Here is the final chapter. Be prepared for drama.
"Bree, you look— you look terrible."
Bridget looked at Maureen wearily. She hadn't gotten to sleep until dawn. She had finally cried herself to sleep and barely had rolled out of bed that morning to get to school. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and her hair, normally well-kept, was a mess.
"Bridget, what is it?" Cat asked, looking at her from across the table.
Bridget merely shook her head and gave Cat a look that clearly said, 'not here.' Roger had been asking her all morning what was wrong, but she wouldn't say. She had finally had enough of his asking questions, so she was eating lunch outside with Cat and Maureen today, on the mild March day. She knew Roger was worried about her, but she didn't want him to know anything.
That afternoon, however, once Roger had gone to work with Mr. Davis at the shop, Bridget cracked. She was walking home from school with Maureen, Cat, Mark, and Benny, when she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"She's making me leave, Mo," she said quietly.
"Huh?" Maureen asked, caught off-guard.
"She's making me leave!" Bridget yelled, and she stopped walking as she started to cry. "I fucking told her I'm pregnant and she's fucking sending me to a home for unwed mothers! How am I supposed to know when I'll see Scarsdale again? I haven't even told Roger that I'm pregnant yet, and I'm fucking leaving him by the end of the week! And I can't do a damn thing about it!"
Bridget fell to her knees on the concrete and cried, wrapping her arms around herself. As her body shook with sobs, Maureen bent down next to her and put her arms around Bridget's shoulders.
"Bree…" she said quietly, looking helplessly at Cat.
But Cat knew, for the first time in her life, the drama queen had been stunned into silence.
"What can we do, Bridget?" Cat asked gently.
Bridget wiped her eyes and stood up with the girls' help. "Can you— can you tell Roger?" she asked. "But not until I— I leave, OK?"
Maureen and Cat nodded. They looked at Mark and Benny, who nodded as well, also sealing the deal. "OK," she said quietly, "we'll tell him. But he already knows something's up. I can't even imagine what he's gonna do when he knows you're leaving."
"He'll probably come after me," Bridget said, and she almost laughed, but it sent her into more bitter tears.
Maureen sighed and she and Cat both put their hands on Bridget's tense, shaking shoulders. "It'll be OK, Bree," Maureen said reassuringly, but she had tears in her eyes. "We'll take care of him for you."
But she was not looking forward to what Roger would be like when he found out the love of his life was leaving.
"Mo, where's Bridget?" Roger asked, walking into his house a few days later, and seeing Maureen sitting silently in a chair in the living room, Cat, Benny, and Mark with her. Maureen didn't say anything, but after a moment of heavy silence, Cat let out a sob and put her hand over her mouth, as tears began to flow down her cheeks. She sent Benny a distressed glance and went running into the bathroom, her long, wavy blonde hair bouncing off her back.
Roger was confused. "What's up with her?" he asked Benny. But Benny merely shrugged and went in to her. Roger turned to Maureen and asked, "Mo, seriously, what's going on? Bridget's been acting weird lately, you haven't said a word since I got back from the shop, and Cat's crying. Tell me right now."
Maureen couldn't stand it anymore. She burst into tears and looked at Roger, who was now looking alarmed. Maureen sobbed for a few seconds, as Mark rushed over to her and put his arms around her, and then she took a deep breath and spoke.
"She's leaving, Roger!" she exclaimed, her face in her hands. "I wasn't supposed to tell you, but she got pregnant when you guys had sex on Christmas Eve. She was scared, Roger. She didn't want you to know about it, because she was afraid you'd get attached to the baby or something, and then something bad might happen. She's done everything she could to make sure she didn't get attached, either."
Roger stared at Maureen, completely stunned. He couldn't believe Maureen had hid this from him for so long. How she had, without going crazy herself, was beyond him.
"Oh my God, Mo," Roger snarled, suddenly furious. "How the hell could you keep something like that from me?" He glared at her as Benny and Cat came out of the bathroom. Apparently, Cat had calmed down. "Cat, did you know about this, too?" he demanded.
Cat nodded, looking at him, scared at seeing him like this. "She asked us to keep quiet about it. We had to respect her wishes, Roger," she said.
"What kind of person keeps something like that a secret?" Roger yelled, and he whirled around. Maureen and Cat flinched involuntarily. He was about to leave to go after Bridget, when something occurred to him. "What do you mean, she's leaving? Where's she going?"
"Her mom's sending her to some home for unwed mothers in New York City," Maureen said, her voice a little stronger now. "There's nothing we can do, Roger. Her mom's made up her mind. But her bus leaves in twenty minutes. If you hurry, maybe you can... say goodbye..."
Just as Maureen's voice quieted and choked off with sobs, Mr. Davis walked in, and Mrs. Davis came into the living room from her bedroom, dressed in her nightgown. She had obviously been sleeping.
"Roger, what's going on?" she asked, letting out a yawn. "You've been yelling for almost half an hour."
"Mom, Bridget's leaving," Roger said, as he looked at his mother with tears in his eyes.
Mrs. Davis looked surprised. "What?" she asked. "She is?" Roger nodded. "Why?"
