Ever after

Part 2. Moving forward

"SARAH! GET YOUR BIG BUTT DOWN IN THE DINING ROOM! I'M HUNGRY!"

I snapped out of my day dreaming mode when I heard Carmen's loud voice yelling. "That girl sure has a huge voice. Did she eat the whole set of amplifier or what?" I mumbled as I straighten my shirt out. I signed as I touched my huge tummy before hurrying down the stairs to the dining room. The dining room wasn't that far from the room.

Carmen's foster parents, The Owens isn't as wealthy as my parents. Theirs was a 4 bedrooms with spacious areas to run around painted with coats of light grey and white all over. You are able to see pictures of generations in the family placed all around making the house look very comfy and welcomed. Its considered unfit to live in for my parents if I had to compare it to their 10 bedrooms house. But there's something about this family that keeps attracting me to them.

"Hi Emily. Hi Robert," I greeted them as I saw them sitting down by the dining table. "I'm sorry I kept imposing you guys. I'll be on my way soon," I said as I sat down next to Emily to join them. I noticed all eyes are focused on me. I fidgeted around awkwardly. The staring is making me really uncomfortable.

Emily suddenly hold my hands softly. She is such an angel. I've never heard her raised her voice to anyone. "Where are you going back? Back to that man again?" She said softly looking into my eyes.

I freezed. I looked down thinking of the appropriate answer to her question. That's one question that I haven't prepared myself to answer.

Joshua Heath.

That's the man responsible for the existance of my unborn baby. He's a nice man but he doesn't fit the bill to be the father of my unborn child. I chose to leave him behind. Not because I didn't love him or something like that. I just wasn't going to allow my baby to see his father's unhealthy lifestyle. Drugs. Women. Alcohol. But I can't deny besides that ,he did took care and loved me unconditionally. That's something I could have tolerated but not with my baby witnessing everything as she grew up. I had to leave him. I didn't care about him coming after me as long as I protect my baby innocence and childhood. I had friends growing up in that childhood. Sure, some grew up fine but the scar remains. Its just wasn't healthy.

I looked into Emily's brown eyes. I breathed in and answered," He's my past tense. He's somebody I hope I would never meet again in this lifetime." I knew the consequences when I left him and returned home. I chose this path and I'm not running back to him. He tried to protect,love me and I thought at one moment he was capable of it until my pregnancy came around and my mother's instinct knocked some sense in me. I didn't know how he reacted when saw that note I left him on the table. I didn't wait to find out.

Carmen has been telling me months to leave Joshua. She may have seen what I was putting myself into. I kept looking at Emily as I waited for her reply. Those brown eyes looked at me with full of genuine love and care. I knew that because I remembered looking in mom's eyes. They looked cold stoned with no emotions. I have always wondered what happened to her to cause her to change drastically. I remembered growing hearing Emily encouraging me to be patience with my parents and that they didn't used to be so cold and distant.

"You shall stay with us then. Carmen has already informed us about Mrs Dutton's little flare. Don't worry,sweetie. Let me talk to her later to see if she has cooled down,"she said as pat softly on my hands reassuring me to remain positive. Emily no longer calls mom by her name. I knew something must have happened along the way but I dare not ask.

I saw Emily's love for Carmen when she first arrived. Carmen had a hard time opening up to her. She was quiet and kept a distance away from everyone. Being a family friends with them got me the opportunities to get closer to her. If it wasn't for the incident where she accidentally pushed me aside while trying to avoid me that caused me to fall and my knees to bleed, Carmen wouldn't have made friends with me or accepted Emily when she realized Emily and Robert was here to stay and not leave her. Mom and dad wasn't happy though.