Life's Choices
Chapter 37
Seven Months
AN: Thanks for the reviews I own nothing hope you enjoy. She's got two more months to go before she gives birth.
"Hey," Pen said with smile looking at Nick, his shoulder had healed up and he was finally able to do what he'd done before, but now he didn't have to ride with them since his dad had given him a truck for his birthday, or late birthday present.
"Wow, are you growing fast," Nick said with smile.
"Bite my ass," Pen said, "Derek left me this morning so damn horny I could kicked his cute ass," she said sitting down.
"You about made him late for work," Nick said with laugh, no wonder he left you," he said with smile, "Did you get anything back from that contest back in January," Nick asked, it was already March and they hadn't got anything, but the contest was over the week before so they had while before they would know.
"May is when they send the winner stuff out," Pen said, "Where is Derek at anyways?" she asked.
"No idea, Jeff and him took off with Dilion when I got here at ten, I think they working on a house or something," Nick said, "Dad and I are supposed to help them Saturday," he said.
"I wish I could help, but Derek is not letting me near anything, he's barely letting me work here still, he claims I shouldn't do anything," she pouted.
"He's just trying to look out for you, Pen," Nick said, "And now that I can too, you're getting it from both ends," he replied.
"You sick freak," Pen said, "You did not just say that out loud or near me," she was mortified.
"I didn't mean it that way you mind in the gutter bad girl," Nick said, "No wonder Derek is always tired, you two going none stop probably with your mind there all the time," he said with grin.
"No, it's been since last night since we did it because he left me right when I wanted to have it," Pen said, "I should just cuff him to the bed, be a lot easier," she said, "Anyways you ordered yet?" she asked.
"I ate like hour ago, what you doing today?" he asked
"I don't know, Jamie is thinking about moving in with Brandon or Brandon moving in with us for good, but I don't want to move out the apartment, we painted it and everything for the baby," Pen said, "Derek will be eighteen in June like three months away, till then we can't do anything," she groaned.
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"What you planning on doing?" Nick asked her.
"We want to go to California in June after the baby is born, stay with my brothers for like month, I can show Derek around, and we're supposed to be looking at colleges too, I had planned on going to Cal Tech, but it's too far away, and they don't have football," Pen said, "I'm set on Northwestern University, but we're still looking," she said.
"I could always come with you two," Nick said, "I got nothing to do this summer, and staying around here is not what I want to do," he said with smile, "Dad's thinking about transferring out moving to Washington, D.C." Nick said.
"Are you moving too?" Pen asked.
"No, dad said that I could stay but if I don't find apartment before he leaves Jeff and Ruth said I could stay with them, they got the extra room," Nick said.
"Too bad that we can't get place Derek you me and the baby, that would be awesome," Pen said, "We could make it work, it would be tight money wise, but Steven said that he was still going to send me money for while," she said.
"What's he been sending you?" Nick asked, "If you don't care that I know," he said.
"My parents left like enough money for the funeral and they had money for my college, he's been sending me money from his pay check every month and when I go to college he's going to pay for it out that money, but I want get scholarship, or something," Penelope said, "Have that money for the baby, I've put like half what Steven gave me up every month, he'd send hundred, I put fifty up and bought food with the other half, I gotta start getting baby stuff soon," she said.
"Does Jamie give you any money?" he asked.
"No, I work here, four days week since I'm more pregnant than I was now, Derek works before school helps Ruth open up, then he comes back to the apartment and we go to school," she said.
"Maybe if Jamie moves we could talk to Jeff about staying in the apartment you're in, and I could move in," Nick offered, "Since I'm eighteen I don't get the money my mom had been sending, but I'm thinking about getting job somewhere, just don't know where yet," he said.
"Can you cook?" Ruth asked coming up to them.
"What you need me to cook?" Nick asked, "Anything but rice and I'm good," he said.
"Jeff and Dilion needed Derek for the day and Cameron quit so I could use another cook," Ruth said.
"Can I do something too?" Pen asked, "I'm bored, and I don't have any homework," she said.
"You can work the cash register, but no standing up," Ruth said.
"Promise," Penelope said with smile, "What did they need Derek for?" she asked.
"They got this counseling thing down at the center now for parents and children affected by violence," Ruth said, "Dilion and Jeff thought about it last month, with the gangs and stuff around here," she said, "Jeff thought Derek could help them out talk to the younger kids about not joining the gangs and stuff," she said.
"Cool," Nick said, "You think they'd any more help?" he asked.
"That is if we won't leave you hanging," Pen said.
"Go ahead, I got enough help," Ruth said with smile before the two teenagers left.
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Penelope and Nick were watching from the door that led into one of the two classrooms that the center had. Derek and Jeff were standing up front of the classroom talking about something; they'd just got there and didn't want to interrupt so they were standing at the door. Dilion had told them that they were almost done.
It was mostly parents in the room; the kids were in the gym playing games and stuff. Pen was about to walk away when she heard Derek say something that caught her attention. He was talking about getting away from the gangs, she couldn't help but smile, he'd never talked about that except for once when he'd told her the first time, but after that he hadn't said anything at all.
"I wasn't in a gang, but I ran around with some friends that were," Derek said, "I stayed in trouble, after I lost my dad, but I didn't want that life, and I found this place," he said, "It saved my life, along with my dad's best friend here," he said, "I got a second chance, but I still know what it's like to have to deal with the gangs around here."
Nick looked over at Penelope, "I think you saved his ass more," he said in low voice making Pen smile.
