The Moment We Began (A Fairhope New Adult Romance) (10 page)

“For the time being, you’ll no longer
have access to your car,” Dad says. “If you want to go
somewhere, you’ll need to get a ride with your brother or with
one of us.”

I lean back against the seat. We’ve made it
to the punishment phase of the lecture. I relax because I know this
whole thing is almost over. I’ll take my punishment and move
on. I’m twenty-one years old, so there’s not much they
can do to me that will make life too hard. I can live without a car
for a little while if I have to.

“No more parties. No throwing them or going
to them,” he says. “You’re not to step foot in
Knox’s bar or any bar for the next six months.”

I don’t protest. There will be no parties or
drinking for me in the coming months, anyway.

Still, I’m caught in a very tricky situation
here. I’m old enough to do what I want, but I still live in my
parents’ house. I drive a car they paid for. I rely on them for
a lot of things, including money. I’ve never had a job and I
know I would never be able to do what Leigh Anne did. I couldn’t
work as a waitress on my feet all day. Especially not pregnant.

“We’ve also decided to cut your
spending down to a small allowance,” he says.

I look up. I clutch my hands together so tight,
they’ turn white.

“You’re cutting me off?”

“Not exactly,” Mom says. “The
trust fund from your grandparents has been frozen and we’re
putting you on a strict budget.”

Anger flashes through me. Are they really going to
do this to me?

Baby Isaac immediately flashes into my mind. I am
supposed to bring five thousand dollars to the hospital tomorrow to
pay for his surgery.

My heart tightens in my chest.

“How strict?”

“We’ve arranged a prepaid card for you
that we’ll load one hundred dollars on each week,” she
says.

My eyes widen and my jaw drops. Some days, I spend
more than that on lunch. I wasn’t expecting them to cut it down
so much. This isnever going to be enough.“A hundred dollars?
Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Watch your language.” Dad’s
voice booms through the great room. “If we wanted to, we could
kick you out of the house without a cent to your name. We could have
let them put you in jail for a few days until a judge could
officially charge you with drunk driving. Trust me, there are a lot
worse things that could happen for you here.”

“How long?” I ask, crossing my arms in
front of me. “How long am I going to be on this budget?”

“Six months,” Dad says. “Every
expense will need to be accounted for. We’ll also pay for your
books and tuition once school starts back, of course.”

Six months is going to be too late. I drop my head
into my hands. This can’t be happening. I promised that family
I would help them save their son. If he dies, it will be all my
fault.

I know that if I ask them for the money, they’ll
give me the same speech they’ve given me a thousand times. We
can’t be personally responsible for every family that falls
into tragedy. Our money is better spent going to charities with
people who are trained to help families like this. Blah, blah, blah.
They’ll only be angry with me for promising the money when it
was never really mine to give.

Guilt washes over me.

“Seeing your reaction to the idea of a
budget just confirms to me that this is the best thing for you right
now,” Mom says. “We have tried our best to raise children
who weren’t spoiled by money. We wanted to give you every
opportunity without making you greedy or entitled. But it’s
obvious to me now that somewhere along the way, we made some mistakes
with you, Penelope. If money means so much to you that having to go
on a budget is the most upsetting part of this ordeal, then maybe you
need a lesson on how to go without for a while. Maybe it’s time
you learned to be grateful for what you have instead of taking all of
this for granted.”

I bite the inside of my lower lip to keep myself
from talking back. She has no idea what she’s saying. Yes, I’ve
gotten used to having nice things, but I’m sure I could handle
living on a budget for a while. She has no idea why that money is
really important to me.

I’ve got to find another way to get the
money for them.

Not to mention that I’m going to need some
way to pay for all the doctor’s visits and baby gear. I’m
going to need a new car. My two-door sports car isn’t going to
be very baby-seat friendly. By the time this budget is lifted, I’ll
only be a few months away from my due date.

I look over at Preston. Maybe I could convince him
to take some money to the hospital for me.

“Don’t even think about it,” Mom
says.

