chapter 2
Martin approached his ex-wife, Susan, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs listening to the argument going on upstairs. She had heard Shelby tell Scott to "go to hell" and she wondered if she should interfere with what was going on. Martin pulled her aside and took her into another room further away from the distraction from upstairs.
"Susan why didn't you ever tell me that Shelby was pregnant with Scott's baby?"
She looked a little tense and shook her head. "I don't know. At the time it just seemed more important to get Scott back and let the rest fall into place. I guess I thought that you would be angry with him and than refuse to help him to get back home."
"Ok fine. Now he is at home and we can face the problem. I don't want this to be a set back in his life when we are just starting to move forward. He didn't need to be tricked and trapped into a relationship that is going to tie him down. We need to give her what she needs and then get rid of her."
Susan couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Martin what are you saying. Scott loves Shelby and this is something that they need to face together not Shelby alone."
"He doesn't know what love is and I don't feel that he should have to pay for this mistake for the rest of his life. He'll get over it and move on with time."
"You just can't forget a child. This is our grandchild that you are talking about getting rid of. Do you think that you can look back years later and be happy with this decision? Look at what happened to you own father. He regrets now what happened in the past. Don't let that happen to you."
"I can't look that far in the future right now when all I can think about is trying to save my son. Scott is not ready for this kind of responsibility. He is having a hard enough time trying to take care of himself much less a girlfriend and a baby. She needs to go home and let her own family take care of her."
"She can't. She is from a poor family with an abusive stepfather. Her mother is having a hard enough time taking care of her little sister."
"Susan I can't help that. I need to just think about my own child right now. The state has programs for people like that. She can get help elsewhere. We will help her find a foster home or something that can take care of her."
"Martin don't you understand that you will be taking a piece of your sons heart with her. He'll never forgive you for this."
"Listen to them upstairs fighting. It won't work out and you know it."
"This has to be Scott's decision not ours."
"Fine but if he makes the wrong one than I won't support him. I will get him through his last year of high school and put him through collage but if he chooses to stay with that girl than I will not stick around to watch him fall. I've picked him up too many times in the past but I wont keep doing it."
Susan was so confused now. She understood how Martin wanted the best for their son but some things in life weren't always crystal clear. She had better go talk to the kids and see what was going on upstairs.
When Susan got upstairs she heard a lot of commotion is the bathroom and decided to walk in and see if everything was ok. She talked in to see Shelby laughing and standing in the shower drenching Scott with the showerhead as he squirted her with toothpaste.
She made a noise to let them know she was present and smiled. "If I had to make a bet for the winner of this little battle than my money would go on Shelby."
Scott turned to look at the sudden interruption. "Thanks for the vote of confidence mom." As he had his back turned Shelby got him good in the back of the head with a blast of water. Scott yelled and reached over to turn the faucet off. "You know that you are going to have to clean this mess up don't you?" he said to her.
Shelby stepped out of the shower grabbed a towel and threw it over his head. "Sure but it was well worth the effort."
Susan said, "Shelby I hate to put this whole chore on you but I need to talk to Scott a little."
"Sure go ahead I need to take a shower and get the toothpaste out of my hair anyway."
Susan followed a wet Scott into his bedroom while he was drying himself off. He pulled the towel off his head and stood frozen in the middle of his room. It had been almost a year since he was in this room. Standing there looking around started to bring back some painful memories to him. Susan was unsure of what was going through Scott's mind as she came up behind him and started to place a hand on his shoulder. Scott made a sudden gesture to get away and yelled, "Don't touch me you skank. Get away from me."
Susan stood in shock as she watched her son back up against the wall. Scott finally became focused and realized what he had just done. "Mom I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that." He was feeling very ashamed and embarrassed.
Susan saw the hurt in his eyes and knew the pain that he was experiencing. She walked over slowly as not to scare him and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "It's ok Scott. This room just brought back some old and painful memories. I understand it's ok." She gently brought him closer as he finally gave in and wrapped his arms around her and dropped his head on top of her head. He softly cried, "they won't ever go away will they?"
