A.N. Oh my goodness. This is some crazy stuff. It doesn't end where I wanted it to, but it would have been like 4500 words instead of 2700. So the story is actually going to be 21 chapters I guess. Lol.

Enjoy the uproar. :)

Chapter 15

Runaways

Happy times were not to last. Everyone was so lost in the moment that they hadn't paused to think about Roger Sr. coming home, Joseph on his heels.

They walked right into the little family gathering. "What in the hell is going on?" Roger shout asked angrily, his voice rising with every word. Everything was escalating very quickly. Both his wife, and his eldest son jumped to their feet.

"Roger, dear, perhaps you should take a seat. This is big news…"

"Don't worry," the younger cut in. "He already knows all about Jack, don't you Father?"

Bella, confused, started to ask a question, but she never got the words out. The older man had gone red in the face. "How dare you bring him here? I've put hundreds of thousands of dollars into hiding that brat!"

"Why? What was the point?" Roger screamed back, clenching his fists at his side.

His father wasted no time responding, "To protect our families! John's going to run for governor next year. And we can't have this mess you caused ruining his chance at the Senate!"

"Money and power. Is that really all you think about?"

"Look how far my money and power had gotten you. Ungrateful! I knew I should have kept you home. Forced you to stay."

"Your influence has caused me nothing but pain! I did this. I found my own happiness."

"Happiness is for fools," he spat back.

Roger Jr. narrowed his eyes, "You used to be happy, Father. I remember. You used to be happy until Emma -"

"Do not. Don't you dare bring her into this."

"Emma died. She died and took every decent fiber left in your body with her." Roger could hear his mother crying now, somewhere behind him. He had played the worst card he could. Even his father was speechless. "You are a cold, heartless bastard."

"Go. Get out of my house." When Roger didn't budge, he shouted, "NOW!"

He didn't waste any time after that. He spun around sharply, only to find that Anita was already on her feet, Jack secured in her arms. For a brief second he thought about apologizing to his mother, but she was still very upset. Joseph had went to her side, awkwardly patting her back as she cried.

Undeterred, Roger marched into the hall, Anita and Jack right behind him. "Here, take Jack and the car to your house," he told her, handing over his keys. "I'll be there soon."

Anita didn't question him. "Its going to be okay. Somehow. It always is." He couldn't answer her, he just couldn't see that yet.

Roger made his way upstairs as Anita slipped out the door. He made sure to grab his bags and packed a few extra things from his room as well. Family photos and a nick-knack or two.

After everything was loaded into the truck, he climbed inside and sped off. Leaving home had never left such a bad taste in his mouth before.

o.O.o

Anita drove carefully. She had really only driven a few times since she'd gotten her license, and nothing nearly as fancy as Roger's sleek ride. She glanced in the rear view mirror every few minutes just to check on Jack, but he seemed fine now. He had been a little frightened by the "Mean Man" and all the shouting at first though.

"Nina, where go?" he asked a few minutes in.

"We are going to my house. Don't you want to see where Nina lives?" She talked easy with him, it really hadn't been all that long ago when Jimmy had been his size, and she could use all the practice she could get.

The fight had her worried, though. How would it effect everything now? Just when they were starting to get everything settled, it all had to go insane. Surely Roger would still want his mother involved, and possibly Joseph too. She could live with that. Really though, Anita was just satisfied that she hadn't been dragged into the argument just yet.

o.O.o

By the time Roger pulled into Anita's, he felt a little better. He brushed aside the turmoil and plastered on a smile. For right now, worries and problems had no place.

He knocked once, and stepped into the house, looking around, but the place seemed empty. He searched the normal places before heading into the kitchen and glancing out the back door.

Anita was sitting on the steps, watching Jack as he tried to convince Bandit to play. The old dog just rolled over, exposing his rather large gut.

"Hey," he said in a way of greeting when he popped the door open. Anita still jumped.

"Oh," she said, turning back around. "You okay?"

Roger nodded, moving to sit at her side. "Has he been good?"

She smiled affectionately at the little boy. "He's very sweet, Roger. I think you're going to have to get him a puppy sometime."

"I know," he chuckled. "He loves dogs. And giraffes," he added, remembering the incident with the bushes.

