Covering the Carolinas (3 page)

To reply before or after the verdict? That is the
question.

Me: It’s okay. We went to the river, but came home
early. I feel like crap. I’ll call you later today.

I don’t wait for his reply; instead, I hurry to the
bathroom and open the pink box, pee on a stick, and wait. Sitting
on pins and needles in the bathroom, I jump out of my skin when
there’s knock on the door.

“
I’ll be out in a minute,” I say as calmly as
possible.

“
It’s us. Let us in,” my sisters
whisper.

I open the door and we stand in the bathroom
waiting. Who knew ninety seconds could feel like days when you are
scared shitless? When the digital screen begins to glow, tears
begin to fall.
I’m pregnant. Oh fuck! I’m
really pregnant.
My sisters don’t say anything,
instead Carleigh pulls the test from my hand and they both hug me
as if their lives depend on it. Now I have to decide what to do. Do
I keep it or give it away? How am I going to tell my parents? What
do I say to GC?

When I can’t take the hugging any longer, I pull
away from them, wipe the tears away as if they didn’t happen, get
rid of the evidence and begin to tell my sisters my plan.

“
Y’all, I’m not ready for anyone to know. I’ve
got to get myself together, decide what I’m going to tell GC and
our parents.”

“
How can we help?” Carleigh asks.

“
Honestly, I have no idea other than help me
remain normal until I tell them.”

“
Mar, we’re your sisters and we will always
stand beside you. Please don’t take to long to tell them. Secrets
eat at everyone.”

“
I won’t Car. Maybe just a couple of weeks,
but when I tell them will you both be there with me?”

“
You bet we will,” Tinleigh chimes in. They
hug me yet again and I get ready as if I didn’t just take that
test. As of right now, this is our secret. Two weeks, I’m giving
myself two weeks to get this sorted out.

GUNNISON

It has been three days since I last talked to
Marleigh. I know that is partly my fault. I’ve been helping dad at
the stable from the time the sun rises, to practice and back to the
stable at dusk; life has been hectic. Regardless of what I’m doing
she is constantly on my mind and to think that my girl isn’t
feeling well and I’m not giving her the attention she needs is
killing me.

Each time I’ve talked to her, I feel as if she’s
pulling away. I’m really not sure why but what I do know is that
the distance between me in Pennsylvania and her in South Carolina,
is killing us. It’s not like I can just drive down there and speak
to her in person.

Grabbing my gym bag, I head to practice and as soon
as the truck engine comes to life my mind wanders to Marleigh and
me this summer. I smile and my heart skips a beat as I think about
the way she looked at me when I first saw her. As my hand grips the
steering wheel, I wish it was holding her hand instead. Damn, I
love her so much. I hope she’s okay and we are okay.

Chapter 3

Two Weeks Later

MARLEIGH

Taking a deep breath, I make my way downstairs to
talk to my parents, who are watching TV in the living room. My
sisters follow right behind me. I’ve never been scared of my
parents, but what I’m about to tell them is going to crush them.
I’ve always been the one to get into mischief and not think before
I acted. My mama always gives me a lecture, takes my phone or
grounds me, but this time a lecture and grounding aren’t going to
fix this lack of thinking. This is going to be devastating for
them, but it’s going to disappoint them more than anything. I brace
myself for a lecture and seeing them madder than I have in my
entire life.

“
Mama and Daddy, can I talk to you a minute?”
I ask as my hands begin to tremble.

“
Sure. What’s wrong, Mar?” Dad
questions.

As we all take a seat, my sisters sit on each
side of me, and then the tears begin to form. “Um, I don’t even
know where to start except I’m so sorry. I’ve really messed up this
time.” Taking a deep breath, my mama starts to stand to make her
way toward me. I shake my head no and just say the words to make
them a reality. “I’m pregnant.” I’ve never had a way with words and
I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. Mama stops in place, and the
look on my Daddy’s face is one of hurt.