She drew him out and looked him in the red tear filled eyes and said, "No Scott, it'll never go away but you will learn to get past it. Someday it won't be the most important thing on your mind. You will learn to fulfil that space with happier memories."
Scott was glad that she understood him. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and said, "Thanks mom. I needed to hear that." He went over and sat on his bed. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"First of all I'm glad to have you back home. I was so worried about you that it made me realize how much of your life I was missing by being away. I'm sorry that I put my needs before yours."
"It's not your fault. Don't go blaming everything that has happened as your fault. I'm glad that you're back also but now you'll never be wondering "what if?" You tried what you thought would work for you and it didn't. So what. Now you know and it's better than always wondering."
She smiled at the thought of his maturity. "You really have grown up since I left haven't you? You need to decide what happens next in your life. You're probably aware that your father is totally against this pregnancy thing."
"Yeah, he made himself very well known on the airplane. He tried to make me think that Shelby planned the whole thing just to trap me."
"What do you think?"
"I confronted her about it and I could tell that she was hurt by my assumptions. It wasn't on purpose. I mean the sex was but not the pregnancy. We are both responsible. She gave me a way out and I could have taken it but when you love someone you just don't think of the consequences."
"Scott your dad will not support you if you stay with Shelby. He thinks that we should let the state take over until she is legally old enough to take care of herself."
"I can't abandon her. That sounds like neglect turning her over to the state. How could he even consider something like that? I'll leave. I'll take Shelby and we will both leave if he is going to be that way. No way in hell I'm I going to give up on her."
"I understand Scott. But you need to consider your education. Have you ever thought about putting the baby up for adoption? There are plenty of nice people out there who would give anything to raise a child in a good home. If you don't go to college than you'll be struggling your entire life just to make ends meet."
"You sound like you want us to get rid of the baby also."
"I'm not sure what I want but I do know that I want you to be as successful and happy as you can in your life. You and Shelby really need to talk about this and please make sure that you look at the broad picture and not just the moment." She got up and walked out the room to give her son some time to think.
Shelby had gotten out of the shower some time ago and was eavesdropping in on their conversation. She backed into the bathroom when she heard Susan began to leave. She waited for Susan to go downstairs then she proceeded into Scott's room. She saw him sitting on his bed in deep thought. She came over and gently sat down next to him. She saw the stress on his face and reached over and took his hand into hers.
"Scott please believe me that I never meant for this to happen. I would never purposely try and destroy your life."
He looked over at her and realized that she must have heard the conversation between himself and his mother. He looked like he was trying to carry the whole world on his shoulder.
"What are we going to do Shelby? I'm so confused, I don't know what to do."
"Scott I'm sitting here looking around at what you have and the life style that you are used to living. There is no way that I would want you to give this all up for me. You probably would have been better off with Juliet. This is more her lifestyle than mine."
"Don't say that Shel. We just need to figure out a way for this to work for all of us."
"Your dad is right. I have trapped you. I didn't do it on purpose but nevertheless you are now trapped. The only way out is to get rid of me."
"Are you trying to dump me now? This has nothing to do with my mom or my dad. This is about you and me and a way for us to survive together. I won't do it without you. We are a team now and one thing that we both learned at Horizon is that you can't survive alone in this world. Everyone has to have someone to lean on. You have me and I have you. Together we are one. The only plans that we need to be making now involve both of us together not apart. Don't give up on me."
Shelby held his face in her hand and kissed him gently on the lips. "I could never give up on you. Don't you remember how much I had to fight for you in the beginning? I never backed down because I always knew that you'd be well worth the wait."
Scott cringed as he remembered how awful he was to her when they first met. "I was pretty awful to you at first wasn't I?"
She smiled and said, "Yeah, you were pretty mean but I tried not to let it get to me because I was determined that you would be mine. I guess it paid off."
He slid off the bed onto the floor in front of her and took her by the hand. He looked her right in the eye and said, " I only have one question for you right now?"
"Yeah and what would that be."
"Shelby Merrick, will you marry me?"
