UN-RELATED (UN-RELATED SERIES) (6 page)

“Not anymore. This is smut!”

“It’s not either…and it’s mine.”

“You can have it back when you’re 18…in another four years!”

She walked out of my room and I sat down on my bed. I wanted to call Kellan and tell him. He told me to call him if I had any problems. I didn’t want to bother him, but I grabbed the phone he’d sent me and ran down the hall to the bathroom. I dialed his number, but he didn’t answer, so I dialed his home phone but got the answering machine:

Hi, you’ve reached Kellan and Brianna’s phone. 

We must be busy. Leave a message after the Beep!

Brianna’s soft, happy voice irritated me and I shut my phone and stuck it in my back pocket. I knew it was time to face the music, so I ran back to my room and put on one of my new shirts and the new jeans and shoes Kellan had bought me and walked out to meet with Miss Wilson, my social worker. 

Even though I wasn’t sure if
Nancy was telling me the truth about sending Kellan to jail with her lies, I knew I loved him too much to risk it. So, I put on my best fake smile and walked out to the living room and pretended to be the well-adjusted child Nancy ordered me to be.

Miss Wilson asked me a lot of questions and searched the house. Once she seemed satisfied that all was well, she turned to leave. Before she turned the doorknob, she turned to me and said, “Abby, are you sure…” she stopped talking to me for a second and focused on
Nancy, “Would you give us a minute, please?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Of course…”
Nancy rambled. Miss Wilson turned her attention back to me and I turned to look at Nancy. She raised her eyebrows at me and put her finger to her lips, signaling me to keep quiet or Kellan would get it.

Nancy
left the room and Miss Wilson said, “Abby, are you sure that everything’s okay, here?”

I looked up at her and said, “Yeah, it’s great.”

“I spoke with Kellan Reynolds…in fact, he called me. He’s very concerned about you. He’s made some very bold accusations against the Filbert’s. But, I’m afraid that I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. Normally I wouldn’t put too much thought into his accusations, but he made it very clear that you were in danger here, and
that
I do have to follow up on. So, talk to me.”

I looked into her eyes and wanted to tell her the truth, but I was so afraid that Kellan would get into trouble. “Kellan’s just over-protective of me. He’s a great big brother. He never really got along with Nancy and Joe, but they’re…good to me,” I lied through my teeth. 

“Okay. Well, if there’s nothing else…I’m going to leave.” She handed me her card and said, “If you ever need anything…or just want to talk, you can call me.”

I thanked her and finally found myself alone in the living room. Joe came home from work a few minutes later. He glanced at me as he walked by, but he never said a word. I was used to it. He never talked to me, it was almost as if I he didn’t see me. I didn’t care. I headed back to my room and I heard them walk out the front door a few minutes later. I’m sure they were going out to eat, but as usual, I was left to fend for myself.

I searched the kitchen and found a can of tuna. There was no mayo or bread, but I did find some crackers. So, I took my meager findings back to the sanctity of my room and forced myself to eat.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket about an hour later. I forgot it was there. I pulled it out and answered it, hoping it was Kellan.

“Abby, did you get my text?” Kellan asked.

“What text?”

“The text I sent you this morning telling you that your social worker was making a surprise visit today?”

“I didn’t get a text…oh, wait. I had it on silent. I must not have seen it. I didn’t see it when I called you…”

“When did you call?”

“I don’t know…a few hours ago, I guess,” I said, sounding down.

“Why did you call? Are you okay? Did your social worker help you? You told her the truth, right?”

“I told her everything was fine.”

He sighed. “I sent you the text so that you’d tell her the truth. You just played along again? Abby, I’m not there now to protect you from
them.
I wanted you to tell her the truth, so you can get out of there!”

“I couldn’t.”

“She’s not going to send you somewhere bad. You need to call her and tell her you lied…that you were just afraid of going someplace worse.”

“I’m okay, Kellan. Really. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Abby, please call her. I can’t do it for you again. If we’re both telling her two different things, then how is she ever going to know the truth?”

“The truth is, I’m okay here. They don’t bother me. I barely see them. I’m fine. When are you going to come and visit?” I asked, trying to avoid more questions.

“Next month. I have something for you,” he said, sounding excited.

“It’s not another book, is it?” I asked, wondering where
Nancy hid the book she took from me.

“No, it’s not a book. But, did you get around to reading the one I left you?” he asked, quietly.

“Most of it.”

“Well, finish it. I don’t want you to find yourself in a situation you’re not prepared for.”

“I won’t. But, Nancy found it and took it.”

“Damn her! I’ll send you another one…”

“It’s okay. I think I got the idea…”

“You can always talk to Brianna if…”

“Yeah, okay,” I interrupted, not wanting to continue this conversation.

