Preacher's Son

Author's Note: This is a very bare-bones begining of a rough draft of an idea that I had. It has been two years since I have attempted to write anything so things are definitely a bit rough. I know that there are grammar mistakes in here as I was not really checking for them when I was writing. I appreciate all constructive criticism. Thanks!          


                       “I’m sorry,” The young woman’s voice was barely a whisper as she snuggled closer to him, allowing Bryan’s strong arms to envelope her tiny frame, “I didn’t know where else to go.”
         “Don’t worry so much,” he planted a soft kiss on her temple. “My parents wont be home for a few more hours anyway and even if they were here, they wouldn’t mind.”
         For one reason or another, she found his gentle tone soothing though it didn’t completely ease her growing anxiety. “Where am I supposed to go Bry? What am I supposed to do?”
         “I already told you Abbey. My dad will figure something out for you. And I’m sure your parents will calm down and change their minds soon. They’re just in shock. I would be more worried if they didn’t care at all.” He was starting to sound a bit stressed too, his hand gently rubbing her arm.
         “Have you forgotten who my parents are Bryan?” Her brown eyes studied him as if he were completely crazy. “My father will never be okay with this. He’s never going to calm down. I will never be the golden child that I always have been. I will never measure up to the person he expected me to be. I’m supposed to be out auditioning for places to dance, not sitting around having a baby.” Her voice trailed off as tears began to fall down her rosy cheeks, leaving tiny wet stains on her shirt. “I’m only seventeen…” She was talking more to herself than she was to him.
         “I’m sorry,” he mumbled after a long pause. He blamed himself, for all of it. It didn’t matter that she had wanted to be with him that night just as much as he wanted to be with her. He still felt responsible. If only he had stopped himself. There wasn’t any amount of talking could remove the guilt rising with each of her tears. “…If I could change what happened that night, I would.” There it was again, another tense moment of silence. “We’ll figure something out.”
         “How?” Her soft pink lips slowly moved to form a bit of a frown. “What choices to I have besides getting a job and a place of my own? Dancing is out of the question right now Bryan.” She sighed. “And there isn’t any possibility of my father giving me more than a single penny..”
         He reached over and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. “We’re going to get through this.” He had to be strong, for her. “I don’t know how, but we will. Your going to go to college, just like you planned. I wont let this baby tear your dreams apart. If anyone is going to make any sacrifices, it’s going to be me.” He took in a deep breath, choosing his next words carefully. “God is going to help us through this Abbey.”
         “Don’t,” her tone suddenly changed as she jerked out of his hold, standing. “Don’t talk to me about God. From what I can gather, the God that you always go on and on about wouldn’t have been stupid enough to let me get pregnant and I’m pretty sure that He wouldn’t have let my parents kick me out!”
         “You don’t mean that…”
         “A baby Bryan! This isn’t something that is just going to suddenly go away! How can you sit there and be so calm, talking as if God has given us some incredible gift?!”
         “I’ve prayed about it…” he said softly, his tone even as he watched her. “I’ve accepted what God has chosen to do in our lives. Of course the timing is awful, and things are going to be really hard…but we have to play the hand we are dealt.” He sounded more and more like his father every day. Quite possibly he would follow in his footsteps.
         She sighed, plopping back down on the couch. The flood of emotions left as quickly as they came. “I’m really glad that you seem fine with all of this…but I am here to tell you that I don’t think I ever will be. So don’t expect it. I don’t want a damn baby.”
         Concern filled his blue eyes almost instantly, “…we already decided…to keep the baby..” Bryan’s tone had changed, his words more of a question than a statement.
         “Yeah…” She knew exactly what he wanted to know and she reached over and took his hand, reassuring him that she hadn’t changed her mind about that part even though a voice in the back of her head was still screaming at her to do so. She might not be the faithful Christian that he was, but she didn’t believe in abortion and knew it would be impossible to carry a baby for nine months only to hand it away to someone else. “I’m starting to get a bump,” she said softly as she leaned back into the cushions. “People are going to notice…” For his family’s sake, she wanted more than anything to hide her pregnancy as long as she could. The last thing she wanted to do was taint the name of a very well known minister.
         “People are going to notice eventually anyway…” He tried to sort out the endless thoughts that were running through his mind as he spoke. “Maybe…” There was a pause, his thumb running gently back and forth across her hand “Maybe we should get married…” Of course he had intended to be by her side and help her raise the baby, but it was at that moment that the idea of making Abigail his wife came to him. And strangely enough, having said it, it didn’t sound that scary; Instead of making him more anxious, it actually helped put him at peace. Bryan knew that it was the only logical thing to do from a Christian standpoint, but he wasn’t sure how his girlfriend would react. He held his breath.
         Immediately, her brown eyes were wide, staring at him. “Married…” she said the word slowly, as if it was foreign to her. “You're serious?”
         Never really one to speak impulsively, he waited a moment before answering her, “I love you Abbey, and we are going to have a baby together. For me, it is a logical thing to do. You won't have to worry about not having a support system, we can stay together, people won't talk so much…”
         “Marriage is forever Bryan. We just graduated from high school. We’re so young and I…” she frowned. “You can really see yourself spending the rest of your life with me?”
         “I love you,” He repeated. Not much more needed to be said.
         “I love you too, but…” She looked away.
         It wasn’t like he had expected her to jump at the opportunity, but Bryan also wasn’t prepared for her to completely shy away from it either. Somewhere in the middle would have been nice. It hurt him more than he thought it could. To see the look of fear and near horror in her eyes at the mention of spending the rest of their lives together almost killed him and he started to doubt if her love for him was anywhere near what he had for her. “It was just a thought.”
         Abbey slowly turned her gaze toward the front door just as Bryan’s father walked in. She braced herself for the conversation that was to come although she knew almost without a doubt that it would end in Reverend Arlington allowing her to stay there at least for the time being.
         “Abbey,” Cole smiled, setting his keys on a table next to the door. He could sense that something wasn’t right but instead of prying, he allowed his son to come to him.
         “Abbey told her parents,” Bryan said just as his father sat down. “They kicked her out of the house…let her take a suitcase with some clothes. She has nowhere to go.”
         The smile slowly faded from the preacher’s lips and he watched the young couple for a moment before he spoke. Being the compassionate man he was, he turned to Abbey “You can stay here as long as you need to, until both of you figure out what your next step is.” Of course, Cole had his own opinion on what that step should be. He had prayed long and hard that the two would decide to have their baby in wedlock, and of course had no idea that his son had already mentioned it to the scared young girl in front of him.
         “You can share a room with Brooke,” Bryan grinned. With four other siblings, there weren’t any empty rooms in the house but he figured that sharing a room with a five-year-old was scores better than having no place at all. “At least, that’s the best idea I have.” He looked over to his father who nodded.
         “I think that would be just fine. There is an extra twin bed in there. I’m afraid you won't have all of the space and privacy you are used to, but if we see that you are going to be here for an extended period of time, we’ll figure something else out.”
         “This is already more than I could ever ask for. Sharing a room wont be a problem.” Abbey was more grateful than they knew. “I can't thank you enough for this.” Her free hand moved to rest on her lower abdomen.
         “Bryan, why don’t you take her up to the bedroom so she can put her things away and then meet me in my office.”
         He knew by his father’s tone that whatever he wanted to talk to him about was serious. Not that it was any surprise. He was having a baby with his seventeen-year-old girlfriend. Most everything that was happening in his life now was serious. The days of partying and going out were long gone.
         Abbey stood, following Bryan up the stairs with her duffle bag thrown over her shoulder. She stopped as she got to the doorway of Brooke’s room, pausing to look at her boyfriend. “Thanks…for being here for me.”
         “There isn’t a chance of it being any other way,” he smiled, planting a soft kiss on her forehead before he headed back downstairs.          
         Left alone to deal with her own thoughts, Abigail frowned as she closed the door, tossing her bag onto the twin bed that was obviously not being used. Sitting down on the mattress, she suddenly realized just how desperate her situation was. A few outfits were crammed into her bag, but other than that…there was not much more than the twenty dollars that was tucked inside her wallet. Granted, her debit card did have a little over one hundred dollars on it but she knew that wouldn’t get her far. Everything she owned was at her parent’s house. It felt strange, to refer that way to the home she grew up in. After all, just a few hours ago it had been her home too. Tears again spilled down her cheeks without warning for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Instead of wiping them away, she lay down and curled up with a pillow in her arms, staring ahead of herself. She was certain things couldn’t get any worse.

