“O, no! thy love, though much, is not so great:
It is my love that keeps mine eye awake:
Mine own true love that doth my rest defeat,
To play the watchman ever for thy sake:
For thee watch I, whilst thou dost wake elsewhere,
From me far off, with others all too near.” - William Shakespeare
Eden:
Telling my parents had been hard. Emma had come home with me – we hoped it would stop my parents yelling at me quite so much, but that plan failed. That plan failed big time.
“What are you, stupid?!”
“Dad, I – “
“Stupid and a slut, this is not how we raised you!”
“I wasn’t being a slut, Dad, we were in a relationship!”
“That’s a child’s answer, Eden” Mum sighed heavily, her voice muffled from where she had her head buried in her hands.
“But it’s the truth! And we did use protection, I swear we did, just not – “
“I don’t want to hear another word from you, Eden. Get out of my house”
I saw Emma tense out of the corner of my eye; my lower lip started to tremble.
“Dad?”
“You heard me. Get out”
Mum sat up; her eyes were rimmed with pink and I knew she was angry with me, so angry, but she was still staring at my Dad in horror.
“Richard, you can’t kick her out of the house!”
“Why not?” Dad rounded on her, his face dark, “Why not? She’s disobeyed every rule I ever set out in this house – “
“What rules?! Dad, we didn’t have any rules!”
“I assumed you not getting pregnant at sixteen – “
“Seventeen”
“ – was a rule that didn’t need to be spoken”
Mum got up and lay a hand on Dad’s arm, her voice soft, “Richard, I’m angry with her too. I’m furious that she’s been so stupid! But she’s our daughter. She needs us”
We were all silent for a few minutes. Emma, although clearly uncomfortable, moved to squeeze my hand.
Dad turned back to me, “What are you going to do?” he asked abruptly.
“What do you mean?” I was taken aback and a little confused; I clung to Emma a little more. It’s a symbol of how good a friend she is that she didn’t pull away and run out of the house right then and there – the atmosphere was so thick I was surprised that any of us could see through it.
“Obviously you’re keeping this child. But what will you do about your education?”
“I’ve scheduled a meeting with the Head the day before we go back. He always goes in a day early. I’m going to carry on attending school until the end of the eighth month, then I’ll teach myself. It’ll be fine. I’ve got it all planned out”
“And after that?” I saw his fists clench, whether in anger or in pain I could not tell, “No hope of university now”
“Maybe not, but I can become a mature student when the baby’s older. I’ll get some work part-time, I’ll take anything I have to to look after my kid” I glowered at him, “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on living off of you. I’ll pay my way”
YOU ARE READING
Paper Hearts
Romance“Something magical has happened to me: like a dream when one feels frightened and creepy, and suddenly wakes up to the knowledge that no such terrors exist. I have wakened up.” - Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy. Eden Copley is sixteen the day she meets O...