“I wish you’d talk to Miss Wilson. Tell her the truth. It’ll be okay, I promise,” he said, obviously as happy to be off the subject of the sex book as I was.

“Kellan, Nancy said…” I wanted to ask him if it was true, if she could send him to jail with her lies.

“What?”
             

“Oh, nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

“What did she say, Abby?”

“Nothing. She just said that I had to tell Miss Wilson that I was…happy.” It wasn’t a lie, she did say that.

“You need to call her and tell her the truth. You don’t have to stay there, Abby.”

“It’s okay. I’ll stay here and wait for you. How would you find me if I was sent to live somewhere else?”

“I’ll always know where you are.”

“I wish I could…”

“You wish you could what?”

“Nothing.”

“I wish you could live with us, too,” he said, knowing me all too well.

“Oh, yeah, Brianna would love me hanging around.”

“Brianna likes you. You just need to give her a chance.”

“I will. I know you…love her, so I’ll give her a chance.”

“Keep an eye out for my text’s okay?”

“I will. I have to keep my phone on silent…I don’t want
Nancy to find it. She’ll gamble it away,” I giggled.             

“You’re too much. I’ll talk to you soon, and I’ll see you in a month.”

“Okay.”

The next four weeks dragged on slowly. I couldn’t wait to see Kellan, and every day lasted longer than the day before. 

“You must be happy. He’ll be here tomorrow,”
Tyler said, reminding me of Kellan’s imminent arrival.

“I know, and I can’t wait to see him. I miss him so much.”

“Yeah, I know. You tell me that, like, every day!” Tyler said, sounding jealous.

“Come on
Tyler, you know he’s important to me.”             

“I know, but you make him sound like he’s your only friend.”

“Well, besides you, he is. He’s the only one I’ve ever truly been able to count on. The only one who really cares about me.”

“Oh, and I don’t?” he asked sarcastically.

“Well, yeah you do too, but he’s…”

“He’s what?”

“He’s really special to me. I love him…I mean…like a big brother,” I stammered.             

“Yeah, right; girls always write their
brother’s
names in their notebooks over and over again. Why don’t you just admit it?”

“Admit what?”

“You love him,” he spat.

“I already said I did.”

“Yeah, but you don’t love him like a big brother…do you?” he asked, accusingly.

“We’re not related…by blood, or anything else. And, maybe I do love him…more than…oh, it’s none of your business. Besides, no matter how I love him, he loves
Brianna,
and she’s beautiful, and she has big…” I blushed and stopped myself before I said something I really regretted.

“She has big what?”
Tyler asked.

“Nothing,” I said, staring down at my 32A chest that hadn’t changed at all since the previous summer. I was still wearing the two bras Kellan bought me, and unfortunately they still fit…loosely.

“Oh, I see.”

“You see what?” I snapped.

“Yours will grow.”

“Shut up!” I snapped, but secretly hoped he was right.

“It’s no big deal. So, you’re a late bloomer.”

“Why do I call you my friend?” I asked, irritated with him.

“Because we’re misfits, and we belong together. Because I…”

“Because you what?” I asked just before the bell rang and we had to go to separate classes.

“Because…I like you,” he said, looking down at his half eaten plate of chicken surprise.

“I like you, too. Even if you are infuriating,” I said, missing his true meaning.

“No, I mean…” The bell rang, so he didn’t finish his sentence. I was clueless to his feelings for me, never dreaming that he could feel more than just friendship where I was concerned. I was too wrapped up in Kellan’s’ return to care about anything else, so instead of asking him to finish his sentence, I told him I’d see him later and ran off to my next class. Each class brought me one step closer to Thanksgiving break and more importantly, one hour closer to Kellan.

The Benson’s took me to the airport with them to pick up Kellan and Brianna. I was so excited to see him I almost knocked him over when I ran at him and jumped into his arms.

“Hey Squirt, I missed you, too!” he laughed and pulled me close for a hug.

“How’s school? Do you like Connecticut? Is there a lot of snow? What’s your favorite class?” I asked, bombarding him with a ton of questions all at once.             

“Abby, we talk all the time; you already know all of that. I want to hear about you,” he asked once we were settled in the back of the Benson’s car and I had managed to squeeze in between him and Brianna.

“There’s nothing new with me. I just missed you.”

“How’s school?” he asked.

“It’s okay.”

“How are your grades?” he asked with raised eyebrows, knowing that good grades had never been my strong suit.

“They’re not Yale good, but they’re okay.”

“I’m not sure you’d like Yale, anyway.”

“Why? Don’t you?” I asked, picking up something odd.

“Yeah, it’s okay.” I glanced over at Brianna and noticed she hadn’t said much of anything. Brianna and Kellan hadn’t said more than two words to each other since their flight landed. But, I assumed I was partly to blame since I had been talking non-stop since he landed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“Nothing. Why?”