“What?”

“I saw that look,” she says. “Preston,
you’re going to have to account for your expenses for the next
six months as well. You won’t have to live on a budget, but we
are going to be checking to make sure you aren’t funneling
money to your sister.”

Preston shakes his head and gives me a sympathetic
look.

I close my eyes and pray for this meeting to be
over already. All I can think about as they list off the rest of
their conditions is that tiny little baby in the incubator. What if
that were my baby who needed help? No, I can’t let this happen.

I’m going to find a way to help, no matter
what it takes.

Eventually, I’m going to have to face my
friends. Right now, I need them more than ever, but I’ve never
been so scared to make a few calls.

What if everyone thinks I’m a complete
loser? What if they don’t want to be around me anymore?

One of my worst fears in life is that if I ever
lost all my money, I’d find out that none of my friendships
were real. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to find out. I
want to be very careful who finds out about this. I’d be
mortified if the whole town was bragging about how Penny’s
parents cut her off. Finding out I’m pregnant and alone is
going to be bad enough on its own.

Back up in my room the following day, I make a
mental list of people I feel I can trust enough to help me and not to
gossip about this to everyone in town.

Sadly, the list is very small.

Leigh Anne is a no-brainer. She might be angry
with me over what happened, but she’s not the judgmental type.
I just hope Dad never followed through with his threat to have Knox’s
bar closed down. That will definitely up the anger factor.

Summer and Bailey are on the list, too, but every
time I try to write down Krystal’s name, I hesitate. Krystal
and I have been friends for a very long time, but I have this feeling
deep in my gut that she’d turn her back on me in an instant. In
fact, I think Krystal might actually be excited if I lost all my
money. She’d do her best to try and replace me at the top of
the social chain.

I can’t think of anyone else who belongs on
that list. I would have put Mason on it, but since he’s not
answering my calls right now, I can’t count on him.

Besides Leigh Anne and Summer, I haven’t
gotten any text messages from friends.

When I have a party coming up, I have people
texting and calling me left and right. I’ll sometimes get three
hundred texts in the space of an evening if word gets out that I’m
opening up the pool here at the house the next day, but get in a
drunk driving accident and only ten messages come through, six of
which are from Leigh Anne.

There’s one from Summer. Surprisingly,
there’s also one from Jenna. I wouldn’t have expected to
hear from her, but her message was a simple
Let me know if you
need anything
.

The other two messages are from random people
asking if there’s anything going on this weekend. Guess those
two are severely out of the loop around here.

So far, I haven’t responded to any of them.

I pick my phone up, my palms clammy and my stomach
churning. I dial Leigh Anne’s number, letting out a long breath
while it rings.

“Penny?”

I haven’t even had a chance to say hello
yet. Leigh Anne sounds scared.

“I’m okay,” I say. “I’m
sorry I didn’t call you sooner, but life has been a little
crazy over here.”

“I’ve been so worried about you,”
she says. “Preston texted me to say you weren’t seriously
hurt, but I can’t even imagine what you’ve been going
through.”

“Is Knox okay?” I ask. “I never
wanted to get him into any kind of trouble.”

Leigh Anne chuckles. “Trust me, Knox has
been in worse situations than this. He can handle himself. Don’t
worry about us, I just want to make sure you’re okay. Preston
said something about some cuts and scrapes?”

“Just a few minor things,” I say.
“Listen, I really need to see you. I hate to ask for a favor at
a time like this, but I need your help with something important. Can
you come over? I’m currently without car privileges.”

“I figured your parents were planning to
lock you away for awhile,” she says. “What is it with our
parents still treating us like we’re kids?”

“This is what happens when you still rely on
them for everything instead of moving out and getting a job,” I
say. “You seemed to figure that out before I did.”

“Barely,” she says. “When do you
want me?”

“As soon as you can get here.” I look
around my bedroom, a plan formulating in my brain.

“You sure everything’s okay?”

“It’s going to be,” I say. “I’ll
see you soon?”

