CHAPTER 8

Hi guys! Sorry I took so long to update. I've been extremely busy. Hope you guys like it :)

Martin opened his eyes and looked around. For a minute he didn't remember where he was, and then recognized that he was in Ruthie's room. Realizing that he must have fallen asleep, he quickly sat up and glanced at the clock. It read 03:00am. He glanced around him, and it was then that he noticed Ruthie lying sound asleep on the bed next to him. When did she get here? He wondered. And why didn't she wake me up? She looked so pretty just laying there that he didn't want to wake her. He could tell her the good news tomorrow. He would come over first thing in the morning and talk to her. He leaned over her and kissed her lightly on the forehead, "I love you" he whispered. With that being said he quietly got up and made his way to the door. He turned the light off as he exited her room.

Martin didn't know it but Ruthie had been awake the whole time. She had kept her eyes closed because she didn't want to Martin to know, but she felt him kiss her and heard him whisper "I love you." She listened as he left the room, and then whispered "I love you too." Still deeply groggy from being half asleep Ruthie didn't give much thought as to why Martin had been in her room in the middle of the night. Smiling to herself, she rolled over and drifted off to sleep dreaming of Martin. Ruthie awoke to sunlight pouring into her room. She slowly sat up wondering if last night had been a dream. She frowned, trying to figure out whether Martin had really been here or not. She felt sure that it had happened, but just the whole idea of it seemed so surreal. She got up and rummaged through her closet to find something to wear. She found her denim jeans, a long black lacy tank tap and then her blue button sweater to wear over it. Grabbing her clothes she walked to the bathroom to take a shower. While in the shower she kept thinking about Martin. She knew she hadn't been hallucinating or dreaming last night and she knew that Martin had been in her room last night. She decided that she needed to talk to Martin and find out what was going on. It was strange that he had been waiting in her room especially given the current situation. Feeling satisfied that she would call Martin when she was showered and dressed; she enjoyed the rest of her shower.

Martin was sitting his bedroom holding the phone in one hand and staring at it. He was trying to call Ruthie but he couldn't think of what he was going to say. Deciding not to give it a moment more of thought he punched in her number.

"Camden residence," he heard one of the twins say.

"Hi. This is Martin," he answered back.

"MARTIN!" Martin laughed. He wasn't sure whether it was Sam or David.

"Is Ruthie there?"

"Yes. David will get her for you."

No one said anything for a minute, and Martin wasn't sure what was going on. Finally he heard a voice, "Hello?"

"Ruthie?" he asked

"Martin?" she sounded surprised.

"Yep. Hi," he answered

"Hey," she didn't sound too upset which he took as a good sign.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'm not too bad, just took a shower," she replied.

"That's good," he answered.

"I guess," she said.

Things were getting awkward. There used to be a time when they would spend hours on the phone just talking about things. Now Martin could feel the silence growing between them. "I was wondering if we could talk," he finally said. He knew that she knew he had been in her room last night, so she probably had some questions.

"Sure" she answered. "That sounds like a good idea."

"It's not too cold out," he told her. "Maybe we could walk to the park?"

"That sounds fine," Ruthie replied coolly. "Just give me a half hour."

"Sure," Martin answered. "That's fine. So I'll be by in a bit."

"Ok. I'll see you then." Martin heard a click as she hung up the phone. He was a little disappointed; she had seemed so cool on the phone. At least she wasn't being mean, so it was a definite improvement. Throwing the phone onto his bed he headed downstairs to grab some breakfast.

Ruthie walked into the kitchen to find Simon sitting at the table eating toast.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Nice to see you too," he replied.

"I just meant I'm surprised to see you" she said sitting down at the table next to him. She grabbed a bowl and poured herself some cereal.

"Yeah well, it's a long weekend at school. So I thought I'd just come home"

"Huh." Ruthie replied. She knew her brother well enough to know that he didn't just come home. He only usually came home because he needed something. "Are you in trouble?" she asked.

"What? No!" Simon answered.

"Fine! I was just asking."

"Have you talked to Martin?" Simon asked her.

"Not really. Though, he and I are headed to the park in a few. He said he wanted to talk to me about something."

"Really?" Simon said looking interested.

"Yeah. I have no idea what it's about though. Honestly, I can't imagine what he has to say given the current situation."

