Count On Me

•• CHAPTER SIX ••

•• CHAPTER SIX ••

The sound of thunder woke Carter up the following morning and she glared at her window then frowned at how the weather outside seemed to reflect the way she was currently feeling. She sighed as she climbed out of bed and was hit with a sudden wave of nausea. Carter sprinted to the bathroom as fast as she could and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Theresa knocked on the door as she heard Carter throwing up and began to worry. "Sweetheart, are you okay?" Her Mother asked worriedly, and Carter sat back on the bathroom floor and looked up at the wall to see her Mother's calendar on the wall above the toilet. She noticed the circled days and remembered that her Mother always marked down when she was expecting her period and suddenly, a second wave of nausea hit her. There was no way she was pregnant. She only had sex one time and it was with Shawn.

Theresa slowly opened the door to see Carter staring at her calendar in complete shock. "Carter, talk to me. What's wrong?" Theresa asked clearly concerned and she walked up to her daughter then sat down next to her. Carter's eyes began to fill with tears as she took in a ragged breath and pointed at the calendar. "What about the calendar?" Theresa asked after a few moments of silence and Carter shook her head as a tear cascaded down her cheek.

  "I haven't had my period in three months." Her voice was barely above a whisper and Theresa felt her heart stop at what Carter was telling her. "I'm pregnant, Mom." She admitted and Theresa gawked at Carter with wide eyes.

  "Honey, you can't be sure-"

  "I've never missed my period, Mom. I know it." Carter sobbed as she hugged her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees. Theresa took in a ragged breath as tears stung her eyes and she shook her head at the situation Carter was in.

  "Oh, baby. This is one big... surprise." Her Mother let out a soft chuckle and wrapped her arm around Carter. "Sweetie, I know it feels as if your world is ending, but this baby is a blessing." Carter looked up at her Mother with tear-filled eyes and nodded her head slowly as she thought about this little baby growing inside her.

  "We need to go the doctor to officially find out, but Mom no one and I mean no one can know about this baby." Carter said slowly to Theresa and her Mother nodded her head in understanding.

  "I won't say anything honey, but Shawn deserves to know about this baby." Carter shook her head as she slowly started to get off the floor and her Mother quickly stood up to help her.

  "Shawn will never know, Mom. He's got his own family and I don't want to burden him with this news of his other child. I'll just tell everyone when I started to show that it was a one-night stand." Carter shrugged and grabbed her toothbrush off the counter. "I'm sorry that I'm making you hide this from your best friend, but you have to understand why I'm doing this. I can't take anymore rejection from him and I'm not putting my child through that either." Carter started to brush her teeth and Theresa stared at her daughter worriedly. She understood why Carter was hiding this pregnancy, but she knew that later on in life she would regret her decision. Theresa sighed as she rubbed Carter's back soothingly and nodded her head.

  "I understand, honey. But just really think about what you're going to put yourself and your child through. Your baby deserves to have a father and you should not be doing this alone." Her Mother said gently, and Carter stared at her through the mirror and knew that she was right, but this was all Shawn's fault. If he wouldn't have been so afraid to admit his feelings and just stayed with her, she wouldn't have to make this difficult decision.

Shawn watched Molly's car pull out of the driveway and he let out a sigh of relief at having a break from her, even if it was only for a few hours. Shawn collapsed down onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling and let his mind drift to Carter and he instantly began to worry about her. He wondered how she was taking the sudden news of him becoming a Father with another woman and hated himself for hurting her the way he had. Shawn rubbed his eyes tiredly and heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up to see his Mother gave him a small smile and she sat across from him on the other couch. "Where'd Molly go?" She asked.

  "Out dress shopping with all her girlfriends." He rolled his eyes and his Mother sighed as she sat back in her seat.

  "So, you two are really getting married, huh?" She asked and Shawn nodded his head, unable to say the words out loud. "Shawn just because you two are having a child together does not mean you have to get married. I mean you barely know the girl and if I'm completely honest, your Father and I don't think she's right for you-"

  "Oh yeah? And who's right for me then, Mom?" Shawn demanded as he jumped off the couch and to his feet in an instant. "I know you wanted me to end up with Carter, you had that planned since the day I was born, but I'm sorry that's not going to happen!" He exclaimed and his Mother flinched at the sound of his voice and she stared at the ground.

  "I know you both love each other, Shawn. You'd have to be blind not to notice the way you two look at each other. It's as if the stars aligned and everything was right in the world. You and Molly don't even look at each other that way. You deserve to be married to a woman that makes you feel amazing and I know that that girl does not make you feel the way Carter does." She stood up from the couch and stormed out of the room. Shawn knotted his fingers together behind his head and glared at wall. He knew that his Mother was right, but there was nothing he could do about it. He'd be stuck with Molly for the rest of his life and he wasn't about to abandon his child. He had to accept that his dream of being with Carter would never happen and he tried to ignore the unbearable pain in his chest as he exited the house and headed straight for his car.

He drove to the grocery store and as soon as he was out of his car, he made his way inside and headed straight toward the liquor aisle. Shawn grabbed a basket and started filling it with whatever alcohol looked good. While he was grabbing different types of booze, he noticed someone who looked like Carter across the aisle in the feminine section and watched as she grabbed a pregnancy test off the counter. Shawn almost dropped the bottle he was holding and stared at her in shock. There was no way she would've hooked up with some random guy and not have used protection. The thought of her pregnant with someone else's baby made him feel sick to his stomach and felt as if karma had slapped him across the face. This is what he got for hurting Carter and being with someone else. He swallowed his tears and placed the basket of alcohol on the ground then slowly backed out of the aisle, memorizing every last detail of Carter because this was the last time he was ever going to see. Shawn didn't want to cause her anymore stress and as he exited the store, he prayed that she was happy.