hey its been a while i know and im sorry. but im back now. we left off with bay finding out shes pregnant and zetan getting arrested. this takes place thirty days later. enjoy..
Bay POV
nana pulls out the small plasic bag wrapped tightly around a large wad of money. she hands it to me and i open it, revealing crisp dollar bills, all 10's. "where did my parents get all of this money!" i ask. nana shrugs, "i have no idea. your mother came hom with it in her purse and showed it to me, saying that shes saving it for emergencies..."
i pull the wad of money out and count it, exactly 1000 dollars. i have no idea how much bail for zetan will cost but, this is a poor district, the stakes cant be TOO high. and then...we use the rest to take care of the baby i'll be delivering in eight months.
i have nothing to worry about..nana will help me with my baby, she could watch him or her while im not at home. the kids can support love and with the money we have..we can make sure the baby gets everything they need. and zetan and i,if we get him out of jail,can get married once im eighteen years old.
but then there is the reaping, if i get out of the reaping by then, then ill be safe for the rest of my life. but then there's jodi, he's going to have to be in the reaping, he's only twelve, going on thirteen. it would break my heart if my litle brother was reaped, not to mention he's crippled. then there's little levi. by the time she's twelve jodi and i will be adults, and my baby should be around seven or eight years old.
the thought of my baby being reaped..its unbearable. my hand falls onto my flat stomach. "sweetie why are you crying" nana asks. i sit down on my bed and wipe the tears i didnt know were there. "im just really...not ready.." i look up at her, "i couldnt live with myself knowing i brought a baby into this world, so he or she could get reaped! and what about jodi and levi, they have to participate too. what is there to do if jodi got reaped, he's a boy. and levi, by the time she's in the reaping ill be too old to volunteer for her." i sob.
nana sits beside me and wraps an arm around me, bringing me over to lean on her shoulder. i cry on her and she says, "i know your young bay, but that doesnt mean your not ready. you took over the household when your mother died. you raised jodi and levi on your own, you take care of them and feed them, even me. you're ready for a baby" she says, and for the first time puts her hand on my stomach. "and as for the reaping, jodi is a sweet boy, everyone loves him. if he was to be called onto that stage, i think atleast one boy would volunteer to replace him. he only has six more reapings, he hasnt been taking tesserae..the odds are in his favor sweetie" she says. "levi.." she chuckles, " she is just about the cutest thing in the district, if you wont volunteer for her, somone will. and snow has no problems with us, why would he rig the bowl to get her in the games?" she asks me. i shrug.
"and as for your baby. you have twelve years until he or she has to participate in the reaping. and you have eight more months to make sure he stays safe. while he or she is growing inside you, make sure that when you deliver that baby, that he comes out ready. okay" she says. i wipe my eyes and nod. i sit up and hug nana, "thank you so much" i say. she just smiles back.
the phone rings on the dresser between our beds. i get up and answer it, "hello" i ask. "hello can i speak to..bay lockwood" the voice asks. "speaking" i reply. "this is zetan rindmey's father" the man says. "oh you're his father!? do you know if he's okay?" i ask. "zetan is fine. but peacekeepers just arrived at my door saying they want us to head to the justice buildng for zetans trial, if he's guilty or not." "what happens if he's found guilty" i ask. "...then they'll take him to prison" he replies. i find myself about to cry again, "what time should i be there" i ask, "by eleven" he answers. "ok" i say and say goodbye then hang up.
eleven is about an hour from now. "nana can you come to the justice building with me" i plead. "of course" she says sweetly and walks to our dresser. she opens a drawer and pulls out two neatly folded dresses and hands them to me, then pulls out a small dress for levi and a button down shirt and dress pants for jodi. they're coming with us i guess.