Martin approached his ex-wife, Susan, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs listening to the argument going on upstairs. She had heard Shelby tell Scott to "go to hell" and she wondered if she should interfere with what was going on. Martin pulled her aside and took her into another room further away from the distraction from upstairs.
"Susan why didn't you ever tell me that Shelby was pregnant with Scott's baby?"
She looked a little tense and shook her head. "I don't know. At the time it just seemed more important to get Scott back and let the rest fall into place. I guess I thought that you would be angry with him and than refuse to help him to get back home."
"Ok fine. Now he is at home and we can face the problem. I don't want this to be a set back in his life when we are just starting to move forward. He didn't need to be tricked and trapped into a relationship that is going to tie him down. We need to give her what she needs and then get rid of her."
Susan couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Martin what are you saying. Scott loves Shelby and this is something that they need to face together not Shelby alone."
"He doesn't know what love is and I don't feel that he should have to pay for this mistake for the rest of his life. He'll get over it and move on with time."
"You just can't forget a child. This is our grandchild that you are talking about getting rid of. Do you think that you can look back years later and be happy with this decision? Look at what happened to you own father. He regrets now what happened in the past. Don't let that happen to you."
"I can't look that far in the future right now when all I can think about is trying to save my son. Scott is not ready for this kind of responsibility. He is having a hard enough time trying to take care of himself much less a girlfriend and a baby. She needs to go home and let her own family take care of her."
"She can't. She is from a poor family with an abusive stepfather. Her mother is having a hard enough time taking care of her little sister."
"Susan I can't help that. I need to just think about my own child right now. The state has programs for people like that. She can get help elsewhere. We will help her find a foster home or something that can take care of her."
"Martin don't you understand that you will be taking a piece of your sons heart with her. He'll never forgive you for this."
"Listen to them upstairs fighting. It won't work out and you know it."
"This has to be Scott's decision not ours."
"Fine but if he makes the wrong one than I won't support him. I will get him through his last year of high school and put him through collage but if he chooses to stay with that girl than I will not stick around to watch him fall. I've picked him up too many times in the past but I wont keep doing it."
Susan was so confused now. She understood how Martin wanted the best for their son but some things in life weren't always crystal clear. She had better go talk to the kids and see what was going on upstairs.
When Susan got upstairs she heard a lot of commotion is the bathroom and decided to walk in and see if everything was ok. She talked in to see Shelby laughing and standing in the shower drenching Scott with the showerhead as he squirted her with toothpaste.
She made a noise to let them know she was present and smiled. "If I had to make a bet for the winner of this little battle than my money would go on Shelby."
Scott turned to look at the sudden interruption. "Thanks for the vote of confidence mom." As he had his back turned Shelby got him good in the back of the head with a blast of water. Scott yelled and reached over to turn the faucet off. "You know that you are going to have to clean this mess up don't you?" he said to her.
Shelby stepped out of the shower grabbed a towel and threw it over his head. "Sure but it was well worth the effort."
Susan said, "Shelby I hate to put this whole chore on you but I need to talk to Scott a little."
"Sure go ahead I need to take a shower and get the toothpaste out of my hair anyway."
Susan followed a wet Scott into his bedroom while he was drying himself off. He pulled the towel off his head and stood frozen in the middle of his room. It had been almost a year since he was in this room. Standing there looking around started to bring back some painful memories to him. Susan was unsure of what was going through Scott's mind as she came up behind him and started to place a hand on his shoulder. Scott made a sudden gesture to get away and yelled, "Don't touch me you skank. Get away from me."
Susan stood in shock as she watched her son back up against the wall. Scott finally became focused and realized what he had just done. "Mom I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that." He was feeling very ashamed and embarrassed.
Susan saw the hurt in his eyes and knew the pain that he was experiencing. She walked over slowly as not to scare him and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "It's ok Scott. This room just brought back some old and painful memories. I understand it's ok." She gently brought him closer as he finally gave in and wrapped his arms around her and dropped his head on top of her head. He softly cried, "they won't ever go away will they?"
