Samantha
Why are they here? As hard as I tried to ignore their gaze on me, it was an impossible task, but I needed to pull myself together. The girls needed me, and if I didn't reassure them, who would?
This encouraged me to finish the remaining minutes of the song without throwing up in the middle of the performance. As soon as the curtains closed after our thanks, I ran to the dressing room without even waiting for the girls. I wanted to disappear, but the blame for that situation was only mine. How can I take care of a child if I don't even have the courage to tell my parents about him?
" I'll be a terrible mother," I groaned in disgust, sitting down on the locker room bench anyway.
My only wish at the moment was to be alone there and prepare myself for what awaited me with my parents, but a stream of little dancers excited by the success of their performance prevented that.
I quickly wiped away the tears that were streaming down my face without even realizing it, forcing a smile at my little students, despite my desire to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
" Ms. Hurst, did you see? We did it! " Kim exclaimed energetically.
" I saw, you were all amazing," I waved them closer, "I told you you could do it, Kim!’’
The girl hugged me, causing an incredible feeling to grow inside me. I was able to encourage her, calm her down in a moment of crisis, and help her present the best to everyone, and now I receive this spontaneous gesture of affection in return.
" I will be the best mother ever," I sobbed as all the other girls joined in the hug.
" What's wrong, Ms. Hurst, are you feeling sick? " Melissa asked with concern, pulling away.
" Is your baby with Mr. Adamos will be born now? "Maggie seemed especially excited about that possibility.
" I hope not," Theon's voice caused me to turn away from the girls, "are you okay, Samantha?”
I looked away as I found him there. Of course he would realize that something was wrong, he always seemed to. But that was not what I wanted at the moment, I needed him to go home, and let me deal with the consequences of my bad decisions!
" Girls, I bet your parents would love to take pictures with such beautiful ballerinas, why don't you take the chance? " Harper suggested with a smile, standing beside him.
Harper's presence had become a constant in my life, and as much as I didn't mind, and often even enjoyed her company, it wasn't what I wanted right now, I was already in trouble with my parents.
" I am, but I need you to go home, Theon. Both of you," I begged, after the girls ran around excited at the idea of the picture.
" I'm not leaving until you explain to me what's going on," he came toward me, but my attention was no longer on him, but on my father, who appeared in the doorway.
" So that makes two of us, young man," he walked over to where I was petrified, while my mother and Charlie followed him, "I think Samantha owes us a lot of explaining.”
" Sorry, Sam, I failed to warn you," Charlie sighed, while Theon looked at my father with a confused expression.
" Samantha, it's been a long time, how are you? " My father held my face, kissing each cheek.
" You are... " Theon began, to my dismay.
He didn't have to speak up, he just had to get out of there before the two of them connected the dots.
" For example, I would love to know that I will be a grandmother before the child is born," my mother ignored him, walking over to where my father and I were standing, "where is the guy you said you were seeing?”
Harper nudged Theon as he realized what was happening, while my father looked at the two of them with some interest.
" Aren't you going to introduce us to your friends, Samantha? I suppose they are important to you," my father said.
" With them, she at least had the consideration to tell about her pregnancy," my mother chided me, stopping Theon and Harper from leaving.
“I assume that this is not the man you mentioned, since he is accompanied by this beautiful young lady”
" No, Mike is spending the holiday with his family in Pennsylvania," I rushed forward, trying to get Theon out of there as quickly as possible.
He wouldn't want to see my parents' reaction when they finds out about our situation.
" Ahhh, I see that you still manage to choose your relationships very well, Samantha. You chose one that leaves the girl he got pregnant alone, to spend time with the family. I wonder why he didn't want to take you... " my mother speculated.
Charlie's eyes widened at her conclusion, but of course she would think that, she would never guess that the father of my son was actually with someone else. And for the moment it was for the best.
" Actually... " Theon scratched his throat, looking uncomfortable with the situation, to my dismay.
" Theon, I think I'd better cancel the dinner today, as you see, I'd have a few too many guests," I cut him off, hoping he understood my cue.
From the look Harper gave me, she understood. I needed to deal with my parents alone, alone with Charlie at least. She already knows them and knows how to deal with them, but Theon? He would be massacred!
" Well, you and your parents are welcome to join us, if you want to " he decided not to argue " we'll talk later?
" Sure, later... I'll call you " I went ahead of him, receiving a curious look from my mother " Now I have a few things to take care of.”
" I hope this is our last surprise," she murmured, causing me to take a deep breath as Theon left the scene.
How do I begin to explain what I'm living through?
" Samantha, why don't you change so we can get out of here? " Charlie suggested.
" Yeah, I'll be back soon. " I sighed.
I tried to get ready as quickly as possible before taking them to my house. I walked to the car my father had rented in silence, thinking about how I would begin to explain my situation to them.
" So Samantha, will you tell us how this happened? " My mother broke the awkward silence that had gripped the vehicle for the last few minutes.