"Because she's pregnant and her mom's sending her away to some home for unwed mothers," Roger sobbed. He looked up hesitantly and saw both his parents were stunned.
"Roger, how could you?" Mr. Davis asked him, his eyes flashing. "You knew the rules."
"I know, Dad," Roger said, crying into his hands. "But it was her eighteenth birthday. We were both eighteen, so we thought it was OK. I'm sorry if we broke a rule."
"He's got a point, Andy," Mrs. Davis said gently, although she looked disappointed. "They are both eighteen— were both eighteen— and this was their consensual choice." She looked up at her husband. "Obviously, it wasn't the best choice, but it was a choice, and now Roger has to make a choice as well." She looked over at Roger. "The bus leaves at eleven. It's ten-forty-five now. Are you going to go after her and see if you can talk to her and convince her to stay, albeit against her mother's orders? Or are you going to go and say goodbye and that you're sorry?"
"I'll do whatever I can to get her back, Mom," Roger said, and he turned around and went out the door, Maureen, Cat, Benny, Mark, and Mr. and Mrs. Davis right behind him.
Bridget sat down on the bench, waiting for the charter bus to show up. With her, she had most of what she owned. It was all in a suitcase, a backpack, and she had her pillow. She had enough money to sustain herself until she got to the home and got settled in. But she knew she had to get a job once the baby was born. As far as she could tell, college was no longer an option.
The bus pulled up, stopped, and its doors hissed open to let her on. She thought she heard someone yell her name. She paused, one foot on the step, and looked around, but saw no one.
As she started to climb onto the bus, she heard the voices again, but louder this time. The voices were definitely saying her name. She looked again and, this time, saw Roger, Maureen, Cat, Benny, Mark, and Roger's parents running down the sidewalk. Roger was running full-out, his long strides carrying him quickly toward her. Bridget paused again. She could see him clearly through the bus's back window now, still gaining on the stationary bus.
"Miss, are you coming or not?" the driver asked gruffly, holding out his hand for the fare. But Bridget ignored him for a moment. Roger was halfway down the block now and closing in fast.
Bridget turned and pulled money for the fare out of her pocket. She gave him an extra two dollars, but as she pressed it into his hand, she said firmly, "You wait a minute."
The driver could see she was serious, so he nodded. Bridget nodded as well and walked to the back of the bus. She set her bags in the seat next to her and sat down and the doors closed, just as Roger caught up with the bus.
"Miss, I have to go," the driver said, looking at her through his rear-view mirror. "It's eleven P.M. and I'm on a schedule."
Bridget looked out at Roger, who was pounding on the side of the bus and yelling at her. She could hear what he was saying.
"Baby, get off that bus!" Roger cried, pounding on the side of the bus. "Please, Baby, get off! I'm sorry! I know I fucked up, but I'll do anything, please, if you'll just come here! We can raise our baby together, Baby! Please, just get off! I promise, I'll take care of you!"
He was crying and screaming and yelling, as his heart was being torn in two. Bridget wrote something down on a piece of paper and she looked up as the driver put the bus into gear. "No, wait!" she said loudly, standing up as tears came to her eyes. "You said you'd wait!"
"I've waited almost ten minutes, Miss, you requested one," the driver said. "I can't wait any longer. I'm sorry."
And he began to drive off. Bridget went across the aisle and sat in an empty seat. Roger was running to keep up with the bus, tears in his eyes and falling down his face, as he tried in vain to keep up with the bus and get the driver to stop. Bridget's body shook with aching sobs, as she looked into Roger's distraught green eyes one last time. Roger stopped running and fell to his knees on the sidewalk, as Bridget held the note to the window for Roger to read. She saw a look of shock and horror come over his face as he read it.
I promise I'll be back for you.
Maureen and Cat came over to Roger and pulled him, shaking, to his feet, as the bus turned a corner and was gone. He wouldn't look at them. His face was pressed in his hands and he was unable to speak through his tears.
"Come on, Roger," Maureen said, crying, "let's go home. I'm so sorry you didn't get to say goodbye for real. You did all you could."
"How could she just leave, Mo?" Roger cried into Maureen's arms. "I love her with every fiber in my being. How could she just leave?"
Maureen didn't know what to say. For the second time in her life, she was completely lost. "I'm sorry, Roger," she said quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked at Mr. Davis. "What can we do?" she asked him.
"There's nothing we can do," Mr. Davis said. "Bridget has made her choice. Now we have to go home and make ours."
"But I want to go after her, Dad!" Roger yelled. "She's paying for my mistake! I know she said she wanted to, but..." His legs wobbled and almost went out from under him, but Maureen, Cat, and Mark held him up and wouldn't let him go. "I love her so much, Dad," he cried, looking up at his father.
"I know you do, son," Mr. Davis said, taking Roger into his arms and he held him close.
The sequel will be up ASAP, ten years later, so keep an eye out for it. I know what I want to happen, but getting it down on paper or on the computer is proving to be really tough right now. I'll keep trying, though, I really will. Same thing with Deviant Beauty's sequel. Rosablasifann08, you know what I mean. Thank you to all who have reviewed. You know I love feedback. Reviews are my smack. Seriously, I need them to survive.
As always, don't forget to review.
Until next time, lots of love,
Renthead07