*****

         “I asked her to marry me,” his voice was barely audible and his eyes were glued to the ground.
         Cole took a deep breath, studying his son as he leaned back in his chair, “Is that what you want son?”
         Blue eyes slowly looked up to meet his father’s gaze, “I love Abbey.” For him, the answer was as simple as that.
         “Sometimes love isn’t always enough to make a marriage last Bryan. It is a lot of work, more than you can imagine. And it isn’t something that you can just turn on and off. A union between a woman and a man, in God’s eyes, is forever.” Though he did want Abbey and Bryan to marry, he also wanted his son to understand just how big the commitment was.
         “I know what being married means,” There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I want to raise my son or daughter in a real family. I don’t have to be like most teenage fathers.” He sighed “Its not like it really matters what I want anyway. Abbey wont even entertain the idea of it…”
         “I think she needs time to get over the initial shock of everything Bryan. Trying to add more to her plate right now probably isn’t the best idea. Her parents have abandoned her, she has nothing but a bag full of clothes, and no job.” Reverend Arlington was able to talk to his son in such a way only because Bryan was so different than most boys his age, so much more mature.  “The two of you need to figure out how you are going to support yourselves, what exactly your plan is.”
         “Abbey’s dream has always been to dance dad, you know that. And obviously she can’t do that now that she is pregnant. I guess both of us are just going to have to get jobs…” he braced himself for his father’s reaction to the fact that he didn’t plan on attending college in the fall.
         “A job for the summer,” He corrected his son. “You have already been accepted to a fine University and I expect to see you attend there when classes start in September. I realize that Abbey may or may not attend college now, but you most certainly will. It would be foolish of not to do that.” His tone was stern and there was little room for argument from Bryan.
         “Yes sir,” he didn’t even attempt to say anything else.