*thank-you for all the reviews on the last chapter. they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you so much*
RACHEL's POINT OF VIEW:
"Sky," I say as I walk into her bathroom to see her sitting on the floor by the toilet as she throws up. "Your dad is ready to go. He said you wanted to see me."
"I can't stop throwing up," she says before she starts again. "Why won't it stop?"
"Because," I say as I get down on the floor next to her and rub her back as she throws up. "You are experiencing morning sickness."
"But it's not morning time," she says.
"It can come at any time of the day," I say as she leans back against her tub and holds her head. "Are you done now?"
"I think," she says, "Gunner should be here. Where is he?"
"I don't know," I say. It was confirmed last week that Sky was 5 weeks pregnant but she is now at 6 weeks and her morning sickness is pretty intense. I don't remember ever being this sick with any of my kids but poor Sky has never ending morning sickness. I am as far along as she is but a couple days ahead as my baby is due two days before hers but I have not experienced any sickness. "Sky, are you coming to dinner with us?"
"I can't even look at food let alone smell it," she says. "I just want to stay home and rest."
"All right," I say, "but I think after dinner it's time to tell your dad so get in touch with Gunner so he can be here when you tell your dad."
"I can't, Mom," she says as she holds her stomach. "He's going to be so pissed."
"Yeah he is but the longer you wait, Sky, the worst it's going to be. He thinks you have a stomach virus right now. You can't keep saying you have a virus for weeks. He's going to find out so it's better that you tell him rather than him find out on his own."
"Mom, are you going to be there when I tell him?"
"Of course," I say. "I will be there but you need to tell him, Sky. I know you're scared and I know it's hard but it's something you have to do. You can't hide it from him forever. Like I said, he's going to put two and two together. You can't hide it forever and it won't be long before you start to show."
"I'm only 6 weeks," she says.
"I know but you're like a twig. Your stomach will start to show in the next couple weeks. It happened to your mama and I'm sure it will happen to you."
"How bad do you think this is going to be, Mom?"
"Pretty bad," I say, "but eventually once the dust settles he will be happy about. If you want to keep this baby DO NOT let his reaction change your mind. Are you keeping the baby?"
"Yes," she says, "I couldn't give it up and I won't abort it. I want to raise it. Gunner and I want to raise it."
"And what if Gunner takes off?" I ask. I have very little faith in Gunner.
"He won't," she says.
"Sky, but he could. You need to make the decision for YOU and not anyone else. Do you think you can raise a baby by yourself?"
"I don't know," she says, "I'm going to try if I have to."
"Maybe you should think a little more about adoption," I say.
"Mom, I am NOT putting the baby up for adoption."
"Okay," I say. "So do you want me to tell your dad that you're not coming?"
"Please," she says, "and I'll call Gunner to tell him we're telling my dad tonight."
"All right," I say as I stand up. "Remember what I said, Sky, think long and hard about the decision you want to make. Make sure raising a child is something you want to do at 16 and think about the impact it will have on your future. Raising kids isn't easy believe me and I'm married and 36 it's not easy."
"I know what I'm doing," she says.
"All right," I say as I walk out of the bathroom and out of her bedroom.
"Where is Sky?" asks Roman as I make my way down the stairs as he has the kids ready to go.
"She's not coming. She's still not feeling well."
"Still?" he asks.
"Still," I say as I grab my jacket.
"She's been sick for a few days now. Viruses don't usually last this long. Something more is going on. She should go to the doctor."
"We can talk about it when we get home," I say. "Let's go out to eat. I'm starving."
"All right," he says, "Is she going to be all right here by herself?"
"I think she was calling Gunner to come over to keep an eye on her and take care of her."
"At least she's sick so I know they won't have sex in my house," he says as we walk out the door. "Maybe we should stay. This is supposed to be a family dinner it's not right without Sky."
"No, Roman," I say, "Summer, Storm and Rainbow have been looking forward to tonight for a while. Let's just go. We'll have a family dinner when Sky is feeling better."
"All right," he says as we walk to the car. I don't think he's suspicious or just hasn't put two and two together yet which is a good thing. I have no idea how he's going to react but I hope that it's not bad. The last thing that Sky needs is for Roman to fly off the handle, yell at her and whatever else might happen. She needs our support no matter what she chooses to do and she needs to know that we love her regardless but with Roman's temper I am a bit scared.
ROMAN's POINT OF VIEW:
"I know what I want, Dad," says Summer. "I want chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans and for desert I want chocolate cake."
"You do know what you want," I say with a smile as she hands me her menu. "What about you Storm?"
