Tanner and Esme

Chapter 4 (Tanner): The Most Honest Thing

I was knocking on the door to Esme's dorm room, hoping I'd caught her before she had to leave for her first class. It'd been two days since she imploded my life and my plans with her baby news.

Esme answered that door, her eyes hollow and desolate, nothing like the laughing girl I'd been hooking up with for the last three months.

"Can I come in, Ez?"

Without saying anything, she opened the door wider so I could walk into her room."I've been thinking for the last couple of days about the baby, about you, about our situation. Since you don't want to have an abortion, we should get married. I can put you on my insurance so you and the baby are covered."

"Get married for the baby?"

"Yeah. It's the sensible solution to make sure you and the baby are covered in case...well, just in case."

"You'd be willing to marry me, a girl you barely know, a girl you don't love?"

"For the baby's sake, yeah. I'm not going to leave you to deal with this yourself. I have one semester left after this one, and I know my parents will help with the baby so we can both finish school. Once I graduate, I'll work at my family's company, and we can afford daycare so you can finish your degree."

"I don't know," she said, and she sounded miserable. "It doesn't seem right."

"Esme, be practical. You have no family, no insurance, no money, no support. It's the right thing to do."

Her eyes flashed in irritation. "I need to think about this, Tanner. You've obviously been making plans without asking me, so I need some time to think this through, too."

I walked over to her and took her by the arms. "I'll take care of you, Esme. I promise. Take a couple of days to think about it, and I'll come back and we'll talk."

"Wait, Tanner," she stopped me as I turned to leave. "How long would we stay married before we get a divorce?"

"You're already talking divorce before we've even gotten married?"

Esme blushed, and I walked back over to her.

"I assumed that's what you're talking about," she said. "You'd marry me and we'd get a divorce eventually."

I hugged her, knowing she must be feeling scared and alone. "Let's talk it all out in a few days and not make any assumptions."

As I drove up to my home, I realized I'd made a huge assumption when my mother had texted me that she'd put my clothes out in the front of the house. I'd assumed she'd packed up my suitcases and left them out on the porch.

Instead, the front yard was covered in clothes. My clothes, including underwear and socks. Even my shoes. And once I got closer, I could see tire tracks on them so every single piece of clothing I had was covered in tread marks and dirt.

Stopping the car, I threw it into park and dropped my head to the wheel. Not sure how long I sat there, but I only lifted my head when I heard a knock on the window.

Dad stood there, looking like I'd never seen him look. Getting out of the car, I faced him.

"You need to get your clothes and go, Tanner." He nodded to the front yard. "Your mother threw everything out there then spent half an hour doing donuts with her car over your clothes. She said to tell you to clean up your filth and then leave."

"Dad, I need to talk with my wife."

"Now Esme's your wife? Was she your wife when you were kissing Mindy in the driveway after your brother's party? Was she your wife when your were with Mindy at your office? Was she your wife when you told Mindy you didn't feel anything for Esme except as the mother of your child? Was she your wife when you allowed Mindy to text you?"