"I don't want to be with you."
My heart shattered, my breath stopped, and my stomach turned, as I heard those words come from Jared's mouth. Out of all the fights we've had--which isn't many--he's never told me he doesn't want to be with me anymore. Hearing this for the first time absolutely broke my heart, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. This isn't the first time I've been broken up with before, but it's never hurt this much. "What?" I asked.
"I don't want to be with you."
"Why not?"
"You've been lying to me!"
"No, I haven't! It's never come up before!"
"Why does Haylie know about it, but I don't!"
"Because she was the one I went to with the whole thing! She was always there! I went to her when I found out I was pregnant, I went to her when I didn't know what to do! I went to her after I gave the baby up for adoption! Jared, she's always been there!"
"I could've been there if you'd told me!"
"You wouldn't understand! You only have Vivica! I had to give my baby up! I didn't have a choice!"
"Why not!"
"I was thirteen years old!"
"So what! That's no reason to throw your baby away!"
"I didn't throw her away!"
"You gave her up! That's heartless! You did it to your first baby; maybe you should give Vivica away, too!"
I stared at Jared, letting my eyes fill with tears, and I crossed my arms over my chest. Him suggesting giving our baby up is the heartless part. With my first baby, I was still a kid. I didn't know what to do. My parents were four-square against me having sex in the first place, and when they found out I was pregnant, they went ballistic; especially my father. It was their idea to give her up in the first place. "Jared, you know damn well I'd never do that to Vivica. I love her to death; I'd do anything for her."
"You didn't do anything for your baby."
"Jared, I gave her to a nice family."
"Does your baby even know you're her mother?"
"No, Jared; she doesn't know! She has a family, and I'm not going to tear her away from it by coming into the picture!"
"Why didn't you tell me!"
"Because, it's hard! I loved her more than anything!"
"You shouldn't have given her up!"
"I was thirteen!"
"You should've kept your legs closed!"
I stared at Jared, and let tears well up in my eyes, letting them fall. He's never said anything remotely related to that, to me before. I never knew how much it hurt until just then. I sobbed, and pushed Jared out of my way, as I walked out of our bedroom.
"Where are you going?" Jared asked, following me.
"Away from you."
"You can't just run away, Ashley; what about Vivica?"
"I'm taking her with me," I said, walking into the living room.
"No, you're not."
"She's my daughter."
"She's mine, too."
"You're sure about that?" I asked, setting Vivica's carrier on the couch.
"That's not funny."
"It wasn't supposed to be," I said, taking Vivica from Haylie, and putting her in the carrier.
"Ashley, you can't just take my daughter away from me."
"I gave birth to her, and I didn't sign your name on her birth certificate. No one has custody of her but me, and if I want to take off with her, I'm completely obligated and free to do so," I said, buckling Vivica up.
"Ashley, that's not right! Just because you're pissed doesn't mean you can take her away from me!"
"Watch me," I said, before leaving the house.
What did you think? This chapter is probably the shortest out of all of them, word wise. I didn't put in as many descriptive paragraphs, but I still think it came out pretty good.