"Fried chicken," he says, "and collard greens, biscuits and macaroni and cheese."
"Me too!" says Rainbow with a smile on her face as I smile back at her.
"At least they're decisive," I say, "Sky was always so indecisive when she was little. It took forever for her to make a decision."
"I remember," says Rachel, "but now she seems to know what she wants."
"That's good," I say, "I hope she keeps that attitude, goes to college and graduates to be whatever she wants to be. I think she wants to own a sports team."
"I remember when she wanted to be a doctor," says Rachel with a smile.
"Me too," I say, "but no matter what she does she's going to make Jenn proud and she's going to change the world."
"I know," says Rachel.
"I want to be a doctor!" says Storm.
"And I want to be an actress," says Summer.
"You know what, Summer," I say, "I'm not surprised by that in the least and Storm, you'll make an excellent doctor."
"Is Sky okay?" asks Summer.
"She's fine," says Rachel. "She'll be feeling better soon."
"I hope," she says as the waitress comes over to take our orders. "I wish she was here so she could eat at her favorite restaurant."
"Me too," I say with a smile before we give the waitress our order. "I'm surprised with how close Summer and Sky are that Summer hasn't gotten sick."
"I'm not sick!" says Summer. "I feel fine."
"I know," I say, "I'm just saying that as close as you and Sky are you would think you would be sick too."
"Oh," she says. "I don't know."
"I don't think Summer has been around Sky since she's been sick," says Rachel as she won't look at me which tells me she's hiding something. I don't like when people hide things from me and Rachel knows this better than anyone.
"Is something going on that I don't know about?" I ask.
"Can we just talk about it when we get home? This is NOT the time or the place. And you need to talk to Sky."
"What's going on, Rachel?"
"Look," she says, "it's not my place to discuss it. You need to talk to her. That's all I can say. I know you don't like secrets and you don't like people hiding things from you but I am just respecting Sky and what she wants plus it is her job to talk to you not for me to talk to you for her so we'll just talk about it at home," she says.
Before I can speak one of my security guards taps me on the shoulder and whispers in my ear. "She's outside. She wants to see you," he says.
"Briana?" I ask.
"Yes, Sir," he says.
"All right," I say as I clear my throat. "I'll be back shortly. I have to go take care of a matter."
"Okay," says Rachel as she looks at me.
"NO one come outside."
"Okay," she says as I follow my security guard to the door so I can see Briana face to face to get this over with. I knew it was only a matter of time.
We walk out into the dark night with the street lights lit as I see Briana standing in front of a black car holding a little girl's hand. I walk over to her. "Briana, what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I want our daughter back," she says.
"Briana," I say as I look at the little girl with her. "We don't have a daughter and even if we did I wouldn't give her to you. You would be the LAST person to ever get our child."
"Roman," she says, "you told her I wasn't her mother. You told Ava I wasn't her mother."
"Because you're not," I say, "and her name is Summer. I thought I told you to stay away from my family and now I find out you are following them at the grocery store scaring MY 8 year old daughter by telling her you're her mom. What is wrong with you? You have a few screws loose in that head of yours that need to be tightened."
"You are keeping my daughter from me," she says.
"I don't know if you're playing mind games or if you really think you and I had a daughter but I'm telling you that we don't. I see you have a daughter that isn't mine. I don't' know what is wrong with you but you need to stay away from me and my family. I mean it, Briana, this is the last time I'm going to tell you."
"I live here now," she says. "You can't tell me to stay away."
"It's MY family and my life congratulations you found me by stalking my daughter once again like you used to press her for information when she was little but I have EVERY right to tell you to stay away from my family. These are my kids and my wife leave them alone. Your issue is with ME not with them. Leave them alone and if you know what's good for you, Briana you will stay away."
"When you give me Ava I will stay away until then I will make your life a living hell," she says.
I get in her face and whisper firmly, "Summer is not your child. If you know what's good for you; you will stay away. Don't make me tell you again, Briana because if you come anywhere near my house or my family I will make sure it's the last thing you do. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of you. We had peace for the last 8 years. You are NOT going to ruin it with your antics. I mean it, Briana, come near my family again I will kill you. Are we clear?"
"Don't threaten me, Roman," she says, "I will get Ava if it is the last thing I do."
"We'll see," I say giving her a look made of stone before walking away so I can finish enjoying a dinner with my family.
"What happened?" asks Rachel as I sit down at the table as I don't even have an appetite anymore because I'm upset with Briana. She is like the cold sore that never goes away, the herpes that keeps coming back no matter how hard you try to get rid of them.
