All Of Me

11

Halfway through the morning rush and I found myself actually being grateful for night sickness instead of morning sickness.

Though I tried to keep my mind off of it as much as possible, it was hard. Carly was helping by talking about the concert she was going to Saturday night, and luckily for me, most of the customers were nice today.

You learn quick that when working in customer service, people don't care if you're going through a lot or not, as long as you fix their coffee as fast as possible.

As the day came to an end and I served the last customer, I fixed myself a cup of black coffee and sat down at one of the small tables. I still had half an hour before Gracetown Cafe was actually closed, and Tripp would pick me up. I opened the web browser on my phone and started looking up information on different colleges.

I got my love for writing from my mother, and planned to attend the University Of Georgia as an English major, but now I wasn't sure what I was going to do. How would I go to college with a baby? It would take a miracle for me to afford everything a baby needs, plus an apartment.

With my grades, grants shouldn't be a problem, but there was still the other problems I faced. Two days ago, I was living with my mother and sister, a normal senior with a 3.8 average and a plan to attend UGA in the Fall.

Now, everything was up in the air.

Carly came out of the ladies bathroom with her purple hair let down, her piercings back in place, and her messenger bag thrown over her shoulder. "I'm gonna head on out. This place is a graveyard." She pushed the strap of her bag further up onto her shoulder and headed for the door.

I nodded, and she walked out with a wave. Only leaving early because Carol didn't come in today and she knew I was too nice to say 'no'. Carol was probably just enjoying having employees so she could have days off. Not that I minded, but Carly took advantage of it sometimes.

I rubbed my temples and tried to relieve some tension. I couldn't help but glance down at my tummy that still appeared flat. Not near far enough along to show yet. I wasn't sure how to feel about it.

It wasn't the baby I was dreading, I had always wanted a child one day. Just not under these circumstances. It was what this whole situation was doing to my life that I was dreading. No where to live, no steady plans for my future as of right now. How would I even supply properly for it?

I finished off my coffee and thought back to how nice it was to grow up with a father, and with parents that adored each other. Would my baby ever have that? If it didn't, it would be my fault. I never should've drank that night.

Tripp's POV

I arrived to pick Brooke up from Gracetown Cafe and she was waiting outside with her purse over her shoulder and her light jacket pulled closed around her torso. Her hair was pulled to a messy little bun at the base of her neck as usual. I loved her hair like that.

I really need to get it together.

As she crossed the small street to my truck, I tried to imagine what she would look like when she was actually pregnant. Not actually, but like..big. With a big roung belly. Her hands rested on it.

I was becoming convinced that my mind was just as messed up as hers the past couple days. One minute I'm angry, the next I'm picturing what she'll look like when her tummy starts to get bigger.

I had always pictured seeing her years down the road, married to a decent man, and ecstatic to be pregnant. By a man that would adore the way she looked in one of his shirts. The fabric pulling against the belly his baby was growing in.

I shook my head and stopped myself. I was beginning to sound like one of those guys in those sappy romance novels. Daydreaming about a girl he'd never have, living a life he would never be able to give her. A life she would never want with him.

She smiled at me and her smile looked less forced than her smile when I dropped her off today. Maybe that Carmen girl helped to get her mind off of it. Carmen? Casandra? Some 'C' name.

The only name I can seem to remember lately is Brooke.

Once she was inside the truck, I told her what Josh said and she sighed. Her face turned to a frown and I racked my mind for something to say that would make that go away and bring back her pretty smile.

So I asked her about college. Something normal that would make her forget about what was happening to her, and make her feel normal again. Like she had a plan. A direction in which her life was headed.

Listening to her talk. Her soft, feminine voice, made me forget for a second that in most of those daydreams, I was that decent guy.