Sweethearts

“I don’t care. I don’t want anything else but you. That’s all I want. You’re the only future I see happening. I’m asking you now, so you don’t think it’s because of a baby or not a baby. I want to marry you, Ruby. Even if that stick says you’re not pregnant, one day, I want to have babies with you.”

“You really mean this?”

“Yes. More than anything.”

“Our parents could tell us no.”

“Then I hope that stick says yes so we can have what we want.” He kissed her knuckles. “I mean every word I say to you, Ruby. I love you so much. I want to spend my life with you. No tricks. No nothing. Just you and me, and if you’re pregnant, a little baby.”

She was crying again, and he wondered if that was the hormones.

“Yes,” she said.

“Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.” She sniffled. “We’ve got to see the answer.”

“Okay.” Not that it mattered to him. Regardless of the answer, she was going to belong to him, and he could handle anything that was sent their way, be it a baby at eighteen, or an angry dad.

Actually, he wondered how angry her father would be.

Staring down at the stick, and matching it to the results on the packaging, he saw that he was indeed going to have to face off with an angry father.

Ruby was pregnant with his baby.

He tightened his arms around her.

They both tensed as he heard the front door slam.

“Theo!”

“Ruby!”

Both of sets of parents had heard the news, and what’s more, they knew they were in his bedroom.

“Do you think we can sneak out of the window and pretend we were never here?” Ruby asked.

“It sounds like a plan, but right now, I don’t think we’ve got much choice. We’ve got to face them.”

“I don’t want to,” Ruby said.

“We’re engaged, Ruby. We’re getting married, and now we have a baby on the way.” The words were weird coming out of his mouth, but the more he thought about their situation, the happier he was. “We go down together. Also, I may have to use you as a human shield from your dad.”

She chuckled. “Okay, together. We can do this. I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”

Holding hands, they left the safety of his bedroom, to four angry faces that were at the bottom of the stairs.

He wasn’t wrong.

Phil looked ready to murder him.

****

Two months later

Ruby stared at her husband as his arms were around her. She was starting to show now, the bump of their baby pretty noticeable. Theo didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, he loved the prospect of becoming a daddy while she was freaking out. They had already come up with a plan. They were both going to college together. Theo had gotten a full scholarship, and they were even happy to help accommodate a new wife and child. In fact, they wanted to promote his sense of responsibility to the game. She’d be studying part-time, and their parents had even agreed to help out so she could still get her degree and write.

Their parents had been so angry with both of them. They had to sit side by side while for three hours straight, they yelled, argued, and told them how bad they were at making decisions.

She didn’t need anyone telling her just how bad she was at making decisions, but being in Theo’s arms now, as his wife, she knew she would give him everything.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She saw the concern in his eyes. Since they were now married, and she was nearly three months pregnant, the morning sickness kept kicking her ass, but she was coping. A lot of women handled this, and she wasn’t going to be any different.

“I’m doing okay. I can’t believe we’re married now.”

“Phil threatened to shoot me last night.”

“He did?”

“Yep, he said if I wasn’t here today, my life was as good as over.” Theo burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. I love you more than anything in the world, and I think I even laughed at him.”

“You didn’t?”

“I totally did. I found it funny for him to think I wouldn’t be here. You’ve been my first crush, Ruby. This, for me, is a dream come true.”

“Guys are not supposed to care about their wedding.”

“I’m not like normal guys. I want to be married to you. I love you, and this is the start of the rest of our lives.”

“You’re not afraid?”

“What do I have to be afraid of?” he asked. “I’ve got a beautiful wife. A child on the way. Everything. I know we’re going to be the best we both can be, and, Ruby, I’ll never stop loving you.”

“You always say the right words.”

“They’re how I feel, which will always make them the right ones.”

He pulled her in close, pressing his lips against hers, and she melted. He really had gotten inside her heart, and now there was no room for anyone else, just Theo.