"Just getting away from the gang didn't mean I got free of them, back in October I had run in with few, they were looking for my girlfriend and me both, they decided they wanted to get to me through her, she wasn't there though," Derek said, "They beat me up pretty good," he said.
"I remember that," A parent said, "You saved that cops life,"
"Yes, I wasn't going to leave him in there with them," Derek said, "I got out there lucky, could have ended a lot worse, just two months ago, the same guy that was in that store shot my best friend," he said, "He was trying to protect my girlfriend," he said, "I know how hard it is to try to get away from guys like Rodney and Dan, their thugs, Dan is in prison and Rodney's dead, but there are still others out there."
"You can't escape them," one parent said.
"Yes you can," Derek said back, "I could have said yes when they asked me to join, but I didn't, I choose this road."
"They're still trying to put you six foot under," somebody said.
"We all live here, we know what its like, you can't just say that your kids are going to join gangs because they are all around, they have other options," Nick said cutting in, "They got the center, sports, there are other ways out of here, and away from the gangs, just because they seem to be taking over doesn't mean we sit back and let them," he said.
Jeff was surprised to see Nick, but he was hoping that maybe he could help, these people were parents of kids that local gangs had been trying to recruit, and he'd thought that Derek could help and he had, but they were tearing into him now. "Gangs are the only option, you find the right friends, the right people you can do anything you want to do," Penelope said, she had followed Nick in.
"Like getting pregnant," one the parents said.
"No," Pen said, "I might not have planned this, but I won't let it stop me, you take what life gives you and you go from there," she said, "I lost my parents last May, I had nobody, my brother sent me here to live with my Aunt, but I was planning on running away until I met Derek here, he saved me, and I saved him right back," she said, "Neither one of us wanted to be in this world any more, but we saved each other from going off the deep end, and Nick here, he saved us from slipping back into that place," she said.
"If you find the right friends, like here, at school, you can go places," Derek said, "I got football to get me out of here, and I'm taking that, whatever I chose to do after that it won't be because I ran when I found trouble."
"We walk away when we got other options, but like that store, I helped Derek out because I knew he had slim chance of getting out there alive," Nick said, "It's moments in our lives that makes us who we are," he said with smile.
"My dad dying in front of me," Derek said, "Fighting to get away from Rodney, Dan and their gang, finding my baby girl here, my saving grace, finding out I was going to be a dad, becoming friends with Nick, even now I wouldn't change that," he said.
"My parents dying, my brother sending me here, and the night I ran into my Sweetness, the day I found out I was going to be a mom, and the day that we met Nick, those moments shape who you are," Penelope said.
"The day I moved here, the day I met these two, and when I got shot, I knew what I was doing that night and I wouldn't change it for nothing," Nick said.
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Half hour later the three them and Jeff left the classroom after the parents. "Thank you for saving me in there," Jeff said.
"And me," Derek said, "I was trying to save him when I went in there," he said.
"I haven't seen that many pissed off parents since I lived with my mom and they had this community meeting about what to do with something, can't remember what it was, but they were pissed," Nick said.
"That reminds me, what were you saying in there about your dad moving?" Derek asked.
"Yeah, he got job in D.C. he's moving there in like month I think," Nick said.
"Where are you going to stay?" Pen asked.
"Well till you told me that Jamie was moving I was going to see if I couldn't share with you all or as Derek's mom for the spare room," Nick said.
"Jamie's moving again?" Derek asked, "She didn't tell me," he said.
"I over heard her and Brandon talking, he asked her to marry him, and well till September I'm stuck with her less I can convince Steven to sign those papers," Pen said.
"So in other words the three of us have no home at all?" Nick asked, "Man," he said.
Jeff hadn't said anything until now, "You are not homeless," he said, "If Jamie moves out and Steven agrees you three can stay in that apartment, I got almost two hundred tenets in the two buildings I own, and the three houses I just fixed up to sale, Fran's looking for a house, I was going to see if she wanted one them, but I'm sure you three can work something out with her or the apartment that you have now," Jeff told them, "But I'm not going to kick you out," he said.
"At least we got one option," Penelope said, "Because being homeless with a baby is not going to work for me," she said.
"I got an idea," Nick said, "We can stay in the apartment, you two can take Jamie's room it's bigger, and I can get the room you two have since it is smaller, that leaves Whitney's room and the nursery," he said.
"Living room and bathroom, kitchen too," Derek said.
"We need to talk to Jamie and Fran like now," Penelope said, "Especially if Jamie's moving out," she said.
"You got things covered here?" Derek asked Jeff.
"Go ahead, and thanks again," Jeff said watching the three them leave, they were like his own kids, with Melody so far away now in California going to college only coming in once while, having them around seemed like he had three more kids, and just watching them he couldn't help but feel happy and sad at the same time.
The three of them had to grow up so fast, just listening to them in there with the parents, they hadn't ran, instead they'd taken them on, Derek had shared half of his personal hell, he'd left out Buford and he understood that, they would ate him alive in there, but he knew one day that Derek could help other kids if he used the hurt and pain that was still buried inside of him from what the bastard had done to him.
He'd come along ways since his dad died, and since Penelope and Nick came into his life. The three of them were going to make it, if they kept going like this, they had each other, and like they'd said they wouldn't change nothing about the roll with the punches life they had.
TBC
AN: I got the idea from the episode Penelope when Pen said she'd been concealing families, I thought they could help now as well with all they have went through.