Don't Let Me Go ~ N.H.

When I got to Niall’s house, I rang the doorbell. When he answered, I saw that he was in his pajamas and robe.

“Carlie! Long time, no see!” Niall whispered. “Come on in!”

We shared a hug, and I followed him upstairs. “The bathroom’s on the left,” he whispered to me.

“Okay, thanks,” I whispered back.

I got ready for bed and joined Niall in bed. Niall put his arms around me and said, “I’ll be there for you and the babies.”

I smiled, muttered a thank you, and fell asleep.

~~~~~

The next morning, I woke up with Niall’s arms still wrapped around me. “Good morning, my pregnant beauty,” Niall said.

“Good morning,” I said back, smiling.

“Want some breakfast?”

“Nah, I don’t want your mom to find out I snuck in.”

At home, I was eating breakfast when a middle-aged woman came down to join me. “Good morning,” she said in an Irish accent.

“Hi, I’m Carlie. What’s your name?” I asked.

“April O’Toole. Nice to meet you.”

I finished up and was taking my dishes to the sink when I heard April gasp.

“What?” I said.

“WHAT IN THE LORD’S NAME IS THAT?!” April asked, pointing at my belly.

“I got raped,” I said.

“No, you didn’t! You’re just using that as a cover-up!”

Daddy came downstairs. “Good morning, Carlie. I see you’ve met April,” he said.

“This little HEATHEN says she got raped! Is this true?!” April asked.

“Actually, yes, it is. Her late mom’s boyfriend raped her four months ago.”

“You’re just covering for her because she’s your little girl! Carlie, I FORBID you from seeing that boy! Go to your room and stay there!”

I burst into tears and ran up to my room. As soon as I got there, I called Kami from Mom’s cell.

“Hello?” she said when she answered.

“Kami, it’s Carlie. I know it’s late where you are, but I need proof that I was raped.”

“Uh…why?” she asked, clearly confused. I didn’t blame her. If I got a call from a friend at 2 am, I’d be confused, too.

“Well, Daddy has a new girlfriend, and she thinks I’m a heathen for getting pregnant. There’s an article in the paper about Mom being murdered by Andre, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And it mentions that Andre raped me, right?”

“Uh-huh. Do you want me to photocopy it and send it?”

“Yeah, would you? Like, now?”

“Girl, it’s two in the morning here! A girl’s gotta get some sleep!”

“Oh, good point. Well, when you get up, would you do it?”

“Okay.”

~~~~~

At lunchtime, I got an email from Kami. Knowing it had the article attached, I opened and printed it. Then, I showed it to April.

She read it over and over and over until she finally said, “I’ll talk to your father about this.”

“Thank you.” I ate lunch and went up to take a nap.

~~~~~

An hour or so into my nap, there was a knock at the door. “Come in!” I called.

Daddy came in and sat on the edge of the bed. “Carlie, April and I talked about it and decided to let you keep the babies as long as you give them Biblical names.”

“Biblical names?”

“Yes, she’s very religious. That’s why she called you a heathen.”

“And I can keep seeing Niall?”

“Yes, you may.”

“Thank you, Daddy!” I gave him a bear hug.

Notes