“
When did this happen?” he asks.

“
I took a test two weeks ago, but I think it
happened over Spring Break. I’m so sorry. I’ve totally messed up
everything for everyone around here.”

“
No Mar, you’ve messed it up for yourself,”
Mama says with a ton of attitude as she makes her way toward me and
my sisters move to make room for her.

“
Mama, I’m sorry. I should have listened more
to you and dad. I know I’ve messed up, but now I’ve got to deal
with the consequence.”

Mama ponders a minute then speaks. “Marleigh, hunny,
does he know?” I shake my head no. “It’s going to be okay. We’re
here for you. Isn’t that right, Charles?” She says as she cuts her
eyes to my daddy. It’s almost as if he’s trying to find the words.
He doesn’t move from his seat, instead he places his hand on his
forehead. Then, he speaks.

“
Marleigh, I can’t say I’m not disappointed,
but now is not the time for a lecture. You’ve always been my girl
that’s full of life, has no filter, and never worries about
tomorrow. Life isn’t predictable, but our choices impact it. Yes,
this is going to change your life story, but it doesn’t define who
you are. You are smart, intelligent, and determined. Your mother
and I will support you any way we can. When you tell GC and his
parents, we’ll be with you every step of the way. I am
disappointed, but I love you.”

I take a minute to think about what he says. I can’t
tell GC. He has a dream, and a big one at that. I can’t hold him
back from what he loves and has looked forward to his entire life.
I just can’t.

“
No. I’m not going to tell him. He deserves to
live his life. He has a dream, and I won’t let
us
interfere with that. Plus, there are three
states between us. It’s not like I can just go knock on his door
and say, ‘hey, you’re gonna be a daddy’.” I say with a snarky
attitude.

“
Hunny, I know you think this is the end of
the world, but not telling him, that’s wrong on so many levels. You
both deserve to live your lives and it’s not all your fault. You
don’t have to do this alone. We’ve raised you better than that.
Just think if it was the other way around? Would you want to be
left in the dark?”

“
I don’t care, Mama. I’ve messed up my life by
being careless, I’m not messing his up too. I’ve made up my mind.
I’m cutting all ties with him.”

As I stand to go to my room Daddy
calls after me
, “GC and his family deserve to know
about this baby.
Then I hear him tell Mama
he
hopes my stubborn ass will change my
mind.

GUNNISON

Grabbing my hoodie from the bleachers, I hear
my phone begin to ring. As several of the guys ask me about meeting
up tomorrow, I nod as I see that it’s Marleigh.
It’s about time.
I answer it and hurry out of
the gym and toward my truck.

“
Hey, Mar! I’ve missed your voice. Texing
isn’t cutting it.” She doesn’t say anything. “Marleigh, are you
okay? What’s wrong?” I wait impatiently for her reply. Deep down,
I’m worried, she said she wasn’t feeling well and now she isn’t
talking. “GC, I’m sorry I haven’t called. Things have been crazy.
How have you been?” She says genuinely.

“
Good, basketball is going really well, the
team is hot right now, but most of all I really miss talking to
you. On the way here, all I wanted to do was hold your hand. Is
that crazy?”

“
No it’s not. There are times I wish I could
wrap my arms around your neck and never let you go,” she says, but
I can tell she’s holding back.

“
Mar, is everything really okay?”

“
GC, you know we had a great time at the
beach, but things moved so fast. I’ve never met anyone like you. I
also know we can’t keep doing this distance thing. I think we
rushed things and made promises we might not be able to keep.
You’ve got so much going on with the farm and basketball. I just
think we need to focus on what is important right now. I don’t want
to influence your future decisions. I want you to live your
dream.”

“
I don’t understand. Every time we talk, we
discuss our future together, and now you’ve changed your mind? We
made this plan together. I didn’t think we were influencing each
other, I thought we were agreeing with each other on what we
wanted. We were even going to talk to our parents about when we
could work in trips to see each other during the school year. It’s
one year, then we’ll be at the same college. That’s what we
planned.”
Where’s this coming from? What’s
she not telling me?