they're downstairs watching the saturday morning cartoons. i call them upstairs then head downstairs to help jodi. "where we goin" levi asks when she sees her dress on the bed. "we need to help zetan come back home" i say to her. "where is zeetee?" she asks. "jail" i ask. "why was he arrested!?" jodi asks. i turn to him and swallow, "um...we got caught" i say to him. he sighs deeply. "alright ill get dressed now" he says. he sits on the bed and removes his shirt and tugs on the new one then buttons it. i help him with his pants and shoes. nana combs his dark hair back then takes him to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
i undress levi and put the little yellow dress on her. "im gonna look like a princess right bay" she asks me. "baby your a princess without a dress" i say and zip her up. "is your diaper clean" i ask. she shrugs.
she isnt potty trained, i havent found time to teach her yet. i sigh and decide to change her anyway, just in case.
i grab a diaper from under our lamp table and place it open on the bed. i pull her dress up and pick her up and place her on the bed over the diaper. i remove her diaper and sure enough its clean. i put the new diaper on then sit her up. i pull little white socks on her feet and little black shoes. they are only for special occasions, i cant have her dirty them up so they stay packed away.
when she stands up she twirls around, "can you do my hair" she asks. i nod sweetly and sit her back on the bed and sit behind her. i brush her curls back and slide a little headband into her hair. "all done. now go with nana to brush your teeth" i say and she runs off to the bathroom. as she goes in jodi comes out. he looks up at me, "do you wanna talk to me, about how zetan got arrested" he asks. i sigh and nod my head. we sit on the bed and i run my fingers through my hair, "im pregnant" i start off. his eyebrows go up and his eyes widen, "your pregnant!?" he asks. i nod, "all the throwing up i did, it was morning sickness..it's something you get when your pregnant" i say. "zetan and i went to an abortion clinic, to get rid of the baby and when the doctor called me, zetan followed me but he wasnt allowed to come with me. then they called a peacekeeper on him and they found out our ages and they arrested and took him away." i say all in one breath. "thats why he hasnt been coming around like he usually does" i continue.
"so..where are we going now" he asks. "we need to go the justice building and prove him innocent. they think he raped me" i explain.
jodi looks at the floor then back at me, "if we get him back, whats going to happen. are you two going to get married..or are you going to have an abortion like you said the first time.." he asks. "no. im not geting an abortion. im having this baby" i say. "are you even ready to have a baby" he asks me, "you're seventeen bay, we're poor. how are you going to take care of a baby, it requires much much more care than what you provide for us all together." he says. "i know. but i'll make it work. dont worry jodi" i say sadly then get up and grab my dress.
it's a cream colored dress that im sure belonged to my mother, passed down from nana. levi walks out of the bathroom with nana. "i ran you a bath sweetie" she says nicely. "thank you' i reply and take my dress and towel into the bathroom with me. i place my stuff on the floor and undress. i step into the water and lower myself carefully. i wash myself quickly with a rag. i step out when m done and dry off. i dry my hair and pull on underwear and then slide the dress over my head. it suits my body i have to admit. i button up the top to cover my chest but it stops just low enough to show my breast. i sigh and brush my teeth. i walk out of the bathroom and see nana is dressed and putting on her shoes.
she sees me and pulls black shoes out for me as well. i step into them then get to combing my hair. i decide to leave it out.
when we're done we pull our coats on and head into the winter to make our way to the justice building.
when we walk into the building i see zetan in handcuffs sitting on a bench near the court room. i see him look up at me. i look around before rushing over to him and throwing my arms around him. "i missed you are you okay" i ask him. he nods, "we're not aloud to talk now" he whispers. i look up at him sadly. i take my arms from around him and look around again. i look back at him and he chuckles, "how are you going to wear that dress here" he jokes. i look down and cover my breast with my hand, "dont look, it wont help your case" i reply and blush.
he looks around and then at me and leans in and kisses me. i havent kissed him in a whole month, i missed this. when we finally seperate he pauses for a second. "...are you-um...are you still pregnant" he asks. i nod, "im keeping the baby" i say. "w.." i cut him off, "i can do it zetan. i have enough money to take care of him or her, and i raised levi and jodi, i can do this" i say. "and ill do whatever i can to help you. it's my baby too" he smiles.
when the case starts levi and jodi sit in chairs behind me with nana. the judge calls me up and i stand in a cubical beside him. a peacekeeper makes me swear to tell nothing but the truth.
