"Are you sure?" Zac whispered, his voice barely audible.
Fatima Taylor—still Fatima Wilson for a little while longer—looked down at the sonogram clutched tightly in her trembling hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she nodded.
"They said... it's twins."
The words hung in the air.
Twins.
Not one baby.
Two.
Zac leaned back against the wall of the clinic, running both hands over his face. At just seventeen years old, he had been worried about passing algebra, making varsity football, and taking Fatima to prom.
Now he was going to be somebody's father.
Twice.
Fatima slowly reached for his hand.
"Zac..."
He looked up, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"We got this."
"You don't even believe that."
"I don't," he admitted honestly. "But I'm going to."
Fatima rested her forehead against his chest, and for a moment the world disappeared. It was just them—the two teenagers who had been inseparable since freshman year.
They had dreamed about forever.
They just never imagined forever would begin like this.
---
That evening, Fatima sat at the dinner table with her parents.
Her mother, Mona Wilson, noticed the tears before she said a word.
"Fatima... what's wrong?"
Her father, Henry Wilson, lowered his newspaper.
"Talk to us."
Fatima swallowed hard.
"I'm pregnant."
Silence.
Then—
"Pregnant?" Mona stood so quickly her chair nearly toppled over.
Henry stared at his daughter as if he hadn't heard correctly.
"How far along?"
"About twelve weeks."
"And the father?"
"Zac."
Henry closed his eyes.
"Please tell me this isn't true."
"It is."
Fatima hesitated before adding softly,
"...and it's twins."
Mona gasped.
Henry slammed his fist onto the table.
"I knew that boy was trouble."
"Daddy, don't—"
"No! You had your whole future ahead of you. College. Law school. Everything."
"I'm still going to college."
"With two babies?" Mona snapped.
"We'll figure it out."
Henry shook his head.
"No... he got you pregnant and now both of your lives are ruined."
Fatima's heart shattered.
"They aren't ruining my life. They're my babies."
"They're your responsibility," Henry replied coldly.
"And since you made an adult decision..."
Mona finished the sentence.
"...you can live with the consequences."
Fatima stared at both of them.
"You want me to leave?"
Henry's voice never wavered.
"You made your choice."
"So now we're making ours."
---
Across town, Zac sat in stunned silence after telling his parents.
Gladys Taylor cried openly.
"My baby..." she whispered.
Keys Taylor paced the living room.
"You got that girl pregnant?"
"Yes, sir."
"And she's having twins?"
"Yes."
Keys laughed bitterly.
"Football scholarship..."
Gone.
"College..."
Gone.
"Your future..."
Gone.
"I'm still going to make something of myself."
Keys pointed toward the front door.
"You'll have to do it somewhere else."
Gladys looked at her husband in disbelief.
"Keys..."
"No."
"They need us."
"They made grown folks' decisions."
Zac stood.
"So you're putting me out?"
"I'm not raising another family."
Gladys couldn't even look her son in the eyes.
"I'm sorry, Zac."
He nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I understand."
But he didn't.
Not really.
He walked into his bedroom, grabbed a duffel bag, and packed everything that could fit inside.
A few clothes.
Football cleats.
A framed picture of him and Fatima at freshman homecoming.
That was it.
His entire life.
---
Later that night, Zac parked outside Fatima's house.
She walked out carrying two suitcases.
Their eyes met.
"You too?" he asked.
She nodded.
"They put me out."
He looked up toward the dark sky.
"I guess it's just us now."
Fatima climbed into the passenger seat.
She placed his hand over her stomach.
"Our babies."
Zac looked at her.
Then at the tiny apartment listings folded in his pocket.
He had no job.
No money.
No home.
Just the girl he loved and two babies on the way.
He started the car.
"I don't know how we're going to do this..."
Fatima squeezed his hand.
"We'll figure it out."
As they drove away from the only homes they had ever known, neither of them realized they were leaving behind more than their childhoods.
They were driving straight into a future that would test their love, their faith, and everything they believed about family.
YOU ARE READING
Ride or Die: The Taylor Way
Non-FictionZac and Fatima Taylor have loved each other since high school. When they become teenage parents to twins, they're forced to grow up fast after both families turn their backs on them. Determined to provide, Zac enters the drug trade, giving Fatima th...