“
GC, all those late night calls planning our
future aren’t realistic. We got caught up in the idea. Things
change. I don’t know if Coastal is the place for me anymore, and I
don’t want you to base your decision for college and basketball on
me. Just know you’ll always have a special place in my
heart.”

As I begin to speak, my heart begins to shatter
knowing she’s pulling away from me. “I don’t really know what to
say. We had a plan for our future. I was supposed to play ball
while you studied marine life. You were supposed to be sitting
courtside for all my games cheering me on. Please don’t walk out of
my life. You mean too much to me.”

“
That’s exactly why I’m letting you go. Bye,
GC.” Then the line goes quiet.

I sit there in my truck and replay the
conversation.
What. The. Fuck!
Anger fills me as I slam my fist into the steering wheel to
keep the tears at bay. I just don’t understand how she can let go
of us. I know it was by chance we found each other, but she can’t
deny the connection we have. Doing my best to shake it from my
brain, I put the truck in drive, stop by the post office and mail
the gift I had for her. Regardless of what she says, I want her to
know what she means to me, even if it’s over. As the package falls
into the drop box, the tears I’ve pushed away fill my eyes and I
make my way home a complete wreck.

Noticing my mom is in the kitchen, I try to
pass her quickly. Just as I make my way to the hallway, she calls
my name.
Shit.
I turn and
when her eyes meet mine, she drops her spatula on the counter and
walks to me.

“
Gunnison, sweetie, what happened?

“
Marleigh just broke up with me, said she’s
not even sure me and Coastal are her plan anymore. I just don’t
understand.”

“
GC, it’s going to be okay. There will be
someone else. I promise.” I shake my head on her shoulder as I cry
like a baby in my mom’s arms.

“
No it’s not, Mom. I know you and Dad thought
it was just some summer fling, but I love her. I really do. She’s
different; I think something’s going on.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
First she said she wasn’t feeling well and
now she doesn’t think Coastal is right for her and doesn’t want her
decisions to affect mine. Mom, I’ve always wanted to go to Coastal.
It won’t be the same without her but it’s always been my dream to
go.

“
That’s an honorable thing, letting you go.
You both are so young. But what do you think is wrong? Why do you
think she changed her mind?” Then my moms face flashes fear across
it. “GC there’s no chance she could be pregnant is
there?”

That thought has never crossed my mind, but surely
if she was we’d go through that together. “No! I don’t know what’s
going on, Mom. It kills me I can’t just go see her and make her
talk to me and tell me what is really going on.”

“
I know, sweetie, relationships are hard when
you are so far away. I hope she changes her mind and you can meet
up at Coastal. Maybe you just need to enjoy your senior year. Life
has a way of working things out if you don’t try to fight
it.”

“
I think that’s easy to say Mom, but harder to
do. But what choice do I have? I guess I’m going to try and move
on,” I say as I move from her, pushing the tears away and trying to
forget Marleigh Anderson.
Who am I
kidding? I’m never going to forget her.

Chapter 4

Thanksgiving 2011

MARLEIGH

Walking into the house from Black Friday
shopping, I’m exhausted. Usually I’m worn out from getting up and
shopping until I drop, but this year, I have what looks like a
basketball in my belly.
Basketball. Kind
of ironic.
I have to say I’ve felt pretty good being
pregnant and if you only see me from behind, you’d never know I was
pregnant until I turned around. My sisters and I place the packages
in the spare room and we make our way to the living
room.

“
Daddy, that tree is huge!” I say.

“
Just like you,” Tinleigh snickers. When no
one is looking I flip her off.

“
No one would even know I was pregnant if they
were waiting in line behind me at the store and you know
it!”

“
You do have a point. I can’t wait for him to
get here. We’re going to spoil him like crazy! All those cute
little sailor outfits and fancy boy clothes.”