“I’m practically on my way.”

I hang up, then go into the bedroom and search my
closet for a small bag. The only thing I can find that isn’t
crazy huge or way too small is my Fairhope High cheerleading bag. I
dump my old pompoms and sneakers on the floor and start filling it
with anything I think I can sell fast. I search my room for cash,
jewelry, expensive clothes, whatever will fit. It’s a lot, but
I’m scared it isn’t going to be enough. Five grand is a
lot of money to come up with overnight.

This is my only hope, though. It’s either
this or go back on my word to the family. And right now, their little
baby feels like the most important thing in the world. Like maybe if
I can help him, I can erase the guilt of the danger I put my own baby
in. I know that’s not how the world works, but my heart is
clinging to it.

I’m on my way out the door to wait for Leigh
Anne when a plastic bag on my counter catches my eye.

It’s my bag of personal effects from the
hospital. I pick it up and the diamond bracelet inside sparkles like
it’s lit up from within. I rub the back of my neck. It’s
so wrong, I don’t even want to think about it. Haven’t I
made enough bad decisions lately?

The phone rings. It’s probably Leigh Anne
telling me she’s outside, but I can’t take my eye off
that bracelet.

I bite my lip, then shake my head. I turn toward
the door, but as soon as I get my hand on the doorknob, I turn back.

I quickly grab the bracelet and shove it deep
inside my bag, then run out to meet Leigh Anne.

I’m dying to talk to Leigh Anne about Mason.
I want to know if she’s heard from him or seen him around town
since the accident.

I’m tempted to ask her if she’ll drive
me by his house so I can hold his front porch hostage until he agrees
to talk to me.

But I’m still not a hundred percent certain
what I’m going to say to him. I know eventually I’m going
to have to tell him I’m pregnant, but I’m too scared
right now to even think about that.

A car buzzes at the gate, but when I look out,
it’s not Leigh Anne. I don’t even recognize the car
that’s out there. I squint at the security cam, but I’m
not sure who is inside. The car’s an old Toyota that looks like
it has seen better days. Definitely not something any of my friends
drive.

My cell rings again and I fish it out of my bag,
expecting it to be Leigh Anne.

But it’s Jenna.

I’m confused. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I’m apparently sitting outside Fort
Knox here and your security dude won’t let me inside,”
she says. “Can you see me?”

I look back to the security cam. Jenna leans half
her body out the window and sticks her tongue out at the camera.

I laugh. “Hold on a sec.”

I hit the intercom button on the security panel.
“Jason, can you let Jenna in, please? She’s a friend.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

The gate starts to open and I walk toward the
front door. My mom’s voice stops me.

“Penny? Where are you going, sweetheart?”
she asks, her voice tense. She’s staring at the bag in my hand
like it’s a bomb.

“I’m going to go hang out with some
friends for a little bit,” I say. “Don’t worry. No
parties or anything.”

She walks over and taps on the monitor. “I
don’t recognize that girl,” she says. She crosses her
arms in front of her body.

I’m annoyed at the accusatory tone, but at
the same time, I brought this on myself. And I have a stolen bracelet
in my bag and am about to break some major rules. So, yeah, I’m
not exactly blameless here or beyond suspicion.

“She’s a good friend of Leigh Anne’s,”
I explain. “Her name is Jenna and she goes to FCU. She waits
tables at Brantley’s.”

“How come you girls don’t just spend
some time here? You could use the pool or the game room,” she
says. “I could have Maggie cook something nice for dinner if
you want.”

“No thanks,” I say. “I’m
going to go hang out at Leigh Anne’s apartment for a while.
It’s in the same complex as Preston’s. We’re just
going straight there.”

She sighs. “Okay, but please call if you
need anything. And no drinking, please.”

“I promise.” That’s an easy one.
“No more drinking.”

The muscles in her cheeks relax, but she doesn’t
walk away. She just stands there, staring at me.

“I’ll be home later.” I give her
a weak smile, then bolt out the door.