“I don’t know. You just don’t seem yourself.”

“I’m fine,” he said unconvincingly. He glanced over at Brianna, but she didn’t say anything, she just looked down at her hands in her lap.
             

The rest of the ride was spent in amicable banter about nothing in particular and I was surprised when the Benson’s stopped to drop me off and Kellan came with me.

“You’re not going to Brianna’s?”

“I see her all the time. I came home to see you. I told you I had something for you.”

“I don’t need a present…you’re here. That’s all I want,” I said, looking up into his baby blue eyes.

“Kellan?” Brianna said, getting out of the car and closing the door.

“Yeah?” he turned toward her.

“We need to talk about…this.”

“I know. I’ll be over later.” He put his arm around me and walked me into the house.

“What’s going on between you two?” I asked him once we were inside.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“It must be somethin
g
,
you hardly said two words to each other, and she didn’t even kiss you goodbye,” I said, not that I minded. I hated to see them kiss.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re not sure
…just, never mind.”

“Not sure about what?”

“Nothing. Here,” he said, handing me a wrapped package.

“It’s nothing to read, is it?” I smiled at him.

“No. There’s no lesson to be learned. It’s just something I thought you’d like.”

I looked down at the box and ripped open the paper. It was a snow globe, and it was beautiful. 

“I know you said you’re mom collected them, so I thought maybe you’d like to, as well.”

“It’s the most beautiful snow globe I’ve ever seen. Thank you,” I said and reached up and hugged him.

We talked for a while and finally he said, “I guess I better face the music. I’ll be here at nine am and we can go to the swap meet…just like old times, okay?”

“Just you and me?”

“Yeah, I don’t think Brianna’s much in to swap meets,” he said, looking upset.

“What’s wrong? Are you two fighting?” I asked. I had wanted them to break up since the moment they started dating, but seeing how upset Kellan was, I realized his happiness was more important than my unrequited love.

“Not…really. I better go.”

“What does ‘not really’ mean?” I asked.

He sighed and said, “Remember what I told you about being careful?”

“Being careful?”

“Yeah, you know, like it tells you in that book?”

“Oh, you mean about sex,” I said and blushed.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “Well, I didn’t follow my own advice. Brianna’s pregnant, or she thinks she is.”

“Oh. I guess that doesn’t fit into your plans, does it?” I asked.

“No, but I don’t have anyone to blame but myself.” He looked around my room and said, “You remember that when you start dating.”

I nodded, not sure what to say to him at that moment. Finally, I said, “She didn’t seem too happy about it either, did she?”

“No, but what’s done is done.”

“What are you going to do, now?”

“Marry her.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“I screwed up. I have to pay for my mistakes.”

“I know you...love her, but do you
want
to marry her?”

He ran his fingers through his hair and said, “No, not really. Not right now, anyway. But, I’m obligated, and it’s not fair to her to have to go through it alone. And, there’s no way any kid of mine is going to go through life without a father, you and I both know what that’s like. I won’t do that to my kids.”

“Does she want to marry you? Oh, of course she does. That was a stupid question.”

“I don’t know if she wants to get married or not, but I have to ask…I guess.”

“You don’t have to marry her…just because you…” I blushed.

“Yeah, Abby. I do.”

He hugged me goodbye and promised to see me in the morning.

I went to bed that night and had horrible dreams. I was so happy to have Kellan home, but I was devastated knowing that he was probably going to ask Brianna to marry him. I knew I was sad because even though I knew he didn’t love me…like I loved him, and I had no chance of having him for myself, but more importantly, I was sad because it wasn’t what
he
wanted.

He came by the house in Brianna’s car and picked me up. He took me out to breakfast and then to the swap meet. He spent more money on me and I finally said, “Kellan, please don’t spend your money on me. I have everything I need…now that you’re home.”

“You deserve more. Nancy is awful…”

“I know, but she doesn’t bother me too much.”

“Yeah, that’s because you’re not a guy,” he said quietly.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.” 

He was still upset, and even though he was trying to make sure I had fun, I could tell he was miserable.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, as we sat down to eat a corn dog and share a can of soda.             

“Nothing.”

“Kellan?”

He looked past me, sighed and said, “I guess I’m getting married.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” He had no idea just how sorry I was, but I could see he was torturing himself. “Are you sure?”

“I bought a test for her on my way back to her house last night. She took it this morning. She said it was positive.” He closed his eyes and dropped his head onto his arms on the table.

“Is she sure? I mean, can’t the test be wrong?”

“It’s more likely it would be wrong if it said she
wasn’t…pregnant.”

“Oh. But, you love her, right?” I asked, realizing he had never admitted his true feelings for her.

