Ben took a deep breath. You can do this, he thought. You can ask her to the dance. Come on. He breathed again, shoulders heaving. Then, he started making his way shakily, over to Amy Juergens.
Suddenly, he stopped short in his tracks. She was at her locker, with tears running down her face. Subconsciously, his head tilted and he watched her with a worried expression. Had someone broken her heart? Would this ruin his chances with her? Ben's mind, so accustomed to thinking about himself first, did not consider her welfare, at least, not directly.
Gingerly, his heart jittering, he walked over to her. He touched her arm softly, and smiled nervously as she whipped around, surprised and fearful.
"W-who are you?" she asked, quickly wiping away her tears and sniffling a little.
Ben stuck out his hand kindly and said, "Hello. My name is Ben Boykewich. I was just wondering if you were all right."
Amy looked uncertainly at him, unsure of whether or not his awkward manner was a joke or if he really was that strange. She shook his hand.
"Hi…I'm Amy. And yes, I'm all right…thank you." A small smile touched her lips. Ben seemed innocent and nice enough and his manner, though clumsy, appeared to be sincere and thoughtful.
Ben smiled with his usual awkwardness. Then he took a deep breath, slowly inhaling through his nostrils, and exhaling through his mouth. Amy cocked her head at this, curious as to what he was doing and why he was doing it.
"I…I know we don't know each other very well…or at all… but I was wondering if you might want to go with me to the Back To School Dance? I-If you want to of course." He said the last part hastily, unsure of her answer.
Amy's eyes brows crinkled uncomfortably. She had become a little paranoid around boys, and though Ben seemed shy and nice, well…Ricky had seemed like that too.
"I…well…I-Let me think about it…" Amy was blushing a little, and she looked away.
Ben's heart plummeted. That was just as good as a no. He shook his head and gestured with his hand, "Yeah…No that's all right. I'll see you around then Amy." He smiled sadly one last time before turning and leaving, his stride gangly and uncoordinated.
Amy watched him leave. She regretted not being able to say yes immediately but she knew that she had to consider the consequences…something she should've done last time. Never again…she thought.
Amy jumped when a husky voice whispered into her ear, "Hey there." She swung around, hair whipping the person in the face. Her eyes met a terribly heart-breaking beautiful sight that caused shivers to crawl up her arms. Amy's heart thumped uncomfortably. Ricky.
"W-what do you want?" her voice quivered but under the childish question, there was a hard, bitter tone edging it.
Ricky threw up his hands in mock defeat. "Whoa, hey there, don't get all violet tigress on me," he paused, eyeing her up and down, "even if it is kind of hot." He winked at her, smirking, and though Amy shivered a little in disgust, her heart beat quicker.
"Anyways. I was just wondering whom you were talking to just now. Was that the Boykewich kid? The one who's Dad makes the big dough?" Ricky's crude way of speaking only gave Amy more confusing flutters and jitters in her stomach.
"Yeah…so what if it was?" Amy's eyes narrowed a little, firmly pushing down the deep feeling of attraction she felt for Ricky so that only anger and hatred for what he had done flowed through her veins, fueling her disgust.
Ricky laughed and said teasingly, "Nothing, nothing! I just heard he was gonna ask you to the dance y'know? Just wanted to warn you." He shrugged, still grinning, like it was nothing on his part.
"Well what if I wanted him to ask me? What if I want to go to the dance with him? Then what?" Amy exclaimed angrily.
Ricky face froze for a split second and looked at her uncertainly, unsure if she was joking. When he realized she wasn't, his gaze hardened, all amusement gone.
"Seriously Amy? Ben Boykewich? What do you see in him? I mean, sure he's got the cash but really? C'mon, you can do better than that…you've done better than that." He gestured towards himself suggestively, as if he was 'better than that'.
Amy looked away, disgusted. "You have no right to tell me who to like and who not to like Ricky Underwood." Not after what you've done…Amy thought painfully. She said his last name with spite, angry that he had brought up her attraction for him.
Ricky looked at her, irritated and slightly reproachful. He wasn't even sure why he was getting so worked up over this. Sure, it was a little demeaning that she had gone from himto…that, but it was strange as to how much he cared that she was no longer his. In fact…was she ever his? He pushed the question away.
"Well what about what happened at band camp? Or have you just forgotten that as well?" he demanded, still annoyed.
Amy froze, her eyes suddenly pooling. What did he go and bring up band camp for? Amy felt her heart crumbling all over again, the little shards scraping at her flesh and bone. She turned and left. Ricky stood in the hallway, alone, confused and very exasperated.