Anita gave him a questioning look, but didn't say a word.

o.O.o

The closer it got to night, the more Roger began to fret. He eventually decided to get a hotel room for the rest of the week. It was nice, but not so unreasonably so that it would attract attention. The sun was already setting, and Jack was exhausted, half asleep. Anita followed them up to Roger's room, and hovered in the corner until he had Jack tucked in.

"I can't do this," he sighed, slumping to the little couch. "If I don't do something now, he's just going to find a way to mess everything up. I need a better place for Jack, too, if I'm going to take him."

"What's wrong with your apartment?" she asked quietly.

Roger laughed suddenly, with no trace of amusement. ""No, Father will have me out of there immediately. I'll be stuck in the dorms until I can find my own place. That won't look good on me." He huffed, "I don't even want to go to school anymore."

"Dropping out won't make you look very good either."

"No, no you're right." He paused for a moment, looking conflicted. "You know, this is the worst possible time to mention it, but I was going to give you this before I left." Roger reached into his pocket and extracted a tiny black box. He opened it, the perfectly cut diamond caught the dim light from the bathroom and glittered.

"Oh my," she breathed. It really was the perfect ring, not too big or too small, and the setting was a shiny white gold. "This is what that last night was about?" Candlelight, walks on the beach… it all made sense to her now.

"Yes," he answered sheepishly, seemingly unable to look her in the eye.

"You don't honestly expect me to accept when you aren't even looking at me, do you?" She smiled when he glanced up, holding out her left hand.

Roger grinned back, a slow, creeping smile that swept the tension out of the air for the moment. He took her offered hand and slipped the ring on her finger.

Anita brought it closer to her face for a thorough examination, giggling when the ring slipped sideways, rolling underneath her hand.

"It might need refitted," he added once she had calmed down. "You like it though?"

"Of course! It's gorgeous."

In the next second they were kissing. Anita thought her brain must have skipped.

"Let's run away," Roger whispered against her skin as he peppered her in kisses.

"Run away? Why must we run away?" she asked, pushing against him, searching his eyes.

"Father won't allow this… And I - I don't think… It was just a crazy idea, never mind," he waved it off quickly, trying to kiss her again.

"But what about Jack?"

"Jack?" he asked, confused, glancing over at the bed. "Jack will be fine. We'll figure it out. We can come back for Jack once we get settled."

"Roger! I can't believe this. You're okay with just walking away from your little boy? He needs you."

"We can't take him with us, Anita. He'll be okay for a while longer. We won't be able to stay together here. What about our baby? She'll need me too."

"She?" she asked, furrowing her brow and studying her bump. "I was hoping for a boy, actually."

He smiled at her, and pulled her close again. She didn't fight him that time. "It's just a feeling. Maybe I'm wrong." Roger pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

Anita sighed softly before gently pushing him away once more. "Stop trying to distract me! You said so yourself, just a few hours ago, that you didn't think she was such a good mother. That you were worried."

His conscience was getting the better of him. She could see the manic gleam leaving his eyes. "Yes… Yes, you're right, Nita. Of course you are…" Roger ran a hand through his hair, "What are we supposed to do?"

The silence seemed to echo in the darkness as it stretched, neither sure what step to take. At last she broke into his thinking, "Roger… I have to be home. It's nearly three, Daddy will be up before long."

He nodded, snatching his keys off the table. "Here, take the car." She took them, playing with the keys awkwardly. "Goodnight, Nita. Don't worry, I'll figure something out, okay?"

"Okay, Roger," she whispered as she stood up.

"I love you," he called as loudly as he dared.

She grinned and waved and blew him a kiss for good measure, but the instant she was outside of his room she crumpled. What on earth were they ever supposed to do?

o.O.o

They didn't talk about anything serious the rest of the week. Roger was upset about missing the holiday with his family, so Anita dragged him over to her house of Thanksgiving. Her parents didn't say anything on the matter, but then her mother hadn't spoken to her in the last few weeks anyway. The rest of them were distracted by Jack's chubby little face and slurred words to car much.

It wasn't until Saturday morning that Roger said anything at all. "Have you told your parents about the baby?"

Anita glanced up from her hands. "What? No… Not yet. Did Daddy look like he wanted to kill you?"

