Authors: Megan McKenney
“Everyone, this is Jack and his daughter Annabelle,” she said proudly.
Annabelle’s cheeks grew really red. “Just Anna,” she squeaked out. Anna was the girl that had tried to talk to me during class about Yearbook. She had even come to my house to give me notes from class when I had missed it. This little girl had been more a part of my life than I had ever known.
Her eyes flicked up at me, obviously embarrassed to be there. Her dad must’ve told her why he was coming over. But, it wasn’t until my mom talked to her did I actually have a bit of jealousy.
“Annabelle, sweetie…how was school?” She asked, giving the small girl a hug.
“Good,” she responded.
“Why don’t you go make yourself at home.” Mom grabbed a pudding cup from the fridge and led Anna over to the family room where our big screen plasma TV was. Just listening to my mom treat Anna (practically a stranger) better than she treated her own daughter made me feel a bit sick. Keiffer noticed my change of moods and he rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb.
“Jack, they’re trying to talk me into allowing Jenna to get married,” she whined to him. Steve looked around for who could possibly be Jenna. First he thought Indigo was me, but then he realized that his soon-to-be-stepdaughter was sitting across from him. “She’s only eighteen and has known this
hoodlum
for like five months.”
“Do you guys love each other?” Jack asked. I was about to say something before my mom cut me off…again.
“Of course they don’t. Besides, Jenna is throwing away her dream of going to Yale just to be with him. He’s a lowlife who doesn’t have money of his own. He needs to get a job.”
“He’s not a lowlife,” I responded quickly. Keiffer kept his mouth shut…his jaw showing strain. “He’s a great guy. And yes, I do love him.”
“But I’ll agree with your mom no matter what,” Jack responded. “I don’t have much of a choice.”
“No…you really don’t,” dad snapped. “You’re not even a parental figure for my daughter. I don’t even know why you’re here.”
“He’s here because he’s my boyfriend. He’s a part of my life and you better get used to it,” mom said rudely.
“And Keiffer’s apart of my life!” I said, standing to my feet. “
You
need to get used to it!”
“Jenna, sit down,” Indigo said. “Please, you need to reconsider…”
“No, I’ve made up my mind. I will not support a wedding. You and your son are nothing but trouble. You’ve ruined my daughter. She thinks she’s in love but once she sees how fast you’ll be draining her bank account she’ll realize that you’re nothing but a piece of –“
“I’M PREGNANT!” I blurted. Even Keiffer looked up at me as though I had just exploded. “I’m pregnant, okay? That’s one of the reasons why I want to marry Keiffer. I do love him. And whether or not you want me to marry him…it doesn’t matter. Indigo is going to sign the papers for Keiffer and since I’m eighteen I am legally able to get married without a waiver. With or without you, we’ll be going down to the damn courthouse.”
“You’re preg…preg…pregnant?” she stuttered. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because only the people I love got to know first,” I excused myself from the table. “And I already know where this is going. Mom, you’re never going to hear me. You only want to hear what you want to hear. I thank God every day for Indigo, because without her…I would be lost. You’ve been nothing to me my whole life. And yes, I’ve only known her for five months, but she’s been more of a mom to me these five months than what you’ve been in eighteen years.”
I ran up to my room, slamming the door behind me. I hated her! There was nothing good about her. And the fact that she treated Anna with more respect than she did me made my blood boil.
A few minutes later there was a knock on my door. I didn’t respond, but he let himself in anyway. Keiffer didn’t say a word, instead he sat next to me on the bed. He ran his fingers down my back, the way he sometimes did when we were trying to fall asleep. I turned over so I was on my back. He propped himself on his elbow and looked back down at me. We didn’t’ need to say anything. The love was being shown through our eyes.
“I don’t care what she says,” I finally admitted. “I love you no matter what.”
“And obviously she loves you too,” he smiled. “She’s downstairs figuring out a date that works best for the wedding.” He placed a kiss on my lips. “Would you like to become Mrs. Lawrence tonight?”
“Tonight?” I exclaimed while sitting up.
“Yes. The court house doesn’t close for another hour or so.”
This was all going so fast. However, the adrenaline felt good so I quickly agreed to it. “I don’t have anything to wear!” I said as I ran over to my closet. Keiffer grabbed my hand, pulling me in so our foreheads were touching.
“You’re perfect just the way you are.” Still holding my hand, he led me down the stairs. Jack and Anna had left, but my mom was still at the table with Indigo and my dad. It looked as though my mom had been crying and I suddenly felt guilty.
“Mom…” I whispered. She looked up at me. “You’re agreeing to the wedding?” She nodded her head slowly, not wanting to look me in the eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I just didn’t want to lose my daughter.”
“Oh, mom,” I said quietly. I walked to where she was and slipped her into a hug. It was very heartfelt and I love her with all that I had. However, she’d never treated me like she loved me. It had always been about her and her status. I couldn’t ever life up to her expectations. They were much too high for me to handle. “You’ll never lose me.”
“I already did,” she forced a smile. “But I’d rather you have Indigo for a mother figure. She’ll be a good mother to you.”
“She’s pretty amazing, isn’t she?” I smiled at Indigo. I could see tears forming in Indigo’s eyes also. “But you’ll always be my mom.”
“I know, honey. I know.” She patted me quickly on the back before standing to her feet. She was never one for mushy moments like that. “Well, I must be going. Jack and I have a dinner date tonight. Though it’s always a…pleasure…being here.” She quickly shot Indigo a dirty look. “It was so nice seeing you, Indigo.”
“As always,” Indigo mimicked. Mom seemed to get Indigo’s sarcasm and she pursed her lips in disgust. Then, with one last glare around the room, mom left the house.