"Nothing, just the usual Briana drama," I say, "We can't go anywhere."
"That's what I'm saying," says Rachel as I start to eat. "She is everywhere. So what do we do now?"
"I think I made it clear to Briana what I will do if she ever comes near us again. I dare her to try."
"You know she's going to keep coming and keep trying."
"I just can't figure her out. Is she really nuts or is she playing?"
"As a past therapist, I would say that she's playing the perfect example of a sociopath. She has no shame, she lies, she manipulates, she is charming, intelligent, lacks sympathy and empathy for others. She is a sociopath so yes she really is a nutcase BUT the worst is a sociopath. A sociopath can be extremely dangerous that's what is scary. They should have never let her back out on the streets," she says.
"Yeah well," I say, "if she knows what's good for her she will stay away from us. I am not kidding Rachel, I will handle it the way I see fit and you know how I plan to handle it."
"As much as I disagree with that, sometimes with sociopaths that's the only way you can handle them. They have no shame, they're dangerous. They will stop at nothing to get what they want even if it hurts others. You might have to do that," she says. "I've been looking at old notes and looking at some old psychology books. I've been doing some reading to figure out what is wrong with her. I thought it was an act but I'm not so sure any more. She might actually believe you two have a daughter together named Ava. That's the scary part because as long as she believes that the more ruthless she will become to get her back. WE need to be extremely careful with her. It can get dangerous and sometimes the only way to stop them is by doing what you want to do."
"See?" I say. "I knew how to handle her."
"But that was before you knew what she was."
"I didn't have to know what she was. I just knew she was a crazy psycho that has some type of obsession with a child that doesn't exist between us. I don't get it. She has her own child. Why does she want one with me?"
"Because," says Rachel, "she wants you and she believes the only way to get you is to be the mother of your child. Don't try to figure her out, Roman. She's a lost cause just know she can become a dangerous human being; more dangerous than she is now." Rachel's words sink into my head and make me want to up security. It's only a matter of time before Briana snaps and my family will NOT be the victims of her reality crashing down.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I ask Gunner and Sky as they sit across from Rachel and me on the couch. I groan to myself as Gunner holds Sky's hand and has his other arm wrapped around her shoulders.
"Dad," says Sky with tears in her eyes. "Don't hate me please."
"I would never hate you, Sky," I say. "Are you feeling better?"
"A little," she says, "but Dad, I have to tell you this. Well, Gunner and I have to tell you this," she says as she looks down to the ground with the dark brown eyes she inherited from her mother.
"Skylar," I say. "What's going on?"
"Coach," says Gunner. "There isn't really an easy way to say this so I'm just going to say it."
"I wish someone would say it," I say as my patience is fading.
"I'm," Sky starts to say and I know where this is going. My fists clench and my leg bounces as I wait to hear her say the rest of her sentence. "I'm," she says as her voice cracks. "I'm pregnant."
"YOU'RE WHAT?" I ask as I jump out of the chair and grab Gunner up by his shirt and hold him in the air. "YOU GOT MY DAUGHTER PREGANT. I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"Dad," says Sky. "Stop. Just stop."
"Roman," says Rachel. "Calm down."
"CALM DOWN? THIS ASSHOLE GOT MY 16 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER PREGNANT AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN. I'LL SNAP YOUR NECK BOY! YOU WILL NEVER PLAY FOOTBALL AGAIN!"
"Dad," says Sky with tears in her eyes as she stands up to stop me. "Put him down. Please, Dad. Please," she begs as I throw him down onto the couch. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to get pregnant. It just happened."
"You two shouldn't have been having sex," I say. "Gunner, you took advantage of my daughter."
"No, Dad," says Sky. "It was me. I seduced him. I talked him into having sex. He didn't want to. I did. I wanted to try it. I wanted to see what it was like. I wanted to see why all my friends were doing it."
"Oh so you did it because your friends were doing it? That makes sense," I say. "Let's do what everyone else is doing. You're smarter than that Sky. You know you should have used protection."
"And you always did?" she asks.
"Don't throw my actions in my face young lady. This isn't about me. This is about you. I trusted you, Sky. I trusted you, Gunner. It was a dumb decision and now you two are in a mess. What are you going to do? What are you going to do with the baby?"
"Well," says Sky as she sits down with Gunner. "We're keeping it."
"IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE?" I ask as I feel my temper rising to a new height one it has never been to before even with Briana. This is MY daughter we are talking about and she's having a baby. Of course my temper is going to rise to a new height. "Do you think you're ready to be a mother, Sky?"
"Yes," she says. "I think I am and Gunner is going to help me."