Roger furrowed his brow. "You should do it. Today. I want you to come with me tonight."

"Come with you where? You're leaving tonight, right? To take Jack back to Tiffany?"

He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I called. The locks have been changed on my apartment. I'm no longer welcome, and I don't want to go back to school. There are bigger things than getting a degree. Maybe I'll go back later… I don't know yet."

"Where would we go?" she asked. Anita was terrified of just how tempting it sounded to pack her bags and hit the road. She had responsibilities, a job, her family, her own schooling.

"North, where I bought all of that land. We can build a nice big house out in the middle of nowhere. Start our farm. We can get Jack a thousand dogs if we want." He seemed so excited, like this was the perfect solution. "And once we get married," he added with a happy smile, "we can go back to Las Vegas and get Jack. I'll get a suit filed immediately."

So tempting. "What about my family? Or school?"

Roger sighed, as if he had known this was going to be the hard part. "How were you going to go to school once the baby came?"

"I -" That was actually a good question; she hadn't thought about that yet. "I don't know."

"You won't be able to work at - at the house anymore, and I doubt your mother would watch her. She doesn't usually watch her own kids. No offense."

Anita waved it off, there was no denying that her mother had some serious flaws. "Daddy won't be very happy. And there isn't really room for a baby at our house."

"We'll come back to visit whenever you want, Nita. I promise." His eyes pleaded with her.

"It has to be tonight?" she asked. Such a short time to get everything in order, to say her goodbyes. He nodded. "O-okay," she whispered weakly. "Okay, I'm in."

o.O.o

Her evening went exactly the way she expected it to. Tears and shouting, mostly.

"I knew it!" her mother said, when she mentioned the baby, but Anita ignored her.

"Daddy, please. This isn't anyone's fault, and he wants to make it right." she pulled the long chain out from under her shirt. "See? Isn't it a pretty ring? It doesn't fit all the way, yet."

"Nita," he choked. "You're so smart, Nita. You're supposed to become a doctor…" He sighed sadly. "How could you let this happen?"

Anita had never felt more ashamed of herself. Tears were stinging her eyes as they threatened to escape. "I just… It just happened. I'm happy, though. Isn't that what's important?"

"She went and spread her legs!" her mother screeched. "That's how this happened, James. Stop this."

"May!" he growled back at her. "You of all people should understand this."

Her more sniffed. "Times have changed."

Anita stood quietly while her parents had their private battle. She hadn't thought about how similar her fate was to her own mother's, a pregnant teenager off to be married, but her mother had grown bitter and angry because that decision had been forced upon her.

"I want to get married, and I want to have this baby," she said then, cutting off whatever hushed conversation she had just interrupted. "It's going to happen. And - Well, I'm leaving tonight. I'm sorry."

Anita didn't wait for a reply, she simply hurried out of the room. She was crying by the time she got to the staircase. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to face her father again after that catastrophe.

Stephanie and Jimmy were waiting on her when she got to her room, sitting quietly on her bed. "What's going on, Nita?"

Anita took a deep breath. "I'm leaving, guys. I'm so sorry." So much apologizing was starting to leave her with a sick feeling.

Her siblings looked confused. "With Roger?" Steph asked.

"Yes," she sighed. "We're getting married," for good measure she pulled up her shirt part way, "and having a baby."

Stephanie squealed in delight. "That's amazing!" She poked her extended stomach experimentally. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know yet. Everyone seems to think it's a girl."

"Awesome. Girls are the best." She paused for a second, still staring. "So who was that little boy you brought over?"

Anita rushed through an explanation for just about ever other question Stephanie could come up with, and made sure to promise Jimmy she'd be back before too long, all the while trying to pack some clothes.

Stephanie might be a little air headed, but having someone on her side felt good, and made everything easier. She said her tearful goodbyes, even stepping into the backyard to pet Bandit one last time.

Once she was done, she pulled out the keys to Roger's car, still sitting in her driveway. It was the only way they were ever going to get both vehicles to Nevada. She took a ragged breath, checked the time once more, and stepped out into the dark.

Life hit her like a ton of bricks, standing there on her doorstep for the last time in who knew how long. She trailed her fingers along the peeling paint, steeling herself, and then, full of determination, stepped out of her old life into her new one.