Well, we didn’t get married that night. As soon as my mom left, Indigo, my dad, Keiffer and I just sat around the dining room and talked. We hadn’t done that since…ever! It was nice to see how well my dad and Indigo got along. At least I knew that after we got married, the two parent-in-laws would get along great.
We decided to hold off going to the court house until the next day. We wanted our parents to be there. But, like expected, news had traveled quickly once we got to school. It was probably little Anna who told the school about what had happened at my house the night before. As soon as we got to the school, every pair of eyes were on us.
“Do you ever have that feeling that someone is watching you?” Keiffer whispered playfully as we walked through the hallway.
I jabbed him gently in the side with my elbow. “Just ignore them.”
“When I first met you I knew you were popular. But now actually being on your level…I don’t think I can handle this,” he said nervously, but with a smile on his face.
“You want to break up with me?” I teased. He shrugged his shoulders and I jabbed him again. Even though it felt as though the whole world was watching, he was still the center of my universe.
We got to my locker and I started to unload my books from my backpack. Keiffer kept to himself, like he normally did when we were at my locker. Not every second spent together was filled with talking. We were content with just being with each other and that’s it. He excused himself quickly so he could go make a phone call.
“You’re getting married, huh?” Brad asked, his arms crossed against his chest. Now, just because I was in love with Keiffer didn’t mean that Brad couldn’t still take my breath away when we walked into a room. I was still totally attracted to him. He had a great body, hair, smile…but he wasn’t Keiffer.
I nodded my head, shutting my locker door firmly. “We got engaged last night and we got permission from our parents.”
“That’s romantic,” Brad said sarcastically. “Nothing says love like asking your parents for permission.”
“What do you want, Brad?” I asked rudely. In a way, I actually felt guilty for talking to him. Not because Keiffer would get mad, but because I knew how much Brad loved me. In fact, as I looked into his eyes I could tell that he still loved me. And I still loved him…but in a different way. He would always mean a lot to me. Just because I couldn’t be with him romantically didn’t mean that I hated his guts or anything.
“You’re making a big mistake,” he said suddenly. He stepped forward, grabbing the sides of my face. I tried to fight it, but I still cared about him.
“How so?” I whispered. I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at him completely. The love of my life was outside, I couldn’t give in to temptation.
“Because I love you, Jenna. I could give you everything. Your baby? I’ll raise it as my own. You don’t have to sacrifice school. Your life will be perfect with me.” He tilted my chin upward so I was forced to look into his eyes. “And you know that I’m perfect for you.”
“I know you love me. But it wouldn’t be fair to you if I pretended to love you back. Don’t think of those four years as wasted. I just…I really love Keiffer. He’s different than you. Hell, he’s different than me,” I said as a tear escaped. “And he’s the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
“Please, Jenna…” Brad pleaded.
“I think she’s already told you the answer,” Keiffer said, shutting his phone quickly. “And if you don’t mind, please get your hands off of my fiancé.”
Brad dropped his hands, hate running through his veings. He clenched his fist as he kept his eyes locked on Keiffer’s. “I told you to keep away from her,” Brad growled. “I knew this was going to happen. The second I heard he was in your room –“
“Brad, that was all a misunderstanding. We already talked about that,” I tried to reassure him. “But you can’t determine when and where love is going to happen. It’s not Keiffer’s fault that I fell for him.”
“Shut your mouth, you dirty whore!” Brad pushed me against the locker. I hit my head hard against the metal and I slid to the ground.
Everything that happened after that was a blur. Keiffer punched Brad in the jaw when he wasn’t expecting it. Then it became a huge fight in the middle of the hallway. I blacked out after a few minutes later, only waking up to a huge headache in the nurse’s office. I looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Keiffer was nowhere in sight.
“Keiffer?” I asked, sitting up from the bench that I was laying on. The nurse walked into the room carrying a clip board. “Keiffer?” I asked the nurse.
“He was suspended, along with Brad.” She placed her clipboard down on the counter. “You’re lucky Principal Nelson didn’t suspend you also. Luckily, the two men kept saying that you were innocent in this whole thing. Sit up, let me hear your heart.”
It wasn’t until I got home did I finally get to see Keiffer. I didn’t even stop at my house before letting myself through his front door. I walked into his room, not surprised to see him lying in his bed. I slid in next to him, placing my body against his. He woke up and ran his fingers through my hair. He only had a cut below his eye, but nothing that would swell or take a long time to heal.
“You’re in a lot of trouble,” I laughed quietly.
“All in the name of love,” he responded. “I did a good number on Brad though. He has a split lip.” I kissed me gently.
“Brad’s a good guy –“
“Good? He wasn’t so good when he nearly gave you a concussion.” He kissed me again, and I melted against him. His kisses were always filled with so much love. They nearly knocked me out worse than earlier. “Come’on, I’ve gotta show you something.”
He took my hand and we walked outside. He positioned me in the driveway so I was looking at the garage. He didn’t say anything, but instead called his house, where Indigo picked up. As soon as he hung up the phone, the garage door opened. There, in the middle of the garage, was an old (very old) Toyota. My heart stopped beating and my eyes jumped from Keiffer and then back to the car.
“Keiffer…,” I said, my heart pumping like crazy.
“My mom and I got you a new car,” Keiffer smiled. I wrapped him in a hug and he twirled me around the driveway as I screamed with glee. I couldn’t believe it. I showered him with a million kisses as we stood there together. “It’s nothing fancy, as you can tell. But it runs and we have the title. Well, it’s under my mom’s name.”