Amy ran to the giant doors of the school where Ben was standing with his friends, talking.
She waved wildly, and called his name.
"Ben! Ben!" He looked up, looking mildly surprised. His eyes widened at seeing his Atlanta pelting down the hallway to meet him.
Alice and Henry watched surprised, and they stepped back to clear Amy's path to Ben. She stopped short in front of him, swaying slightly on the balls of her feet.
"Yes…I'll go to the dance with you," she breathed, looking into his eyes almost pleadingly.
Amy stood out on her front porch, nervously adjusting her dress. It was a casual summer dress, sweet and unassuming. She waited for Ben to come pick her up…or more correctly, for him and his driver to come pick her up. Amy looked around her, making sure that her general appearance was suitable, rifling through her purse to check that her mobile and purse were both there.
Suddenly, a piercing light stabbed at the Amy's peripheral vision. She looked up, squinting, and her jaw fell slightly open. What looked like a mini limo was pulling up to her front lawn. One of the windows rolled down and Ben's anxious face poked out of the gap. His face cleared when he saw Amy standing there. Then he frowned, uncertainly looking at Amy's expression.
Amy shook herself, recovering. She ran unsteadily up to the side of the limo where Ben had opened the door for her.
"Why are you in a limo?" her expression was aghast, scared that he had spent a ton of money to procure their transportation. Ben looked confused.
"Why shouldn't I be in a limo? It is our car after all…" he looked at Amy, concerned. "Are you feeling all right Amy?"
She stared at him.
"You own a limo?" she cried. Amy knew Ben was rich but…a LIMO?
Ben smiled ruefully at her. He shuffled over to the other end of the seat and said, invitingly, "Come on in. We have a mini bar if you're thirsty."
He laughed at her facial expression, and his laugh was so funny and awkward that Amy couldn't help but laugh too. She climbed in and shut the door behind her. With that, Ben's driver slid the limo smoothly out of the Juergens' driveway.
Amy subconsciously tugged at her dress. She felt an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu standing in the school gym. Gripping tightly onto Ben's arm she looked up at his face. Ben turned round to smile at her full on.
"Don't be nervous Amy. I'm here for you," he reassured her. She felt a little better when he said that. Ben was reliable, and though he didn't stir up any of the dark passions in her heart that Ricky did, Amy felt herself slowly but surely falling for him. Ben was way ahead of her. He had fallen in love with Amy already.
A slow song was playing and Amy and Ben made their way though the throng of the crowd. In a small, but select space, Amy finally felt brave enough to put her arms around Ben's neck. Ben's clammy fingers held on to her waist and she could feel their coldness through the light fabric of her dress. She smiled at him. He smiled back, and Amy could see his nervousness. That knowledge alone made her heart go out to him even more.
Sighing, she leaned her head against his shoulder, just like she had done with Ricky 5 weeks ago. This time, however, she felt…safe. A different kind of safe to the way she felt with Ricky. When she was with Ricky, safe was still fragile. With Ben, safe was…safe. When the dance ended they drew back, missing the warmth of each other's body. Ben swallowed, his throat dry.
"I'll go get us some punch shall I?" Amy smiled again, and beckoned for him to 'go ahead'.
The line for the punch bowl was ridiculously long and there were students everywhere. Ben stood on his tiptoes to see where exactly the refreshment table was. Ah, he could just make out the bright fabric of the table and the sickly pink colour of the punch. He squeezed and pushed his way through the tidal wave of students, panting for air in the tightly packed space.
Amy watched him go, smiling gently to herself. He was a sweet guy. Suddenly she heard a husky, humourless chuckle. She spun around, her heart plummeting.
"Well isn't he just so sweet?" Ricky repeated her thoughts aloud, but coming from his mouth, they sounded mocking and sardonic. He looked her straight in the eye and cocked his head to the side.
"Hey Amy." He grinned, that beautiful, yet cold and calculated smile. Amy stepped back involuntarily. A strand of hair swung in front of her eyes. Ricky reached out and brushed it back. That coming from any other person would've been kind, loving even. But Amy wasn't foolish enough to believe that Ricky felt that way about her. His movement was possessive, admonishing her for trying to escape his advance.
"Don't touch me," she hissed, voice trembling and eyes narrowed. Ricky smirked easily.
"Hey, is that any way to treat a summer love?" He feigned hurt, but Amy could see the detached amusement in his eyes.
