Obsessed with a Daddy

“I didn’t know how you would react—if you would even want to see me again once you found out.” I heard a light sob in her throat.

“Well I’m not angry.” I leaned back from our embrace. “If that’s what you were worried about. And I’m sure as hell not going anywhere.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen.” She looked up at me with eyes that were on the verge of tears—a millisecond before they overflowed and streamed down her face. “I was on the pill—I never missed a single day—it shouldn’t have been possible.”

“Then it’s a miracle.” I wiped the tears away. “Our miracle.”

“I have no idea what I’m going to do.” She looked down.

“What we’re going to do.” I took her hand and squeezed it. “This isn’t just your problem—and I don’t even want to call it that. We’ll figure this out together. Don’t stress—don’t worry—whatever is going on in your head right now, let it go. We have a baby on the way and we’re going to love it, take care of it, and…”

“Never yell at it?” A hint of a smile formed on the corner of our lips.

“I mean, I wouldn’t go that far,” I chuckled under my breath. “What if we have a little girl and some older man takes advantage of her…”

“We’ll let them both get a word in edgewise rather than waking up the whole neighborhood?” Her hint of a smile turned into the beautiful one I fell in love with.

“We’ll—try.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “Let’s talk to your parents and get that over with; then I think we need to sit down and figure a few things out.”

Mr. Pierce was still angry. I didn’t think that was going to fade anytime soon. All I could do was reassure him that I had every intention of taking care of his daughter and the child that was on the way. Mrs. Pierce was a little warmer, but she still had quite a few concerns. I didn’t have answers to her questions and neither did Holly, because we hadn’t sat down to talk through them yet. There was a lot to discuss, and we promised to sit down with them once we had some time to make the important decisions. The only thing that really mattered to me at the moment was taking care of the woman who was going to have my child. Thankfully, her parents didn’t raise any objects when I suggested that Holly and I go back to my place to talk about those things in private. They were calm enough for that, at least.

Now for the hard part—actually figuring it out.

Chapter Sixteen

Holly

I truly had no idea how Everette would react when he found out I was pregnant. I wanted to do it in private—but the situation just pushed my back against the wall. I was embarrassed and humiliated from being pulled out of Everette’s arms and marched home like a child—embarrassed even more by the way he acted when Everette showed up at our door. My mother was the voice of reason for a while, but even she started to lose it when things got heated. Everette was doing his best to remain calm, but I knew there was a fire inside him that would eventually lash out at my parents—and that wasn’t going to do anyone any good. I didn’t want my parents to hate Everette—not when he was the father of their grandchild. My outburst wasn’t the best way to tell everyone that I was pregnant, but it was better than watching the situation devolve even further than it already had.

“I love you, Holly. We’re going to get through this.” Everette hugged me as soon as we left my parents’ house.

“I love you too.” I laid my head on his shoulder.

I know that with absolute certainty now.

“Let’s talk through some of your concerns.” Everette led me into his house, and we sat down on the couch. “You’ve had a lot longer to process this than I have.”

“I was scared to make any sort of decision without talking to you.” I looked down and sighed. “I guess my first concern is school. There are family dorms at the University of Arizona, but they are expensive and there’s a waiting list…”

“Would you be willing to consider going to school here in Los Angeles?” He slid closer and took my hand. “I’m sure your credits will transfer.”

“Yeah, they probably would.” I nodded. “I just—I don’t even know what my major is going to be yet. I may have to take a semester off once the baby is born—then I have to find a daycare…”

“Those are all problems we can easily solve.” Everette nodded. “If you transfer to a school in Los Angeles, you won’t have to worry about a place to live—you’ll stay here with me. Daycare won’t be an issue. My mother will watch the baby when we’re both busy with work and school…”

“She will?” I blinked in surprise. “Shouldn’t we ask first?”

“She’s told me multiple times that all I have to do is give her a grandchild and she’ll make sure it’s taken care of.” Everette chuckled under his breath. “Trust me; my mother may start doing cartwheels when she finds out that she is going to get to hold her first grandchild in six months. She stopped dropping hints a long time ago—now it’s become more of a demand.”

“At least your family will be happy…” I shook my head and sighed.

“I think your parents will come around.” Everette squeezed my hand. “They’re in shock right now, and it’s understandable, but they still love you.”

All of my concerns started to fade away as I talked through things with Everette. He was excited about being a father and had no intentions of pushing me away because I got pregnant. He loved me, and he was going to be there for our baby. Relocating to Los Angeles did make the most sense. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to move in with him, but I didn’t think my parents would have any problem with me staying with them while I went to college. It was discussed when I was trying to decide what college I would attend, but I wanted to put some distance between us so that I could learn to be on my own before I stepped out into the real world—getting pregnant certainly changed my perspective about that. The last thing I wanted was to be alone. I was going to need all the support I could get.

“Okay, so I’ll find a school in Los Angeles. I’ll move back here after this semester is over—next door for now.” I looked up at him and smiled.

“But you’ll visit every day…” He narrowed his eyes.