He didn’t answer me. He stood up and said, “Are you ready?

“You didn’t answer me,” I said.

“It’s time to go.”

Just then three girls came bounding over, “Kellan, how are you?” A tall brunette asked, putting her arms around him.

“I’m good, thanks,” he said, pulling the girls’ arms from around his neck.

The three girls chatted and flirted with him until he finally said, “We have to go. It was good seeing you all again.”

“This is your little sister, right?” the brunette asked, bending down and smiling at me.

“I’m not his sister. He’s my best friend!” I said, standing on the tip of my toes, trying to appear taller.

“That’s cute,” the girl said, smiling at Kellan.

“We have to go,” Kellan said, again.

He took my hand and led me in the opposite direction the girls headed.

“Who were they?” I asked, irritated at them.

“Girls I went to high school with. They’re really annoying,” he said, obviously irritated with them, as well.

“You should be used to it, girls are
always making excuses to talk to you,” I said. “They were pretty, too. You used to talk to girls all the time.”

“Yeah, well, that was before I was engaged…and a father-to-be,” he said, and rolled his eyes.

“Why do you
have
to marry her?”

“Because I
got her pregnant…that’s why. Remember that when some guy tries to…and remember, he may not stand by you.”

“It’s not really an issue,” I said, knowing I was still that ugly, skinny, gangly girl.

“It will be. Trust me, you’re not done filling out yet, and when you do, you’re going to be a knockout! So, don’t let some guy talk you into
anything!”

“Is that what you did? You talked her into…?”

“No, it was…mutual. But, it’s still my baby, so I have to stand by her.”

We were quiet on the ride back to Brianna’s house. We were invited to dinner with her and her family. The mood was still pretty quiet at the dinner table.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Mrs. Benson asked when she could no longer stand the silence.

Kellan looked over at Brianna and said, “I guess we should tell them.”

She glared at him, “There’s nothing to tell,” Brianna said, “We’re just having a disagreement.” She was evidently not ready to face the music.

Kellan said, “How long do you think you can hide it?”

“Kellan, we’re not having this discussion right now.” She was angry, and everyone at the table could see it.

“Fine.” Kellan went back to pushing food around on his plate.

“Okay then, Abby, tell us how you’ve been? How’s school? You’re a sophomore now, right?”

“Yes. And, it’s fine,” I said sadly, feeling bad for Kellan.

“I’m not getting much interaction from anyone tonight. I wish someone would tell me what’s going on?” She looked at me and I looked down at my plate, not wanting to get in the middle of Kellan and Brianna’s problem.

“I’ll bet you’re happy that Kellan’s home?”

“Yeah, of course. I missed him,” I smiled, and then realized something, and before I thought about it, I blurted out, “Since you’re getting married, does this mean you’re going to move back here?”

Kellan and Brianna both looked up at me. I covered my mouth with my hands and mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“You told her?” Brianna snapped.

“She’s not stupid, she knew something was wrong,” Kellan said.

“You’re getting married?” Mr. Benson said, standing up at the head of the table.

Brianna looked down, refusing to say anything. 

Kellan stood up and said, “Um, yeah, we’re getting married. We were going to tell you…”

Mr. Benson completely ignored Kellan and towered over his daughter, “Are you…pregnant?”

Brianna still refused to talk. Her mother spoke up and said, “Brianna?”

Still no response.

“Brianna, you told me you got your depo shot. You did, didn’t you? I paid for it,” her mother said.

“What do you mean…shot? She’s on the pill…” Kellan said and then stopped when Mr. Benson glared at him.

“You knew about this?” Mr. Benson snapped at his wife.

“Yeah, I took her to get the shot,” she said, then focused on her daughter who was still staring down at her plate, not uttering a word.

“Brianna!” her father shouted.

Brianna looked up at her father, “Oh, Daddy…I’m sorry,” she mumbled and then ran off to her room.

I looked over at Kellan and felt horrible. “Kellan, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…” my eyes were filling up with tears.

“It’s okay. We had to tell them, sometime.” He dropped his napkin in his plate and looked up at Mr. Benson and said, “I guess I should go talk to her…”

“I think you’ve done enough!” Mr. Benson snapped, irate.

“Jim, calm down,” Mrs. Benson said. She turned to Kellan and said, “I don’t understand, I mean, I took her to get the shot. She told me she got one in Connecticut last month. She said she didn’t want to take the pill…”

Kellan looked at her strangely and said, “She never said anything about a shot. I um, I guess I’ll go calm her down. Abby, I’ll be right back,” he said.

“How could you take her to get birth control? You know how I feel…”

“Would you rather she got pregnant? They’re living together, Jim. Think about it!”  Mrs. Benson snapped.