Greg woke up. His head throbbed as if it had split in two. It took him a few minutes to orient himself with his surroundings. Seeing the sterile white of the walls, he dawned on him that he was in a hospital and then he remembered the car accident and Morgan. Morgan! Where was she? He begin to panic. A nurse walked in.
" You're awake," she smiled. Greg looked at her.
"Morgan? The other passenger in car? Is she…is she okay?" Greg asked stumbling over his words.
"Whoa! Calm down. They are running tests on her now. I'll have the doctor come in to clear you so you can go check on her, okay?"
Greg nodded, relief washing over him. She was alive.
About twenty minutes later, an impatient Greg made his way to Morgan's hospital room. He stood at the doorway taking in the sight of her.
She laid in the hospital bed sleeping, bruises and cuts covering the left side of her face and bridge of her nose. Her eyes were black and swollen, and her left arm laid in a cast by her side. Ecklie sat in a chair by her bedside, hunched over, his face looking worn and defeated.
"How is she?" Greg asked the nurse on her way out the room.
"Are you the husband?" she asked. Ecklie glanced in Greg's direction and then turned his attention back to Morgan.
"No, that's her coworker who was with her in the accident," he told the nurse, his eyes still focused on Morgan. Greg stared at him, angry about the dismissal.
"Actually, I'm the boyfriend." He told the nurse loud enough for Ecklie to hear. Ecklie looked up at him now, but he didn't seem mad, just surprised.
"Hell, it all makes sense now," he said. He motioned to the chair beside him. "Greg, sit down. I need to talk to you."
Cautiously, Greg made his way to Morgan's bedside. Seeing her up close broke his heart. She seemed so small, so frail. He stood beside her, gently running his hand down her cheek. "Is she going to be okay?" he whispered, afraid of the answer.
"She has some fractures and bruises, but she should be fine. She was very lucky. You both were."
Greg couldn't take his eyes off of her weak figure laying so still. He felt his knees buckling as Ecklie helped him sit in the empty chair.
"How much of her past has Morgan told you about?" he asked him.
"Some I guess. We've only been together a few months. A lot still hasn't come up yet. Why?" Greg's response was almost automated, he couldn't think about anything but Morgan in her weakened state.
"Did she ever tell you about what happened when she was in high school?" Ecklie continued questioning. Greg turned to look at him now. What the hell was wrong with this guy? His daughter was laying broken in front of him, having just in a bad car accident, and he wanted to reminisce?
"No, why? What happened in high school? Why does that matter now?" Greg could hear the anger rising in his voice.
Ecklie studied him and then sighed before continuing.
"Just listen, okay. Morgan had it rough after the divorce. She wanted to rebel, to get back at me and her mother. She partied, she drank, she smoked, and she dated this asshole named Michael. Well, about three months shy of her high school graduation, she called me, which she never did, to tell me that she was pregnant. I blew up at her, threaten to kill him, you know, the works. I remember crying that night. I felt like such a failure as a dad. About five months into her pregnancy, she lost the baby. The doctor then told her she would probably never carry a child to full term. It was awful. She turned away from me completely after that. She was angry and bitter at me, her mother, Michael, and just the whole damn world. But I think she realized later it was a blessing in disguise. She got to go to college, grow up, and eventually meet you, I guess."
Greg listened dumbfounded. His eyes turned to Morgan, not believing it was the same girl her father was talking about. How did he not know? How could she have never told him?
"I had no idea. I honestly don't know what to say; except, why are you telling me all of this now?" Greg asked. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. All the soreness and pain he felt from the wreck seemed to hit him all at once as his emotional state withered.
"Greg," Ecklie said,"Morgan's pregnant." Greg felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room as he exhaled a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.
"Oh God," he said, burying his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees. "For how long? Is he or she okay? Do they know what it is?" He rambled into the folds of his fingers letting everything sink in.
"According to the doctor, it is still really early. He said she was probably ten weeks along. So far, by some miracle, all the scans are showing the baby is okay despite the wreck. I honestly don't know if she knows or not or how she is going to take it, knowing her past. I just thought you should know everything before she wakes up and before you get too excited. She is still so weak, and I don't think I can take seeing her get that upset again. It almost completely broke me the first time." Ecklie tried to wipe the tears discreetly from his eyes. "I have to go," he said standing up to leave. "I trust you will do right by her, Sanders. Don't make me regret it."
"Of course I will." Greg sat up and looked Ecklie in the eye, his voice growing hoarse.
Greg sat by her bedside for another hour, feeling numb, before she began to stir. She could barely open her eyes, but she felt his presence.
"Greg, is that you?" she asked through swollen lips. He lightly stroked her hair as he pulled up closer to her.
"Yeah, baby. It's me," he said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a truck ran over me. How are you?" she said, her words sounding scratchy.
"I'm fine. Just a fractured rib, a slight concussion, and some bruises," he responded. He took a breath. He knew it was now or never. "Morgan, I talked with your dad. He told me about your teenage pregnancy." He paused, breathing deeply again. "He also said you're pregnant now. Did you know?" He watched her flinch at the accusation. "How could you not tell me?"
She felt the tears burning in her puffy eyes. She was almost grateful she couldn't see the look on his face, certain it must have matched the pain in his voice.
"Greg, I wanted to tell you. There were so many moments where I almost did, but I just couldn't get the words out. They were just stuck there in my throat, suffocating me. So, I kept putting it off, waiting for the decision to be made for me, to see if I'd even be able to give birth. But when you told me about your new job and I saw how excited you were, it felt like history repeating. All those bad memories came flooding back." She started sobbing. "You have to understand. Michael was my first. I really thought I loved him and that he loved me. He had this full scholarship to a great college, but he gave it up to be with me and the baby until… you know. He blamed me. I know he did, and I couldn't argue with him because I blamed me too. I ruined his whole future. We broke up after that, and I have been avoiding him and my past every since. I don't want that to be us. I don't want you to resent me. I don't want to hurt you."
Greg sat next to her on the bed and gathered her in his arms. He rested his chin on top on her head, feeling her whole body shaking. He ran his hands down her back, trying to calm her.
"Morgan, I'm not eighteen years old and stupid. I'm not going to leave you. None of that was your fault. This is our baby. We're in this together."
" You don't know what it's like, Greg. I hope you never do," she said catching her breath. "I don't know if we will survive this if it doesn't go well, especially knowing everything you are giving up."
"Listen to me, Morgan. Jobs come and go, but girls like you only come once in a lifetime. I'm not leaving you," he said, rocking her gently. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I love you Morgan."