"You never loved me." Amy was wise enough not to pretend that she never loved him. She knew that he knew, and the knowledge chilled her to the bone. Even when that very same undiminished passion still crackled in her heart.
Ricky laughed uncomfortably. Love. Why did girls always have to go back to that? Even as he thought this, a little twinge of guilt pricked at what was left of his compassion. He had wronged Amy. No more than he had wronged any other girl, but Amy…well she hadn't known what she was getting in to. He admitted as much to her.
"I'm…" he coughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I guess I hurt you. No more than I hurt anyone else though," he said the last part a trifle defensively. No need to make her think he was just a softy. That wouldn't do.
Anger blazed in Amy's eyes.
"No more than you hurt anyone else? I'M PREGNANT FOR GOD'S SAKE!" she screamed. Then her eyes widened. She slapped her hand over her mouth, willing for time to turn back, so that she could stop herself from saying it. Amy glanced around with fear. Thankfully, the music and rumble of conversation and singing was too loud, so that only Ricky heard what she had said. Ricky. She turned back around to stare at him in anguish.
Ricky's face was blank. Then emotion flooded onto his perfect features. Pregnant? What had he done?
Amy's eyes were brimming with tears. She reached out to touch his arm and he flinched. He looked up at her, in pain.
"I-I'm so sorry. Forget I ever said that. Please," she begged him. Heartbroken tears broke out from her eyes and she turned to leave.
Ricky, recovering to his senses, grabbed her arm.
"Amy, no! We have to talk," he pleaded with her.
She gave one last painful sob and wrenched her arm from his grasp. Amy ran outside, crying into the night air.
Ricky walked back to Adrian, dazed. A small furrow was etched between his brows. Adrian looked at him uncertainly as he walked over to her. She reached out to touch him and drew back.
"Ricky, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Ricky slid down the side of the wall, his head in his hands. Adrian crouched down as best as she could, without ripping her skirt.
"She's pregnant. I got a girl pregnant." His bewildered tone was interlaced with anguish.
"What?" Adrian shook his arm, hard. "Tell me more! Who is she? When did you guys…? Ricky!"
However, Ricky was beyond comprehension of her words.
"I don't know when she's going to tell him though! Or her mom either!" Madison exclaimed worriedly to Lauren.
"Well Amy's got to tell Ben eventually. She's going to start showing soon and it's kind of hard to hide a pregnancy." Lauren hissed back.
Suddenly, something cold and wet splashed at their feet. They both jumped back, squealing. Two plastic cups of florid pink punch had been dropped on the floor. They were just about to look up and berate the offender when they stopped, jaws hanging slightly open.
There stood Ben, staring at them incredulously and horrified.
"What?"
Ben stepped out of the crowded gym and wandered around in the cool night air, hoping that it would help clear his mind. However, it did not seem to do him any good, as his brain remained clogged and flooded with numerous thoughts and emotions.
His brow was furrowed as he paced around, and, unwittingly, he stumbled into a girl crying.
Amy.
His eyes widened as he hurried to her side.
"Amy! Oh God, a-are you all right?" of course, he knew very well that she wasn't. Too well in fact.
Amy gulped and hurriedly wiped away her tears.
"No, I mean yes, yes of course! I-I just came outside to get some fresh air. It was really stuffy inside," Amy's excuse was almost as pathetic as she looked right then.
Ben engulfed Amy in his long arms and rested his chin on her hair. She hugged him back, sobbing quietly into his woolly v-neck. Gently, he brought her to sit down on one of the benches.
"Amy," he murmured after a pause, "…I know."
She looked up at him slightly confused, and then realized with horror that he was talking about her pregnancy.
"Who told you?" she asked, her eyes watering up again with a fresh batch of tears.
"I heard Lauren and Madison whispering about it." He paused. "You haven't told your mom yet have you?" Ben said it, not like a question, but like a confirmation.
Amy nodded sadly against him.
"You should tell her. She'll help you. She loves you, you know that." Ben's stout logic hit Amy like a ton of bricks. He was right. She might as well stop putting it off and making excuses.
She smiled up at him, feeling much more reassured, knowing that Ben wasn't judging her. He smiled back and simply held her for another minute or so, while she dried her tears and sniffled, desperately hoping that everything would be okay. Suddenly, he coughed. Amy looked up at him, surprised at his interruption of their comforting silence.
"Amy…uh…I don't know how to ask this without sounding like a jerk…but…who's the…y'know…" Amy looked at him uncertainly, unsure of where this was going and what he was asking. He coughed again.
