“I’m so glad you’re finally home, son,” my dad, Frank, says. That’s right, he’s Franklin Franklin the second and hates it. Personally, I find it funny. I’m Franklin Franklin, the third, but everyone has always called me Garrett.
“Me too. This is where I belong.”
“You know, things have changed since you’ve been gone.”
“I imagine that they have.”
“Karlee isn’t the same girl she was.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“You’ll see.” His cryptic response isn’t what I wanted to hear.
“It’s not my place to tell you her secrets.”
“She has secrets?” I ask, confused.
“Everyone has secrets.”
“I don’t,” I answer honestly. Truth be told, I’m a boring guy. I worked while I was in Indiana and went to school. Besides football, I did nothing else.
“I guess you don’t, Garrett, but she does.”
“I have to find her,” I tell him.
“She still lives with her dad, over on Oakmont.”
“Not for long,” I tell him.
We chat for a bit longer; then I take my leave. I don’t care what kind of secrets Karlee has, or if she has a man, she’s mine. She’s always been mine, and nothing is going to come between us.
Not time, not distance. Nothing.
CHAPTER TWO
Karlee
I am a terrible person. When I fell in love in kindergarten, I thought we would last forever. Little did I know that being an adult sucked. I thought I was doing the right thing, but a thousand plus sleepless nights have told me otherwise. I miss him more than I thought was humanly possible. I am sitting in the dark in my bedroom, the one I’ve had since I was born, crying. What else can I do? No one told me that doing the right thing would hurt so much. He’s home, and he’s going to know that I lied to him. I’ll never forget the look on his face when I broke both of our hearts. It haunts my dreams.
“We need to talk,” I said. It was late; we’d just had sex, and I thought that might make it easier, but it only made things worse.
“About what?” he’d asked. He tried to pull me closer to him for cuddles like he always did, but I pulled away. I found out I was pregnant earlier that day, and I knew that he’d never leave Ranchero Plains if I told him. I couldn’t be the reason he never made anything of himself.
“I can’t be with you anymore,” I said.
“Bullshit.” He laughed. He wasn’t getting it. So, coldly as I could muster, I got up, got dressed, and prepared to leave.
“Don’t call me, G. I can’t be what you need me to be.”
“What’s gotten into you, Karlee?”
“Go. Live your life and stay out of mine,” I yelled.
“Is there someone else?” he asked. His voice sounded strangled and haunted. That’s where the look on his face broke me.
“No. Of course not,” I managed to say. There could never, would never be someone else for me.
“Then why? Why are you doing this to me? To us?”
“It’s time. Beyond time. That’s all you need to know.” I turned and walked out of his bedroom, past his mom and dad, who were watching tv in the living room. My best friend Kristina was out on her first date with Josh Morgan, who is now her husband.
“Karlee!” he shouted. I knew he was coming for me. I took off running through the rest of the house and out to my car. He ran out of his house naked for me, screaming my name. My heart broke into a million pieces and hasn’t repaired itself yet.
Selfishly, I took one last look at him and all his glory and peeled out of the driveway, headed for home. The second I was in my room, I locked myself in and broke down and cried. Tears of sadness and regret burned bitterly as they fell down my cheeks. I didn’t come out of my room for almost two weeks. I was so depressed my entire pregnancy, but I knew I had to do better for my baby. I thought my dad would kill me when he found out, but instead, he was my rock. He said things happen for a reason, and who was he to judge. A lot of my depression came from the thought that he was with other girls. Falling in love with someone else, fucking them. It killed me, the idea still does, but I told him to go; I can’t be mad about it.
And now he’s home. He’s gonna know. The second he sees her, he’s gonna know. Frankie is three and my whole world. When she was born, I felt like I had a purpose in life. She looks just like Garrett, and its fresh torture every time I look into her beautiful green eyes.
It’s late, but everybody and their brother has called my dad to tell them they’ve seen Garrett around town. Everybody knows too. It’s too hard to keep secrets in a small town. I'm surprised no one told him when he came home for the holidays. I just hope I get the chance to tell him about Frankie before someone else does.