She drew him out and looked him in the red tear filled eyes and said, "No Scott, it'll never go away but you will learn to get past it. Someday it won't be the most important thing on your mind. You will learn to fulfil that space with happier memories."
Scott was glad that she understood him. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and said, "Thanks mom. I needed to hear that." He went over and sat on his bed. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"First of all I'm glad to have you back home. I was so worried about you that it made me realize how much of your life I was missing by being away. I'm sorry that I put my needs before yours."
"It's not your fault. Don't go blaming everything that has happened as your fault. I'm glad that you're back also but now you'll never be wondering "what if?" You tried what you thought would work for you and it didn't. So what. Now you know and it's better than always wondering."
She smiled at the thought of his maturity. "You really have grown up since I left haven't you? You need to decide what happens next in your life. You're probably aware that your father is totally against this pregnancy thing."
"Yeah, he made himself very well known on the airplane. He tried to make me think that Shelby planned the whole thing just to trap me."
"What do you think?"
"I confronted her about it and I could tell that she was hurt by my assumptions. It wasn't on purpose. I mean the sex was but not the pregnancy. We are both responsible. She gave me a way out and I could have taken it but when you love someone you just don't think of the consequences."
"Scott your dad will not support you if you stay with Shelby. He thinks that we should let the state take over until she is legally old enough to take care of herself."
"I can't abandon her. That sounds like neglect turning her over to the state. How could he even consider something like that? I'll leave. I'll take Shelby and we will both leave if he is going to be that way. No way in hell I'm I going to give up on her."
"I understand Scott. But you need to consider your education. Have you ever thought about putting the baby up for adoption? There are plenty of nice people out there who would give anything to raise a child in a good home. If you don't go to college than you'll be struggling your entire life just to make ends meet."
"You sound like you want us to get rid of the baby also."
"I'm not sure what I want but I do know that I want you to be as successful and happy as you can in your life. You and Shelby really need to talk about this and please make sure that you look at the broad picture and not just the moment." She got up and walked out the room to give her son some time to think.
Shelby had gotten out of the shower some time ago and was eavesdropping in on their conversation. She backed into the bathroom when she heard Susan began to leave. She waited for Susan to go downstairs then she proceeded into Scott's room. She saw him sitting on his bed in deep thought. She came over and gently sat down next to him. She saw the stress on his face and reached over and took his hand into hers.
"Scott please believe me that I never meant for this to happen. I would never purposely try and destroy your life."
He looked over at her and realized that she must have heard the conversation between himself and his mother. He looked like he was trying to carry the whole world on his shoulder.
"What are we going to do Shelby? I'm so confused, I don't know what to do."
"Scott I'm sitting here looking around at what you have and the life style that you are used to living. There is no way that I would want you to give this all up for me. You probably would have been better off with Juliet. This is more her lifestyle than mine."
"Don't say that Shel. We just need to figure out a way for this to work for all of us."
"Your dad is right. I have trapped you. I didn't do it on purpose but nevertheless you are now trapped. The only way out is to get rid of me."
"Are you trying to dump me now? This has nothing to do with my mom or my dad. This is about you and me and a way for us to survive together. I won't do it without you. We are a team now and one thing that we both learned at Horizon is that you can't survive alone in this world. Everyone has to have someone to lean on. You have me and I have you. Together we are one. The only plans that we need to be making now involve both of us together not apart. Don't give up on me."
Shelby held his face in her hand and kissed him gently on the lips. "I could never give up on you. Don't you remember how much I had to fight for you in the beginning? I never backed down because I always knew that you'd be well worth the wait."
Scott cringed as he remembered how awful he was to her when they first met. "I was pretty awful to you at first wasn't I?"
She smiled and said, "Yeah, you were pretty mean but I tried not to let it get to me because I was determined that you would be mine. I guess it paid off."
He slid off the bed onto the floor in front of her and took her by the hand. He looked her right in the eye and said, " I only have one question for you right now?"
"Yeah and what would that be."
"Shelby Merrick, will you marry me?"