"Who's the uh…the father…?" Ben winced as he saw Amy's face fall. He said quickly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's okay."
But Amy could hear the burning curiosity in his tone and she thought that he had the right to know. She took a deep breath.
"It's Ricky." At Ben's exclamation of surprise, she felt obliged to continue. "We went to band camp together. I thought…he…he made me think he loved me…" Amy trailed off quietly, unable to help the tears pooling up once more in her eyes. They fell quickly and splashed onto his immaculate cotton trousers.
Ben said nothing and held in his indignation. He rested Amy's head on his chest and hugged her tighter, afraid that any more contact with harsh reality would break her once and for all.
Ironically, only moments later, the back door of the gym was flung open to reveal a wild-eyed Ricky standing there. He looked around desperately, and saw Amy and Ben huddled quietly on one of the benches.
He ran over and skidded to a halt in front of Amy, suddenly looking uncertain.
Ben looked up, stunned, at Ricky. Then his eyes darkened and a look of fury spread across his face.
"Get away from her," he said, angrily and pompously.
Amy had turned her head away, tears already rolling down her cheeks at an alarming rate.
"Amy…" Ricky pleaded with her. Hesitatingly, he knelt down in front of her. At this, Ben let out a yelp of disbelief. The jerk looked like he was proposing to her! Feebly, he tried to push him away. However, due to the lack of upper arm…in fact, due to the lack of body strength, Ricky didn't move a budge. He didn't even seem to have felt the push, his concentration was so intent on Amy.
"Amy…please, we have to talk." Ricky was just about to reach out to touch her hand when suddenly, a screeching call came from behind him.
"Ricky! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Adrian stormed up to them, her face livid. When she saw that he was kneeling in front of another girl, her eyes darkened and narrowed dangerously.
"You little slut, what do you think you're doing?" Adrian demanded, her voice tearing at Amy's dignity.
Amy looked up, fury taking the place of sadness and desperation. She was just about to lash out an angry retort when Ricky stood up and all but shook Adrian.
"Don't talk like that to her. You'd better learn to hold your tongue Adrian." His tone echoed finality and he eyed Adrian coldly to see whether she had gotten the message.
Adrian bit back a hiss. Why wasn't she good enough for him? All she wanted was for him to love her.
"Fine." She turned on her 5-inch heels and left.
Ricky turned back to Amy and all traces of hostility dissolved from his eyes when he saw the tear tracks on her face that marked her pain. Normally, he found weeping females pathetic. But this time he had really screwed up and she had every right to cry and hate him.
"I-I'll call you…" he promised her, his eyes begging her to answer when he did. He walked off towards the car park.
Amy watched him leave, an odd tugging at her heart for him. She fought it back resolutely. He was just playing with her. He wouldn't call. Subconsciously, she reached for Ben's hand. His warm grip squeezed her clammy one as, once again, he wrapped one skinny arm around her bare shoulders.
Amy slipped into the house, quietly closing the back door behind her. Gingerly, she turned on the light to the kitchen. She sighed with relief to see that her mother hadn't stayed up for her. It was well past 11:00, her curfew.
"Hey, you're home," Anne came into the kitchen in her robe. She was smiling, not at all peeved that Amy had stayed out late. She remembered what it was like to be a teenager.
Amy jumped at her mom's voice.
"H-hey mom!" she said, her voice overly cheery. Anne narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at her weirdly.
"Amy? Are you all right?" she asked, concerned.
Those words brought her back to earlier that evening, when Ben found her sobbing near a bushel. Unwittingly, tears welled up and threatened to spill out. Oh God, she wasn't crying again was she? Amy wiped them away quickly, lest her mother see.
Anne did see.
"Oh Amy, what's wrong? Come here," and Anne, with all her maternal comfort embraced Amy, while she cried into her mother's shoulder.
Anne gently led Amy down to sit at the kitchen table, and took the seat opposite her.
She put her hand under Amy's chin and pushed it up softly to make Amy look at her.
"What's wrong darling?"
Amy hesitated, wanting to just spit out the truth but finding herself unable to.
Anne looked at her carefully. "You know you can tell me anything right? Come on, I won't get mad." Anne smiled comfortingly. However, the last word seemed to produce an opposite effect on Amy. She burst into a fresh bout of tears.
"Oh but you will, you will get mad! M-mom, I'm so sorry…" Amy trailed off, the tracks of tears lining her face.
Anne chuckled at Amy. The poor girl had never done anything rebellious in her life. She had probably gone to the party and someone had kissed her on the cheek and she didn't know how to tell her. Anne stroked Amy's cheek, wiping away the wetness.