"Yeah right," I say, "Gunner is sticking around now but he'll change his mind. That's the kind of guy he is going to be. He is only telling you what you want to hear. He doesn't mean any of it."
"You don't know that, Coach," he says. "I love her and I want to marry her. I want to raise our baby together as a married couple."
"You think I'm going to let my daughter marry you at 16? You're nuts. She's still a baby herself."
"You don't have to let her. She's pregnant. She can marry me without your consent," he says.
"You son of a bitch," I say as I charge at him as Rachel stops me. "you are not marrying my daughter. She is 16 years old you're 18 years old. She has a life she needs to live and what about school, Sky? How do you plan to go to school and raise a baby?"
"I can make it work," she says. "I'll make it work."
"That's what you think now," I say, "you think you can make it work but when you're up at all hours of the night taking care of a baby, changing diapers, feeding the baby, comforting a teething baby you're going to be tired. You'll never be able to get your school work done. You'll be overwhelmed and then you'll drop out. I've seen it and Sky you've seen all the women in the shelter that come in there because they don't have their high school diploma because they decided to become a mother too at a young age. That's the wrong decision."
"Dad," she says, "it's MY decision it's MY baby and that's what I want to do. I won't put it up for adoption."
"How do you two think you're going to take care of a baby without jobs?"
"Gunner is going to get two jobs," she says, "and I'll get a job."
"So now you're going to raise a baby, go to school and work?"
"Coach, I told Sky that I would be fully responsible because I want her to go to school and finish school."
"Yeah so do I," I say, "but you think she's going to finish school with a baby? I don't think so. She'll be a high school dropout. Congratulations, Skylar. You ruined your life. I gave you everything. I gave you opportunities to live your life to the fullest. I gave you everything you needed so that you could become successful but you had to follow in your friends' footsteps and have sex. How does it feel now? How do you think it's going to feel walking down the school hallway with a pregnant belly and then a burp cloth on your shoulder, a baby in one hand and a bottle in another? Was it worth it, Skylar? Was it worth ruining your life for for some little punk boy?"
"Dad," she says with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"It's too late for sorry now, Skylar. You fucked up. I'm not raising your kid for you. You want to be a big girl and you want to make adult decisions to have sex without a condom with some football player that probably doesn't give two shits about you so be it but I will NOT be responsible for your child. You made the decision to have sex, you got pregnant and you want to keep the baby fine but that's your responsibility. What are you going to do when Gunner leaves you? Huh?"
"I told you," says Gunner, "I want to marry her. Can I please marry her?"
"Do you want me to knock your teeth down your throat, Boy? She is my 16 year old daughter. You've done enough damage to her already. You're not marrying her at 16."
"I believe that would be Sky's call," he says. "She doesn't need your consent. She can marry me and she can live with me and we can raise this baby together."
"And you can get out of my house before I break your legs."
"DAD," says Sky as she breaks down as Rachel comforts her.
"Rachel, don't comfort her. You knew about this and you didn't tell me. She doesn't need to be comforted. She needs to grow up and be the adult she thinks she is," I say.
"Roman," says Rachel, "I don't think she needs you to rip her apart. She already feels bad enough."
"Well, she should have thought about that before she let Gunner here stick it in her."
"Dad," says Sky, "I'm sorry, I screwed up. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me. Please," she begs and cries. "Please, Daddy."
"Skylar, I have never been more disappointed in you than I am right now. I can't even look at you right now. This is pathetic. You better make a decision what you're going to do with that baby."
"I told you I was going to keep it. Gunner and I are keeping it."
"Gunner is an idiot," I say, "do you really think he's going to stick around? Look at him, Sky, he only wants you because of what you're giving him. He's not in love with you. He's in love with the sex you are giving him. Don't be fooled by him. He is telling you everything you want to hear. He's giving you false hopes."
"Whether he's there or not," she says, "I'm keeping this baby and there is NOTHING you can say or do to change my mind."
"Sky," says Gunner, "will you marry me?"
"No, Gunner," she says as she stands up. "I won't marry you. I'm 16. I'm not ready to get married. If you love me now you'll love me then. Right now I just need to be alone."
