“I remember my mom on the phone telling me to ‘Get out, get out. Close your eyes, don’t look’. You knew I was coming home first that day. You knew.”
‘Keeley?,’ you whispered. I peeked back in. You were grinning that huge grin. ‘I love you, Keebee.’ I’m not happy to admit I got annoyed. Now, I think you were just preparing me.’
‘I woke up in a different country, in a tattoo parlor, after a night of drinking. I have no idea how we were allowed on the plane. All I had was my passport.’
“I had no luggage, and was wearing my clothes from the night before. That night changed everything for me.”
‘What?! NO. I don’t ever want to lose this. I was suddenly very protective of it. I want it with me. Forever. Wedding day and all.’
“Weeks into knowing each other, I received the first ever ‘Goodnight, beautiful’ text from him. My heartbeat quickened. Unknowingly, I covered my shy smile with my hand. But to both of our shock, I instantly and abhorrently rejected the offer.”
‘Stephanie, can you tell me what day it is? Do you know what year it is?’ Zoning in and out of a dark haze, paramedics asked me these questions. My strength was gone, my spirit was broken.’
“It was an eerily early morning knock. There stood my mom. On her right side was my uncle, and on the left was my Papaw. ’Your brother has been in a car accident, Steph.’ That one moment was a life changer for me. He finally gave me an ultimatum, ‘I cannot watch this any longer. You choose right now, me or him.'”
‘Today my daughter changed her profile picture. After 5 minutes I get a text. ‘I didn’t know she was dating a black boy, did you?’
“It took me all day to think up a response.”
‘Since I was 12, I wanted to be Mrs. Chris. He was my first kiss, my first love. Only there was one problem. Chris was older than me. We had to sneak around. I was obsessed with him.’
“My little sister and I were talking about our pasts. Of course, Chris came up. I made the comment that I needed to call him and see how he’s doing. A few hours later, the phone rang. I recognized the name on Caller ID right away. It was Chris! I was so excited that I jumped. However, it wasn’t Chris on the other end. It was his stepdad.”
‘Then Rob messaged me. And everything changed. We decided to go out on a date. For the next few weeks, Rob and I were each other’s world. Or so I thought.’
“We stayed at his parents’ house several times, but never his. I began to suspect Rob had a wife or a girlfriend, and that’s why we never went to his place. He always had an excuse, and I always believed him. Then one night, he told me he had something to tell me.”
‘I mumbled, ‘You just drove past my apartment.’ He stared at me. ‘Do you think I’m not going to take you home?’ That’s when he found the entrance into the woods.’
“It was very late and getting colder by the minute, so I started to walk home. I was passed by an SUV. The man inside asked if I needed a ride. I felt put off by him, but I ignored my gut feeling and got in.”
‘I hid my habits. On the way to visit my boyfriend, I’d down a burger in my car, hide the evidence, then go to dinner a few hours later like a proper lady. Salad only, please.’
“When I moved, all the women looked like movie stars. Blonde with bountiful boobs, thin waists, and faces full of makeup. I went for a haircut and told the stylist I felt so out of place; I’d never be able to compete with these women. He stopped his snipping just long enough to say, ‘Sure you will. If you’re willing to pay enough.’”
‘He was just gone. I came home one night to the apartment my boyfriend and I shared to find everything was missing. He terminated our lease and emptied our joint bank account.’
“Just a few weeks later, I woke up one morning feeling ‘different.’ I really can’t explain it, because it didn’t make any sense. But something in me, knew. I sat shaking with a pregnancy test in my hands. My body was barely functioning. But against all odds, two pink lines appeared.”
