Impractically Inseparable

Pretend to be your Father (25)

(Yay a quarter of the way done!😂)

Haley's POV

I knew I wasn't sick. I knew I wasn't overwhelmed. I knew I was pregnant. Once the others came in I motioned them to sit on the floor. Angie looked really confused, but she wouldn't be in a few seconds. Bessy stood next to me, rubbing my shoulders and I slowly relaxed. "Haley what's wrong?" Kerri asked. I breathed in slowly and whispered, "I'm pregnant." Kerri jumped up and yelled, "What?!" Rose pulled her down and shut her up. I put my head in my hands and shook it. "Is it Sal's?" Rose asked. I nodded because it had to be his. I haven't been with Shane in like a year or so. I knew I was pregnant because this happened last time when I was pregnant. The only thing that's different is that this child was created out of love and not rape. That child didn't even survive.

I looked towards Angie and asked, "You've known Sal long enough, has he mentioned about having kids?" Angie shook her head no and I sighed. Angie slowly got up and hugged me. I hugged back and felt tears down my face. "It'll be okay," she whispered. She pulled back and smiled, "Sal will love this child. He has a great heart and will be ecstatic when you tell him." Kerri glared at me and I glared back, "What?" She stood up and took a step towards me, "You better move here or get an abortion. It's not fair to Sal because if you stay in fucking Pennsylvania he'll never see his child. Do you think that's fair?" Rose shoved Kerri back and shook her head at her.

Everyone looked at me and I was going to open my mouth to speak, but Joe came in. He looked at me with concern in his eyes and the girls moved aside to let him walk to me. "I know that you're pregnant." The tears finally fell down my face and he took me into his arms. He rubbed my back and tried to soothe me. After like a few minutes, Joe whispered, "We'll figure this out. I promise. I won't let you do this on your own and I don't want you telling Sal. Now wipe those tears and lets go find Larry. I'll tell Sal and if he asks the girls will keep him distracted. Okay?" I nodded and started to splash water on my face. You could see that I had color back in my face and I sighed. Ang, Bes, and Rose gave me a hug while Kerri just walked out. I sighed and Joe said he'll meet me outside. I said okay and finished cleaning up.

I went to Sal's room and stole one of his hoodies. I then walked down the hall and I saw Sal look at me. He smirked once he saw the hoodie and said, "Have fun." I nodded, not trusting my voice and went downstairs. I slipped my cowboy boots on and met Joe outside. He put his arm around my shoulders and I snuggled closer to him. "So I'm going to pretend to be your father and I want you to tell me everything. Kay?" I slowly nodded and he rubbed my shoulder.

I was quiet for a few seconds trying to figure out how I wanted to word this, but after giving up I just started, "When I was fifteen, I was in ninth grade and stupid. I mean not stupid, but stupid. I made the wrong choices, but still had great grades. The stupidest choice I made was in the beginning of ninth grade. I had a crush on Shane. He seemed so nice and caring. I thought he was a loving person, but oh I was so wrong. He was fine until we got to tenth grade. He started hitting me and threatened to kill me if I told anyone what he was doing, or if I broke up with him. I've been forced to have sex with him and it still hurts to walk because I never got treatment. Well, my senior year is when I became pregnant out of force. I couldn't deal with it and I tried to commit suicide. That ultimately failed and I would cut more than I ever did before. I collapsed on my bedroom floor and my mom found me. I was taken to the hospital and was told that my child has died because of the blood lost. I was relieved because I didn't want a child by force. I only escaped Shane last June. Until this day, he's been trying to find me and claim me as his."

Joe's breathing was uneven and he stopped walking. I stopped too and turned around. Tears gathered in Joe's eyes and this was the first time he wasn't making jokes. "I can't believe you were treated that way. That's horrible," Joe's voice cracked. I took a step forward and took Joe's hands in mine, "Please never treat a woman the way Shane did to me." Joe's tears fell and his voice became hoarse, "I could never." I smiled and hugged him tightly. He kept me close to him and I felt a tug on my hand. I opened my eyes and saw Shane. "Joe, run." Joe quickly turned around and he tensed up. I pulled on his arm to make him run, but he wouldn't budge. Shane grabbed my broken hand and yanked me towards him. Joe pulled me back and picked me up. He started running back towards Sal's and I jumped out of his arms. I ran faster and pulled Joe with me.

Once we got to Sal's, I slammed the door shut, locked it, and turned the lights off. "Haley?" I heard Sal asked. I knew he was right behind me and I fell against him with tears. "Hey," he said pushing my hair out of my face, "what's wrong?" I felt my boots come off and looked to see that Joe did it. "Shane grabbed her and tried to take her," Joe whispered. I heard Sal's breathing hitch and he held me closer to him. "I'll protect you with everything I have, I promise." That's when there was a knock at the door.