Chapter Three

As Daphne sat down to dinner with her parents a few weeks later, she felt nothing but tension. That wasn't anything new, as there usually was tension. Daphne didn't get along with them because she thought they were unbelievably strict because of their religion. Daphne learned to play along at a young age, or else she would get into serious trouble. But that night, Daphne hadn't done anything to get herself into serious trouble. Or so she thought.

"Your father and I know about the kind of vehicle Fred drives," Mrs Blake said sternly.

"Vehicle?" Mr Blake scoffed. "It's not a vehicle. It's a machine,"

"It's just a van, Daddy," Daphne said, hoping to ease the tension.

That didn't work as Mrs Blake reached forward with her right hand and grabbed her face tightly. Daphne winced from the pain.

"Don't talk back to your father," Mrs Blake said.

Daphne looked at her mother, scared, and that's how Mrs Blake liked it.

"We've told you more than once that we don't approve of Fred," Mrs Blake said. "And there's certainly no mystery what you and Fred get up to in that machine of his. Now, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Mrs Blake let go of Daphne's face slowly. Daphne was terrified of what she had to say.

"Fred and I love each other, and we don't do anything that would be an insult to the Lord," Daphne said.

Mrs. Blake sighed contemptuously towards Daphne.

"You have the devil in you, young lady," Mrs Blake said. "And they're better not be anything else. Is that clear?"

Daphne began to shake a little and did her best not to show it.

"I-I-I promise there isn't, Mommy," Daphne said.

Mrs Blake wanted to slap Daphne for lying like that, but she knew she had a much better punishment in mind when the truth would eventually come out. Daphne already suspected something was wrong and wouldn't know until the following day.

XXXXX

After their last date, Fred stopped at a pharmacy out of town to buy more condoms, but Daphne asked him to buy something else as well: A pregnancy test. Fred didn't think she needed to, but Daphne wasn't sure. The next day, Daphne got to school, especially early, to ensure she would have privacy because there was no way she was going to take the pregnancy test at home. To her horror, the test was positive. Daphne couldn't believe she was pregnant as she thought Fred wearing condoms would be enough.

"Jeepers!" Daphne said to herself.

If her mother wasn't so strict, Daphne could have easily asked to be put on the pill, but that would have been an admission she was sexually active. Being sexually active was perfectly normal as far as Daphne was concerned, and all of her cheerleader friends were on the pill, so why couldn't she be? But that wouldn't happen, thanks to her mother's strict religious convictions. Now that she knew she was pregnant, all she could do was wait for Fred to arrive, and that wouldn't be for another hour. It was the longest hour of Daphne's life. Once Fred came, he smiled as he was happy for Daphne. Daphne forced a smile on her face as she walked up to Fred and kissed him. Fred returned the kiss but sensed that his girlfriend was holding something back as her kiss wasn't as passionate as usual. Then Daphne broke the kiss.

"Fred, let's go on the football field," Daphne said. "I really need to talk to you,"

Fred couldn't imagine what Daphne wanted to discuss, but he played along. They held hands as they walked onto the football field, but Daphne held Fred's hand incredibly tight.

"Daphne, you're starting to hurt me," Fred said. "What's going on?"

Daphne was terrified to tell him the truth at first. So, she hugged him tightly, and Fred hugged her back. Then the tears came, and Fred had a suspicion of what was wrong.

"Honey, what is it?" Fred asked sensitively.

Daphne stopped hugging Fred and decided to face him.

"Freddie, the condoms didn't work," Daphne said tearfully. "I'm pregnant,"

Fred's eyes widened with fear, and he had no idea they would get pregnant. They thought they had their whole lives ahead of them, and whatever dreams they had, they would have to give up because of an unexpected child.

"Oh, my God!" Fred managed to say through his shock.

"I'm so sorry, Freddie," Daphne replied. "I didn't think this was going to happen to us,"

Although Fred was scared, he could see Daphne's fear and wanted to comfort her.

"Daphne, I swear we'll work this out," Fred said. "I promise,"

Daphne couldn't see how Fred could promise anything, but she loved that he would lie to make her feel better about their situation.

XXXXX

Daphne knew she would be in serious trouble the second she got home. Fred offered to drive her home, but she said no as she didn't want him there when she told her parents the news. Fred knew how fanatical they were about their religion, so he agreed. As Daphne walked through the front door and into the living room, she knew she had to get it over and done with; otherwise, it would be worse for her. Mrs Blake was sitting on the sofa reading the Bible as Daphne approached her. She cleared her throat, and Mrs Blake glared at her for interrupting her from reading the Bible.

"You should know better than to talk to me now," Mrs Blake said, annoyed. "Couldn't this have waited until later?"

"N-N-No, it couldn't, Mom, because I have something important to tell you," Daphne said nervously.

"What could be more important than my time with the Good Book?"

Daphne thought she would be sick, but there was no turning back.

"I-I-I'm pregnant," Daphne said nervously.

Upon hearing the word pregnant, Mrs Blake got to her feet immediately.

"You have brought shame to our family," Mrs Blake said. "Do you know that?"

Daphne wanted to run but just couldn't move because she knew what her parents would do to her if she did.

