Nicole Barton
School wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Through out the whole day I didn't see any of the backstabbers that dropped me. And I was really happy about that. Joanna and I walked home together after school. Sadly, we had no classes together, so this was the first time that I had seen her all day.
"So what did the cop say about that phone call?"
"Oh, my mom talked to him. She said they traced it to Mike Daniels house. I heard he almost shit his pants when they came to his house." Mike is Matthew's cousin; we used to be cool, but after I got pregnant, he stopped talking to me.
"Mike is an asshole. Does he think that calling you like that will change anything?"
I don't know why I didn't tell Joanna, but I haven't really been able to concentrate on anything after that call. The only thing that's been on my mind is Samantha. I would do anything for her, and I would die before I let anyone take her away from me.
"So, are you okay about the whole thing?"
"Yeah...I'm fine" I lied. We got to the gate in front of my house.
"Well, I'll talk to you later." I said, walking up my steps.
"Call me!" She yelled. I opened the door and walked into the living room. Ashley, Samantha's babysitter, was sitting on the couch rocking her back and forth. I dropped my bags and walked over to her.
"She just fell asleep." She said. Ashley stood up and put her in my arms.
"Thanks, Ashley." I said as she walked to the closet to get her things. I walked her to the door and then locked it behind her. Then, I walked back to the living room and put Samantha in her crib. I sat on the couch and turned on the TV and flipped the channels, until I found one of those animal shows. They were doing a special on sea creatures. I put my feet up on the couch and soon fell asleep to the calming sounds of Samantha's breathing.
My eyes flickered open as I heard the front door shut. I blinked a few times and sat up to see my mother walking towards me.
"Hey, sleepy head!" She kissed me on my forehead and then walked over to Samantha, who had woken up and was sucking on her fingers. "Hello, my angel." Samantha smiled at my mom and went back to eating her fingers. She put her bag down on the floor and took a seat next to me. She took a deep breath and looked up at me.
"Oh no, I know that look. What's going on, mom?" I've seen that face too many times to not know that something bad just happened. I saw the same face when she told me my grandmother had passed away, and when she told me that my father was leaving her for another woman.
"I got a call from Karen Daniels today." My heart dropped when I heard the last name. She was Matthew's mother. I haven't thought about her since everything happened. I didn't even know my mother still kept in touch.
"I didn't even know you two still spoke."
"We don't very often; she calls to ask about Samantha and how you're doing, she still is her grandmother, you know."
"I know that. What about her? " She took another deep breath.
"Matthew came home today. He's staying with his brother." My heart sank into the pit of my stomach and my breath got caught in my thought.
"How...why...but.." I couldn't even form a real sentence. Now that this was happening, I never even knew why he was sent away in the first place. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard.
"Why was he sent there in the first place?"
"After they split apart, he started getting into some really bad things. He started doing drugs and drinking. Things to get over it, I guess. Well, he was sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning one night, and his mother had just had enough. She sent him to a school upstate that would hopefully change him." I thought that he had been sent to jail. I guess I heard the wrong way, and I felt really bad about what happened to him, but I couldn't just look past everything that happened between us the last time I saw him.
"Okay, but what does this have to do with me? Why are you telling me this?"
"Because ...he wants to see Samantha and you."
"What!? No! He's not coming anywhere near her or me! I told you what he said! He didn't want any part of us!" I stood up in front of her.
"This is my baby! My little girl, and he can't see her!" She stood up in front of me and placed her hands on my shoulders.
"I understand that, I really do, and I would feel the same way that you feel after what he said, but even with all that, he is still Samantha's father and nothing can change that. It doesn't have to be right now but eventually he is going to have to see her. Whether it be our choice or a court's and I think I know which one you would prefer."
I leaned into her chest and cried. I didn't want to see him; the night I ran from his house, I planned on never looking back. And I didn't want her anywhere near him.
My mother rubbed her hand along my back and hushed me. I felt like a child again, a feeling I haven't had in a long time. She cupped her hand under my chin and brought my face up to her.
"Why don't you bring Sam up stairs? I'll bring up your favorite ice cream, and we can talk about the rest of this later, okay?" I sniffled and then smiled at her.
"Okay." I took Sam from her crib and went upstairs. I laid down on my bed and held Sam over my head, making funny sounds at her to make her laugh.
I remembered the day all of this started, like it just happened. Matthew and I had just come from a movie and we went back to his house because his parents weren't home. We stayed in the kitchen, roasting marshmallows over the stove, and laughing about the funny parts in the movie we had just seen. When he leaned in to kiss me, I knew it then that he had me, and that I wasn't going to be the same after tonight.
"If you're not ready, I understand." He told me after we had moved to his bedroom and were sitting on his bed. I loved him even more when he asked me. Most guys won't.
"No, I'm ready, I don't want to wait anymore." He gave me the smile that would have put the Gods to shame and changed my life forever.
I sat her down on my stomach and went over all of her features. Her nose, eyes, mouth, ears even. None of which were mine. Even this I couldn't hide from myself. Samantha was a splitting image of Matthew Daniel's, her father. Even if I did let him see her, I was going to make it crystal clear that he was going to have no part in her life, or mine.
It took me too long to get over what happened, and I wasn't going to let myself get put back into that position just because I felt bad for him. I'm sure he didn't feel bad when I was going through child birth and didn't have a baby shower because I had no one to have it with and was scolded by everyone of my friends.
I still can't believe that he accused me of being with someone other than him, and that he wasn't the father. I know that he was torn up about what happened, but to say something like that was beyond out of control. And what, did he all of a sudden believe that he was Samantha's father while he was away? I took a deep breath and reached over and took the phone off of my nightstand. I punched in the numbers and waited.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Ms. Daniel's."