" Do you want to know everything? " I widened my eyes, causing Charlie to stifle a giggle beside me.
" Not in that sense, girl! " my father interfered " I'd rather not even think about you in any situation like that.”
" What I want to know are the important things, How long have you been expecting?How long have you known this Michael? " my mother rolled her eyes.
" I think I'll stay here until he gets back, I have to have a serious talk about how I expect my daughter to be treated from now on, since I was late in letting him know about grandchildren," my father muttered.
" I'm twenty weeks pregnant, and I've known Mike for a month or so," I decided to start revealing everything before I lost my nerve.
Charlie held my hand in a clear gesture of support, while the only response I got from my parents for a few minutes was a shrewd look from Carl through the rearview mirror.
" It's that white picket fence house," I pointed, trying to break the tense atmosphere.
He parked the car, and I hurried to the porch, the weather still not the best, and I wanted to be in the warmth of my home for once.
" Like I told you, I adopted a dog, Mom," I tried to keep it light, "and I'm taking good care of it.”
" Yes, that you told me," she murmured as I opened the door, and pancake ran toward me.
" Charlie, you can take your suitcase upstairs, second door on the right," I warned, expecting the barrage of questions that would soon hit me, "there's the guest room. Are you two staying in a hotel, or…”
I bent down and picked up the puppy on my lap as I watched my parents walk through the house, assessing every room.
" Are you going to tell us who the father of this child is? " My mother ignored my comment, walking through the kitchen, opening each of the cupboards to survey the way I was living, "I suppose you know.”
" What? Of course I do! " I exclaimed, watching my father open my refrigerator.
" So? " she crossed her arms, giving me a superior look.
" You met his father," I stroked my stomach, "or at least saw him earlier.”
" Are you saying that that guy is the father? " Carl closed the refrigerator, devoting his attention to me for the first time.
" Doesn't he have a girlfriend? " my mother threw her hands up in disapproval of this new information.
" He didn't have one back then! Look, we didn't know each other and we got careless," I sat down by the window, "when I told him he was already with Harper.”
" And then? " my father wanted to know the rest of the story.
" So he found out about my plans to leave Vegas and got me this house and the job here.”
" So you decided to move out of town and have a baby with someone you don't even know? Samantha, that was crazy! " my mother rolled her eyes.
" I didn't have that many choices! " I defended myself " I couldn't do it alone!”
" And you didn't think to tell us? " My father crossed his arms.
" Tell you? Look at the way you're reacting now that you can see that I'm fine here! What would you have said back then? " I raised my voice.
" I would have told you how disappointed I am in you," my mother returned, "because I certainly am, I expected more, especially after learning about our history!”
My mother had become pregnant when she was only seventeen, and she had always made it clear how difficult it had made her life, even though she and my father had been together ever since.
" Yes, I know that," I felt my eyes fill with tears.
I knew it would be like this, I knew how much I would disappoint them, and that was the worst feeling. I could deal with them yelling at me, threatening me, or even physically punishing me, but that look on my face was the worst punishment.
" What I mean is that I wasn't running away from your help, I just wanted to avoid the "I told you so" that always comes with it!”
" Samantha, I am your mother, that's part of the package " she took a deep breath, before coming to sit next to me " of course I would point out all the craziness of the situation, that doesn't mean I wouldn't support you! You've been pregnant and alone all this time, we would have liked to be a part of it!”
It just broke me. I didn't think about them at any point, of course they would want to participate, this would be their first grandchild. And my mother was right about everything!
" I am pregnant and alone! " I sobbed " I'm trying to do everything right, and I love the baby even before he is born, but I'm scared to death!”
" So it's a boy? " My father came over, sitting down in the empty seat next to me.
" Yes... A boy. Theon and I haven't chosen a name yet," I smiled faintly.
" When will he be born? " my mother wanted to know, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
" Has he been giving you everything you need?”
" It's coming in March, and I've had all the support of Theon, his family, and even his girlfriend, they are good people.”
My father looked thoughtful for a few minutes while my mother stroked my hand. For a moment, I thought about how irrational my previous fears were. They were more accepting than I expected, I should have told them from the beginning.
" Did your boyfriend accept this whole situation? " my father asked.
" Well, he's not my boyfriend yet, we're just getting to know each other. We've only been out a couple of times, but he's a great guy, and he's okay with it," I sighed.
They spent a few seconds in silence, until my father stood up, drawing my attention.
" Come on, Selena. The girl needs to get ready for the thanksgiving dinner”
" You can stay," I denied, "I don't have anything special prepared, but I can do something easy.”
" Samantha, we won't upset your plans like this," my mother denied, "we're going to the hotel.”
" You have come a long way just to spend Thanksgiving with me, I won't leave you alone," I rolled my eyes.
" Who says we'll be alone? " Carl yawned, walking to the door, "We'll be back in an hour for Dinner, as agreed.