay child support either. I’ve been to court. I’ve seen how much of a loser Jason really is. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dump all of this on you. I just want you to see what you’re getting into,” she murmured as she stared out at the pond.
“I’ve said this over and over again. You’re worth it, Mel. I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to tell you, but I’ll keep telling you until you believe me. You. Are. Worth. It,” I leaned closer before continuing, “and if I ever have the misfortune to run into this Jason guy, I’m going to need bail money because I’m going to beat his loser ass.”
“Who are you, and why didn’t I meet this guy last summer?” she turned and I noticed tears pooling in her eyes.
“This is me. You met the guy everyone else knows last summer. This is me, the me I don’t let many people see. Let’s just say that the little guy,” I pointed my thumb back at where Brooklyn was sleeping, “reminds me of where I came from.”
She pressed her lips together as she tried to keep from crying. “Aaron,” her lip trembled and she bit her cheek as her eyes darted around my face. “I love you too,” she leaned forward, meeting me halfway as I crashed my mouth into hers. This kiss wasn’t soft, it was hungry, and hopeful. It was hopeful that this was finally something real. We were finally there, and now we could build something solid. The walls to this house of cards wouldn’t topple.
Chapter 17
Melinda
It’s been two months since Aaron came to see me. We’ve talked almost every night since. It’s amazing how different things are now that I don’t have to hide Brooklyn from him. Emma seemed cool with it too. When I’d gone back to the dorms she treated me as if nothing had changed.
I’ve finally started living again it seems. With the secrets out in the open, I’ve been taking Brook out more. At first my parents were against it, but now they seem to understand that I’m trying to work toward being more independent.
Today Brooklyn and I are taking our first road trip. Aaron is graduating, and he invited me to come and stay with him. He wants me to meet his parents officially, and introduce them to Brooklyn. He offered to let me stay at his apartment, but I didn’t really think that was the best place for a toddler to be, so I told him no. When I asked about hotels in the area, he threatened to come and drive me to his parents’ house himself. He said that they had plenty of room, and since Emma was coming too, we could all ride together. I tried to convince him that I could do things myself, but he wasn’t having it.
So, that’s how I ended up in a car with Emma and Brooklyn. The drive hasn’t been too bad yet. Brooklyn has slept through most of it, but we’re only halfway into it. I’ve been a nervous wreck, constantly checking on him and trying to make sure Emma isn’t sick of us yet. I feel like I’ve been abusing our friendship, but Emma has assured me multiple times that everything is ok.
“Mama, Mama, Mama,” I turned around to find Brooklyn slapping the sides of his car seat while swinging his legs back and forth.
“We’ll be there in a bit,” I tried reassuring him, but he wasn’t having it. Three hours is a long time to be in the car.
“Potty, Mama,” he kicked his feet again.
“The next exit isn’t for another two miles,” Emma glanced over at me.
“Potty now!” Brooklyn grabbed his sippy cup and hurled it toward the front seat.
“He acts like it’s my fault,” Emma rolled her eyes.
“Can you just pull off to the side? I can help him go in the grass,” I offered. I’d had to do this many times at home.
“Yes, but that’s not very safe,” she frowned. “Let me find somewhere with a large shoulder.”
When we pulled over, I climbed out and worked to get Brook out of his seat. He grinned at me and clapped his hands as if he’d won a prize. Emma and I just laughed. I gotta give the kid credit, he’s definitely entertaining.
