Prologue
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO – HIGH SCHOOL
WYATT
Sammi’s eyes meet mine, tears shimmer in them and I wonder what she’s so damn sad about. It’s our junior year in high school. We’ve just won our football championship game, we’re going to fucking state. There is absolutely nothing to be sad about in the entire damn world. I got my beautiful girl at my side, fucking shit, I’m on top of the world.
“I’m pregnant,” she blurts.
With my football helmet in my hand, dangling from my fingertips, the entire fucking high school celebrating on the field around us, I stare down at her slack-jawed. My entire world spins, then it comes to a halt.
“You’re what?” I breathe.
“Pregnant,” she whispers.
My helmet drops to the grass, slipping out of my fingers. The high from the game, the cheering and celebrations around us slip away into background noise, I can’t make anything out. I just stare at Sammi, my heart racing and my blood rushing in my ears.
Fuck.
Pregnant.
Dropping to my knee, I take her hand in mine. “Marry me,” I choke.
She jerks her fingers from my grip, her eyes widen as her tears continue to fall. “Wyatt,” she rasps, shaking her head. “We can’t get married, we’re only sixteen.”
My eyes stare into hers, unwavering. I know what I want. “I’m doing right by you, Sammi. We’ll get married and raise this baby. We’ll be a happy family.”
“We’re too young,” she murmurs, taking a step back from me, her hand falling from mine.
Without another word, she turns from me and I watch her long legs run. She runs from me, from my proposal.
“Wyatt?” Ford Matthews calls.
Grabbing onto my helmet, I stand and turn to face him. His brows furrow, but I only shake my head. I can’t tell him what’s just happened. Not until Sammi and I are engaged, not until she’s ready for the world to know.
Sammi is shy and quiet, a reason that I instantly fell for her our freshman year of high school. She’s the girl who sits in the front of the class, smart and always focused on school. I fell in love with her before I even knew her name.
Now, she’s carrying my baby, and I want nothing more than to have her as my wife for the rest of my entire life.
“You want to go party?” Ford asks, breaking through my thoughts.
I shake my head. “Nah, I’m just gonna go home.” I shrug.
Turning from him, he doesn’t stop me from walking away. I have to come up with a plan, one that Sammi will see is flawless. One that will end with her being my wife, with us raising this baby together as we should.
She can continue with school, she can even go off to college, whatever she wants, it’s hers. As long as I have her, as long as I have this baby—my family, that’s all I care about, I’ll be happy.
ONE WEEK LATER
WYATT
I have the ring in my pocket, I’ve had it in my pocket for five whole days. I talked to my parents, told them the truth. Both of them have been great, they even volunteered to let us live in their fifth-wheel trailer until we can afford a place on our own. I have a plan, a fool-proof plan for our future.
The only problem is, I haven’t been able to get Sammi to talk to me. She’s skipped school all week, she won’t take my calls, and every time I’ve gone to her house, it’s been completely dark.
Tonight, all of that changes. I’m not leaving, not taking no for an answer, I’m going to propose so we can start our lives together.
Lifting my fist, I pound on her front door. On my fourth attempt at knocking, between ringing the bell, the door slowly opens. Sammi is there, dark circles beneath her eyes, wearing an oversized pair of sweats and sweatshirt.
“Baby,” I rasp, wrapping her in my arms and pulling her against my chest.
She doesn’t hug me back, she’s limp in my arms, and I frown as I push her back slightly and look down into her too-pale looking face.
“I have a plan. I don’t know why you haven’t been around, but I have to tell you that I have everything all worked out. I even talked to my parents and they’re completely on board,” I ramble. Her breath hitches, but I don’t stop talking.
“My dad suggested I go to a trade school and I found a lineman college. I’d be working on powerlines, and the school is just a few months long, then I can start a paid apprenticeship. In four years, I’ll be a journeyman, and they can make a really good living.
“Everything will work out, my parents even said we could live rent-free in the fifth-wheel behind the house until we can afford our own place. My mom, she’s already offered to help with babysitting while you finish high school and enroll in whatever college you want. It’s all going to work out, baby, you’ll see.”
Sammi doesn’t speak, I assume it’s because I’ve given her way too much information in my excitement for the future. Taking the small gold band out of my pocket, I inhale a deep breath, letting it out in a whoosh. Dropping to my knee, I hold the band up and lift my gaze to her ghostly pale face.
“I love you, Sammi. I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I’ll always love you. This may not have happened in the timing we wanted, but baby, this is exactly the future I always dreamed of for us. You and me, married with a family. Marry me?”
She takes a step back, her head shaking from side-to-side. Her eyes focus on mine, they don’t shift away or break contact. When she speaks, my entire world crashes.
“I had an abortion,” she breathes.
“What?” I croak, not believing her words.
They can’t be true, she wouldn’t do that, not without telling me. Not without talking to me about it. That baby is mine, too. There is no way she would make a decision for the both of us, not Sammi.
“It’s for the best, Wyatt. You’ll see, we’re just too young.”
My heart breaks, it shatters into a million shards right there on Sammi’s parents’ front porch. Standing to my feet, feeling like a fool all over again, but not caring. Feeling like a fool is nothing compared to losing a baby, one that I thought was made out of love, one that I was excited about.
Turning away from her, I ignore the way she calls out my name. I can’t look at her, not right now, maybe not ever again. Climbing into my pickup, I start the engine and drive. I just need to get away, from everything.
I don’t know how I’m going to tell my parents what she did, I don’t know how I’m going to admit it to my fucking self, it doesn’t feel real. Taking the cheap ring out of my pocket, I roll down the window and throw it out into a field.
Fuck Sammi.
Fuck her.
SEVEN YEARS AGO – HIGH SCHOOL
EXETER
The two pink lines stare back at me.
Pregnant.
Sixteen and pregnant.
I look over to the man, the potential father of this baby. He’s got a joint held to his lips, his eyes closed, and he sucks. I chew on my bottom lip, debating on telling him. It could not be his child. I’ve only been with two people, and the thought that this baby could be the other man’s, that makes my stomach twist with disgust.