"Oh I'm sure it's not as half bad as you think it is darling," Anne said, smiling.
Amy took a deep breath before dropping the bombshell.
"Mom…I'm…I'm pregnant."
Anne's face froze in shock for a split second before it shattered. She tried to hide her devastation by smiling nervously, tittering to try and relieve the silence.
"R-right…Ha, got me there Amy! Jokes on me, right?" she laughed again, anxiously tugging at her skirt.
Tears spilled over from the rims of Amy's eyes, and they dribbled down swiftly, spattering onto her lap. She shook her head despairingly, wishing she could say that yes, it was a joke.
"I…I'm so sorry Mom!" Amy burst into a fresh flood of tears at Anne's quivering countenance. Anne had tears in her eyes too and she pulled Amy onto her lap, cuddling and soothing her.
"Shh, darling, don't cry. Shh…" and Anne mumbled on like this, whispering soft words of comfort into her daughter's ear, while Amy cried endlessly onto her mothers shoulder.
After a while, Amy sat up again, looking down into her mother's eyes.
"Mom…what do I do?"
Anne pursed her lips and looked at her daughter carefully. Gently, she sat Amy back down on the chair opposite her and took her hands, soothingly squeezing them.
"Amy…before we discuss that, I need to know how this happened. How did you get…" Anne floundered off, unwilling to even say the word out loud.
Amy took a deep breath, her eyes still dangerously watery. In this state of mind, she retold the sad tale of her experience at band camp.
Gently, Anne smoothed down the quilt under Amy's chin, tucking her in with an air of maternal worry about her. Amy had cried so much after explaining what had happened at band camp that she had become ridiculously worn out.
She leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead, before quietly letting herself out of the room, closing the door gingerly behind her.
Amy dozed dreamlessly, flitting in and out of consciousness. She could hear…pacing outside her room, someone muttering. Shaking herself awake, she got up groggily and sat down next to the little crack of light that shone from her door. She pressed her ear to it, listening intently. Her mother. Amy sank back on her heels, and sat there, listening to her mother worry, guiltily biting her lower lip. At around 1:00, she finally heard her mother leave the hallway and tip toe quietly into her and George's bedroom.
Amy stopped chewing on her lip when she realized it was swollen and throbbing. Suddenly, she heard a faint trilling sound emitting from inside her purse. Her phone. Amy scrambled quickly to her bag, and winced as the sound became louder when she undid the clasp. She checked the illuminated screen and saw that it was an unfamiliar number. Hastily, before it trilled again, she pressed the green button to accept the call.
"Hello?" she whispered nervously.
"Amy?" She froze. Ricky's husky voice trickled into her ear, sending shivers up her spine.
When he didn't receive an answer, Ricky frowned.
"Hello?" he asked again. He heard a quick intake of breath.
"Y-yes…? What do you want?" Amy's voice trembled.
"Amy…I…I'm so sorry. I jus-"
Amy cut him off. "Save it. The damage's done," she said, suddenly bitter.
Ricky bit his lip, his eyes washed over with pain. "I…I know."
"Well done. Glad you finally caught on," Amy spat out. All her unaddressed pain was turning into anger.
Ricky let out a small sigh. Guilt burned at his heart and he said softly "I promise…I'll help out Amy. I'll do…anything. Anything and everything…" he trailed off.
"Help out? What makes you think I'm keeping the child?" Amy asked incredulously, her voice shrill from a sudden attack of worry. "I'm fifteen Ricky!" Her voice broke and caught in her throat. "I can't have a baby at fifteen!"
Ricky's heart froze when she said she didn't intend on keeping the baby. "What? You-We have to keep the baby!" Ricky was horrified. Admittedly, at first, the idea of abortion seemed to be a reasonable solution. But then, reminiscing about his past, he realized he couldn't get rid of the child. His child.
"I can't keep the baby! WE can't keep the baby!" Amy cried. She was gripping the handle of her purse with desperation, her knuckles white.
"Amy…you can't have an abortion!" Fear clawed at Ricky's gut and his hands were shaking. He didn't know why he was getting so worked up over the child. Abortion would probably have been a sensible choice. When it was all over, they could just move on and pretend it never happened. Yet still, that unfamiliar discomfort raged at him, telling him that he had to keep the baby.
"I'm not! But…" here, Amy's voice trembled again. "My mom and I thought that adoption was the way to go. That way it'll…it'll be happy."