"Okay," he says before she kisses his cheek softly before she goes upstairs. "That's your daughter," he says to me, "She loves you and you have a lot of nerve to call her a disappointment. She is YOUR daughter. We made a mistake but we are taking responsibility for it. You act like you know me and think that I'm some guy that's just going to walk away from my priorities and my responsibilities. I love Skylar, and I love that baby she's pregnant with. I'm not leaving her and I am going to be with her every step of the way. If we get married we get married if we break up or whatever I will ALWAYS be a part of that baby's life and do what I need to do to be its father. You don't get to dictate what I am going to do and not do. You don't' know me at all. You see me on the football field and that's it. You don't know the kind of guy I am. You don't know what I like to do. I love kids. I love your daughter and if we managed to make a baby together we can manage to take care of it together but don't tear your daughter down. I told her how I feel. I am going to be there every step of the way. I'm not going anywhere. That baby is a part of me too. If she is keeping it then I'm going to be in its life, I'm going to be in her life and you're just going to deal with it," he says.
"I don't know who you think you're talking to but you're not talking to one of your kid friends. You and Skylar are nothing but kids. You two know nothing about raising kids. You say I don't know you? I was you once, Kid. I know what kind of kid you are. You say you're going to be there then fine. Prove it to me and I might change my mind about you but as of right now; I have no high hopes for you to be a father to her baby."
"You're wrong, Coach," he says. "You are wrong about me and you're going to see."
"Well, prove me wrong, Gunner," I say. "And then we'll talk about you marrying my daughter but I think Sky made it evidently clear she has NO interest in marrying you."
"Right now," he says, "but later in life."
"We'll see," I say, "but for now you need to leave because if you don't get out of my face with your smugness I'm going to knock every one of your teeth down your throat and ruin your entire football career. GET out!"
"I am but I will be back tomorrow to make sure Sky is all right."
"Goodbye," I say before I help him out of my house. I walk back into the living room and Rachel is sitting on the couch. "And you knew about it and didn't tell me."
"It wasn't for me to tell you. She had to tell you when she was ready. IT was her news to tell you but I'm not sure it was such a good idea after the way you carried on."
"She's MY daughter, Rachel. NOT yours."
"Okay," she says. "I have only been raising her as my own for 8 years right? I've been there for her every day for 8 years. I love her. Don't tell me that she's not my daughter. She is like Summer, Storm and Rainbow to me as well as the baby I'm pregnant with right now."
"You should have told me."
"No, Roman, I shouldn't have," she says. "Sky had to do that herself. You were horrible to her. Do you know how scared she is and how much she is hurting right now? She was scared to tell you. And the first thing she said to me when she found out is I hope my mama and dad aren't disappointed in me. I told her Jenn would NEVER be disappointed in her. She would love her even more and do everything she could to help her. She would tell her everything would work out and that everything would be okay. She would tell her the truth but she would never tell her that she was disappointed in her. You on the other hand blew it out of proportion. You told her you were disappointed in her and brought her to tears. You broke her heart tonight, Roman because you can't control your temper. The last thing that Sky needed was for you to yell at her the way you did. I get it you're upset, I'm upset too and I'm sure Jenn would have been upset as well BUT she would have NEVER let her know that she was upset. You learn to live. You know what it was like at 16 and don't say you weren't having sex at 16 because you were with me and you know it. We were just more careful about it. Sky made a mistake and she knows it but I think she's doing what she thinks is best by keeping that baby. We told her we would support her no matter what. Yelling at her like you did, Roman was not supporting her. That's the last thing she needed. What she needs most right now," says Rachel, "is she needs to know that you love her and that you're there for her. She needs to know that you support her and that even though she messed up you still love her despite of it. Whether you like it or not that is YOUR grandchild she is pregnant with. Think about it, Roman, remember when Jenn didn't tell you about Sky for 8 years and how hard that was for you? Imagine how Sky will feel if she puts that baby up for adoption? You and I may feel that's what is best but in all reality it comes down to Sky and what she wants. It's going to be hard but we love her, Roman and whether Gunner stays or goes which I'm pretty sure he is going to go we're going to be here. We're her family, Roman and she needs us more than ever right now. I think you need to think about everything you said to her and then apologize to her to make things right. She's your daughter, Roman and she needs you more than ever right now." Rachel's words hit me like a ton of bricks and I feel like the worst father in the world. I know how Jenn would handle the situation and she would hate me for the way I handled it. Rachel is right she needs to know that we are here for her no matter what. I take a deep breath before I go upstairs to my room to think about how I can make everything okay between Sky and me.
*A/N: What did you think about Roman threatening Briana? Was he right to do so? Do you think he knew about Sky before she told him the news? Do you agree with Rachel that Briana is a sociopath? Did Roman blow the whole thing our of proportion? How did you feel for Sky through the whole situation? Do you believe Gunner is going to stay or go? Do you agree with what Rachel told Roman? Do you think he will ever be able to make things right with Sky? Please review and thank-you for reading.