"when did zetan rindmey first have you engage in sexual activity with him" im asked. i swallow, "well we didnt really..have actual sex until my seventeenth birthday" " please answer the question directly" im ordered. "how old were you when he first began to touch you sexually" im asked. i swallow and look zetan, "i was-fourteen" i say and zetan huffs deeply knowing this isnt going to work out. i was fourteen and he was eighteen. he was already an adult, i had just become a teenager...
"has zetan rindmey ever forced himself upon you" im asked. "no! never!", "you allowed him to touch you", i nod shyly. "please explain".
i sigh and say, "zetan would sometimes ask me for my body, but for a fraction of the time i would give myself to him willingly".
the judge asks for nana to speak and she replaces me next to him. "have you ever witnessed any of these sexual actions take place between bay and zetan. "i have never seen them in the actual act but i have seen him kissing her, spinning her around and holding her" nana says. "you've never seen him touching her innapropriately?" she pressured. i know she has, she's just afraid to say.
"i have seen him touching her...erotically...but it wasnt forced...if she told him to stop he would immediatley" she says.
jodi is called next. "have you ever witnessed zetan touching your sister inapropriately" he asked. "yes" jodi replies and i feel guilty. he's too young to be exposed to this..as well as levi.
"what happend" hes asked. "levi and i woke up and went downstairs for breakfast...and zetan was rubbing and kissing on bay. he kept asking her for...sex...and she said she couldnt...then he kept asking and picked her up and put her on the table. he pulled her pants down but then i interrupted.." he confesses. "so he was forcing himself on her", "i dont think so, because bay was still smiling" he says.
"has your sister ever complained about zetan", "no. we all love zetan. bay says that she hopes to marry him some day.." he says and i look over and see zetan smile at me. i smile back and pay attention to my brother. "..so they can take care of their baby together" he finishes. my heart sinks. the judge didnt know about my pregnancy! "bay lockwood is pregnant!?" the judge asks. "yeah, she just told me this morning".
"ms. lockwood is this true" im asked. i swallow and nod softly.
the room is silent for a minute. out of no where the judge calls zetan up.
zetan has a serious attitude and im afraid he'll snap like he did at the abortion clinic and get in even more trouble.
"zetan what was your role in the lockwood family", "i was the boyfriend. i brought the family fire wood and extra food, toys for the kids, anything really" "when did you first gain interst in young miss lockwood" hes asked. "i was sixteen and she ran into me accidentally" he looks at me, "and when i saw her, i loved her immediately. i had to get to know her" he says. "and now that ms. lockwood is pregnant..what do you think should happen" he's asked. he shrugs, "well im actually looking forward to getting out of here so that i can get my life back. i want to be able to support bay and help her with her family and our baby" he says.
i find myself rubbing my stomach sadly.
"ms. lockwood" i hear and look at the judge. "where are your parents" he asks. this makes my heart sting. "my mother died four years ago giving birth to my baby sister...and my father...i dont know...he never came home one day" i say sadly.
the judge thinks for a moment, "you need a male figure in your household to look after your family' he says. "that was my job!" zetan calls out. "i thought you were just the boyfriend who brought thigs occasionally". zetan is angered by this, "yeah, i was the boyfriend. i was the male figure who helped out the family" he says raising his voice.
"the lockwood family needs a male figure who will be there for the family 24/7. someone who will stand by and protect them, help with the children and the grandmother and most importantly, someone who an support bay with her pregnancy then care and love for her baby". zetan doesnt understand, "who else is going to love the baby except me! it's my child!" he shouts at the judge. "mr. rindmey you are not to speak out of term!" he says to him. "let me outta here so i can be with my kid!this isnt fair!" he screams and i find myself about to cry again.
"mr. rindmey! you cannot be around bay until she is of appropriate age. she is too young for you! visitation right of the lockwood household will be granted twice a week. four when the baby is born. someone will be sent to the household as the male figure. zetan rindmey is found innocent of the accused rape of bay lockwood. case dismissed."
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