"Me neither," Simon replied turning his attention to the piece of toast in front of him. Actually he did know what it was about, and he knew that Ruthie was not expecting what Martin was going to tell her. He also knew that she would be extremely happy; he only wished that he could say the same thing.

Martin walked through the Camden's backyard knocked on the door and then walked into the kitchen.

"I know you used to live here but it is polite to wait for someone to answer the door" Simon told him.

"What are you doing here?" Martin asked.

"Is no one happy to see me? And I actually live here" Simon replied. "Well, kinda."

"Ok." Martin didn't really know what else to say. "Ruthie around?"

"Yeah. She just went upstairs for a sec. She'll be right down."

Martin just nodded.

"So, did you tell Ruthie yet?" Simon asked him.

"I'm about to" Martin replied. What was taking her so long? He really needed to tell her. He needed to share this good news with the one person that only ever mattered. "Did you tell your parents yet? About Sandy?"

"Not yet" Simon answered "I'm waiting for the right time." Martin gave him a skeptical look. "And keep it down. Ruthie's coming."

Both Martin and Simon turned to look as Ruthie came down the stairs. Wow, she looks amazing Martin thought to himself. Her hair was down in their natural curls and she looked so beautiful. She smiled at him. "You ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep" Martin replied. "Just waiting on you."

She smiled and grabbed her purse off the counter.

"Have fun" Simon told her. She gave him a 'yeah I'll try' kind of look. Martin nodded at Simon then followed Ruthie out the door.

"So" Ruthie said. They park was empty and they were sitting on swings slowly swinging back and forth. Martin had been extremely quiet on the way over here.

"So" Martin replied.

"So you want to tell me what we're doing here?" Ruthie asked starting to get a little irritated.

Martin didn't say anything for a moment. Then he turned to look at her. She watched as he took a deep breath "I have something very important that I'm about to tell you. Something which I think is very good news and I'm really hoping that you will too."

"What is it?" Ruthie asked gently. She was starting to get really curious.

"Sandy's baby isn't mine." He told her.

Ruthie just stared at him shock.

"I'm not the father" he continued.

Ruthie just continued to stare at him in shock. Had she just heard him correctly? Did he just say that he wasn't having baby? She couldn't believe it. The one thing that she had been praying for had actually happened. She'd been hoping all along that there was some mistake and that the baby wasn't actually Martin's. She'd had too much faith in Martin to know that he wouldn't be so stupid and get someone pregnant. She turned to look at Martin; he was looking at her, pleading with his eyes for her to forgive him. For her to forgive him for the terrible mistake he had made.

Martin was just looking at Ruthie. She hadn't said anything for a while and he had no clue what was going through her mind. He watched as she turned to look at him. He didn't say anything, but gave her a look that read 'please forgive me'. Ruthie continued looking at him and sighed. He wished he knew what she was thinking. He watched as a smile erupted across her face and she jumped down from her swing. She slowly walked over to Martin and jumped on him wrapping her petite body around his. Martin didn't say anything just held her, breathing in her scent and enjoying the warmth of her body. Ruthie pulled away from him.

"Martin" she began. "I don't know what to say. These past couple of weeks when I thought you were having a baby was unbearable. I didn't know what to do. I felt like everything I believed in was a lie" she paused, "And now you come to me and tell me that you're not having a baby"

Martin didn't know what to say to that but he just nodded. It seemed that she was looking for confirmation. Martin was terrified as she suddenly started crying. Why was she crying? Martin pulled her in close and wiped her tears with his fingers.

"Martin I love you" she told him "I'm not going to lose you again. It hurts too much."

Martin pulled her in tight. "I love you too" he whispered into her ear. He heard her sob and then she rested her head on his shoulder. He understood her crying now, she'd been crying because she was happy not because he was hurting her. He felt his heart swell as he realized that he and Ruthie could be together and that she had forgiven him for what he had done. Ruthie didn't have to say it, her actions and emotions spoke louder than any words.

Ruthie pulled away from Martin and looked deep into his eyes. His eyes looked back at her, full of emotion and full of love. She put her hand behind his head and pulled him in towards her. Her heart melted as their lips connected once again. She'd never been happier. Martin pulled away and gave her a loving smile. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. There they stayed until the sun started to set and darkness began to develop around them.

Hope you guys liked it! Please read and review. Let me know if there's anything I can do to improve. Thanks:) Oh, and I will continue if you think I should.