"I'm bringing a new life into the world," Daphne said. "How can that be shameful?"

"It's shameful because you're not married!" Mrs Blake shouted. "Common whores get pregnant, not young women like you!"

Daphne began to cry.

"I'm not a common whore," Daphne said tearfully. "I'm your daughter,"

"You're a common whore, and as such, you need to be punished for the shame you're going to bring to your father and me," Mrs Blake replied.

Daphne wanted to run, but there was nowhere she could go. Mrs. Blake walked to the hallway closet and took out a stool. Then she reached for three white sheets and a pair of barber scissors. When Mrs. Blake returned to the living room, Daphne knew precisely what her punishment would be, and she cried even more. Mrs Blake put a sheet on the carpet and the stool on top.

"Sit," Mrs Blake said quickly.

"Mommy, please!" Daphne cried.

"I said sit!" Mrs Blake shouted.

Daphne strolled to the stool and sat on it. Then, Mrs Blake wrapped the second sheet around her neck and upper body in front of her. Then she wrapped the third sheet behind her.

"Mommy, why are you doing this?" Daphne asked tearfully.

"I told you it's your punishment because this is what you deserve for bringing shame to our family with the bastard child you're carrying!" Mrs Blake shouted. "Now shut up!"

Daphne didn't say a word and continued to cry as Mrs Blake removed her headband. Daphne's hair flowed a little more, and Mrs Blake stroked it with her right hand.

"You're really proud of your hair, aren't you?" Mrs Blake asked curiously.

"Yes," Daphne replied tearfully.

Mrs Blake grabbed her hair into a ponytail and pulled her head back so Daphne was facing the ceiling, and Mrs Blake stood over her.

"Well, you should have thought of that before you acted like a common whore by having sex with Fred for fun and not for love,"

"I-I-It was for love," Daphne said, shaking.

Mrs Blake spat in her face, then wiped the spit from Daphne's face with her right hand.

"You don't know what love truly means," Mrs Blake said. "You only think you do because you have a boyfriend to have sex with. Sex isn't love,"

Daphne couldn't believe how insane her mother was. She let go of her hair and Daphne cried as Mrs Blake began to cut her hair short. She shivered with every cut of her hair.

"The Lord will send you to Hell one day," Mrs Blake said. "But until then, you're stuck with me,"

Mrs Blake took great satisfaction with the haircut she was giving her sinful daughter. Daphne hated that her mother was taking her time cutting her hair. Mrs Blake couldn't wait for her husband to come home and explain Daphne's punishment haircut for being a common whore and bringing shame to their family. Once the punishment haircut was finished Mrs Blake removed the sheets and she was surprised to see that Daphne was holding onto the stool seat so tightly that her hands were shaking. Then Daphne slowly looked down and she couldn't believe how much of her hair was on the sheet on the floor and how short her hair was now.

"Oh God!" Daphne cried as more tears came.

Mrs Blake grabbed her face and made Daphne look at her.

"Don't even think about believing that you don't deserve this!" Mrs Blake said harshly. "You are nothing but a filthy slut and that bastard child you're carrying will never know who you are! That bastard child will never be allowed in this house! Do you understand me?"

Daphne could barely talk after the way she was spoken to, and, she knew what her mother was talking about when it came to her child, but she did manage to nod. That was enough for Mrs Blake and she let go of Daphne's face. Then Mrs Blake walked out of the living room. A moment later she returned with the vacuum cleaner. Daphne knew that meant she had to vacuum up her hair and put the sheets in the washing machine. This was all done without Daphne saying a word and she couldn't stop crying.

XXXXX

As Daphne walked through the halls of Coolsville High, she felt like a freak because of how they looked at her as she walked past them the following day. Daphne was known for having long red hair; now that it was short, they were shocked to see it that way. Ordinarily, Daphne waited for Fred outside the school but didn't do it that day as she wanted to avoid him. However, she knew she couldn't do it forever. During lunch, Fred finally caught up with Daphne, and he couldn't believe how short her hair was.

"Daphne, what happened to your hair?" Fred asked without thinking.

Daphne had trouble answering that question at first, but she walked closer to him to ensure no one could hear what she would say.

"My mother cut my hair yesterday as punishment for getting pregnant," Daphne said.

Fred was stunned and didn't say a word. Naturally, Daphne took that as a bad sign.

"But that's not all," Daphne said. "My parents want me to give up our baby for adoption,"

Hearing that made Fred feel more protective of Daphne than ever.

"Can't you do anything to stop them?" Fred asked.

"No, I can't," Daphne said as she began to cry. "There's nothing I can do, and they've already chosen a family to raise our baby,"

Hearing that was very sad, and Fred couldn't think of anything comforting.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Daphne asked, frustrated.

Fred didn't say anything, but he held her close, and Daphne hugged him back. As Fred looked at the back of Daphne's head, he couldn't believe that her mother would cut her hair like that. The bell rang, and they didn't move. Daphne and Fred held each other until their Principal approached them and made them go to class. After school, they were detained, but they didn't care. Daphne and Fred wouldn't be allowed to be parents to their children, and they felt they didn't deserve that.