Adoption. Ricky blanched. No. His child would not go through the pains of adoption, the pain of knowing that his parents did not love him. Not like he had gone through.
"No. I…I forbid you," Ricky said hoarsely, fear fueling his anger.
Amy's eyes widened at this.
"Forbid me? You can't forbid me Ricky!" she said his name with spite. "You did this to me. You have no right to have any say in this!" Amy checked herself to remember to keep her voice down.
Ricky's voice turned pleading. "Amy, please. I promise, I'll help out. Just…please. Keep the child."
Amy was surprised when she heard pain in his voice. Of course, she knew the rumors that went around school, that Ricky had had an abused childhood. Perhaps he had went from household to household too…a little boy begging for someone to love him and take care of him.
She imagined a scene play out in her head.
A pale, thin, drawn out boy, walking up the pathway to some unknown household. He had bruises all over him, cuts and scrapes scattered across his skin and he had a limp. The social worker, who was in front of him, rang the doorbell.
The door opened and a cold-faced woman looked at him disdainfully. She was about to close the door when she noticed the social worker. Realization dawned on her blunt features.
"You did not tell me he was…a cripple." The woman spat out the word distastefully. The social worker looked uncomfortably at her.
"He…He's not. His father just…abused him." At the mention of his father, the boy winced.
The woman's heavy brows drew together.
"We have no use for an abused child. They bring bad luck." And with that, she closed the door in their faces.
The social worker turned to the boy.
"I'm sorry Ricky…"
Ricky. Amy shook herself out of her reverie, realizing that Ricky was still waiting for an answer.
"I…I don't know," she paused, still staggered from the scene she had imagined.
Ricky heard her wavering tone and caught onto it like a lifeline.
"Amy, please. I promise…anything…please, Amy…"
Amy sighed. Her head was pounding and she was bone-wearingly tired.
"I…I'll think about it." Slowly, she got up from beside her purse and climbed into bed, curling up into a ball.
Ricky heard the rustle of sheets and frowned. "Amy, are you in bed?"
"Yes…" Amy said slowly, unsure as to why he asked.
Ricky's expression became worried. "Oh God…please don't tell me I woke you up."
Amy chuckled slightly. "Well…not really."
Ricky sighed. What more harm would he do this girl? "I'm so sorry Amy-" he began but Amy cut him off again.
"No it's okay." A silence lulled and Ricky could hear Amy's steady breathing. Then Amy said, "Ricky..?" He 'mm'ed for her to continue.
"Were you…Did you go from family to family for adoption when you were young?"
She heard Ricky's sharp intake of breath. Then he exhaled, slowly breathing through his mouth to calm the uncomfortably fast thudding of his heart.
"Yes…" he said slowly. "None of the families wanted me…they thought I would be violent and unlucky because of my earlier…treatment."
Amy winced, horrifying scenes playing out in her head once again.
"I'm…so sorry."
Ricky's voice was hard when he answered. "Don't be."
Another pause washed over the both of them.
"Is that why you don't want to keep the child, because you think I'll do what my father did to me?" Ricky's tone was low, dangerous even.
"No! No, I actually thought the opposite…I thought…maybe that's why you wanted to keep it…you know. Because you don't want it to go through the same thing," Amy hastily explained, smoothing down Ricky's ruffled feathers.
He let out a sigh of relief. Then, after a moment, he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"It's late…and I'm sorry for keeping you up. Thank you…for thinking about keeping the child…our child." He coughed again. "And thanks for not judging…" Ricky said quietly. He appreciated Amy's kind way of thinking, even after what he had done to her. He was thankful that she hadn't judged him, like so many others had.
Amy smiled sleepily. "It's okay…and…" she trailed off, suddenly nervous.
"And..?" Ricky asked.
"I…I'm sure you wouldn't hurt anyone like that…not like the way your father hurt you."
Except I already did…I hurt you…, Ricky thought. It was different…but yet the same. Then he smiled, remembering Amy's reconciling tone.
"Thank you…again. Goodnight Amy."
Amy smiled again. "Goodnight Ricky." She yawned quietly, eyelids drooping.
"Sleep well…" he quickly hit the 'End Call' button before she could reply. And before he said something he would've probably regretted…or something that would've made Adrian very, very annoyed.
Hello hello everyone:) Hope you enjoyed, I'm so glad I got to put in a little more 'Ramy' in this chapter:) Been having a bit of a writer's block lately, probably due to the TON of homework.
Once again, hope you liked it,
xx Sophie