Expect the Unexpected

Telling

Tatum was sitting on the bench wringing her hands. She really wanted to get up, run away and have her baby far, far away from everything that was scaring her now. Dempsey sat down next to her when she wasn't paying attention. He asked, "What's up, Tate?"

Tatum looked up at him as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "Sorry for bothering you. I'm sure you have better things to do than sit here with your best friend's little sister."

"You didn't bother me. You are like the little sister I never had. I'm here if you need me. What's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant."

Wha..."

"I just wanted you to know. Sophie is the only one that knows that the baby is yours. She isn't telling anyone. I don't expect anything from you. I just wanted to tell you."

"A baby."

"Yeah. I made an appointment for next Tuesday. I didn't know if you wanted to know or if you even cared. Just wanted to know you know while I still had the guts."

"I... A baby."

Tatum sighed. It was easy to see that he was in shock. Tatum was sure he was trying to plan his escape plan. "A baby."

"I was supposed to be different. I was supposed to make something of myself. No one in my family has graduated college. The car dealership fell into my dad's lap. He was lucky that way. I wanted to do something real with my life that I worked for."

"You still will."

"You still have a year left of high school."

"I do. You don't want me to have the baby, do you?"

"Well... It would be hard. How would we make it work? There are so many things to consider when having a baby. This wasn't planned."

"You know what. Just forget it. I can't do it. I'm giving you a free pass. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the baby myself. I can't get rid of it. I just can't imagine carrying a baby for nine months just to give them to someone else. I can't and won't do an abortion. This poor baby didn't ask to come into this situation. It just happened." Tatum sniffled and put her hand on her still flat stomach.

Tatum took a deep breath and stood up. She walked away without giving Dempsey a chance to respond to anything that she said. Dempsey wanted to stop her and tell her that he was going to be there for her, but he didn't have the energy. There were so many things going through his mind.

Dempsey sat there for another hour after Tatum left with his head in his hands. He didn't know what to do. He had just found out that he got into the University of Kentucky, his dream school. Tatum still had a year of high school left. He was going to be an hour away. He couldn't leave the world on her shoulders. He was going to have the opportunity to have a senior year when she had a baby that needed her. He didn't have a job. He couldn't support the baby or Tatum. He would be a terrible dad anyway. Tatum would be better off without him anyway.

Sophie was sitting on the couch when Tatum got home.

Tatum told her, "I'm going to tell mom and dad. You better run."

"How did it go with Dempsey?"

"It went. He knows. The rest if up to him. I'm going to tell mom, dad and Scott while I still have the nerve."

"You are going to be okay. Everything happens for a reason. No matter what happens you have me. I'll be right here to help you through all this hard stuff."

"You are the best sister in the world."

"Don't you forget it. You could always name the baby after me if you really love me." Tatum and Sophie both laughed.

Sophie took her hand and went with her to tell their family.

Scott and their parents were in the kitchen. Tatum asked, "Can I talk to you all for a minute?"

Her father, Dean, told her, "Of course. What's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant." She figured if she ripped it off like a band-aid it wouldn't be as hard. Boy was she wrong.

Her mother, Lily, said, "Excuse me?"

"I'm pregnant. At least that is what the five tests that I took told me. I made a doctor's appointment for Tuesday."

"How could you let this happen? You are only a junior. You have a year of high school left. You have so much ahead of you."

Tatum sniffled. "I'm sorry."

Scott asked, "Who did this to you?"

Tatum knew she couldn't tell him who the father was. She wasn't going to ruin their friendship before she had to. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were before she turned her family's world upside down. She told him, "That isn't important."

"Yes it is. I'm going to kill him. You have so much ahead of you. This guy took advantage of you and took away everything that you were going to do with your life."

"I'm sorry that I'm such a disappointment and now have no future." Tatum hung her head and went to her room. She knew that Scott was going to be upset, but she never thought that he would tell her that she had no life ahead of her now.

Sophie said, "She needs us. Tate has never been this scared. There are so many things going through her head right now. She needs her family."

"Who is the father, Soph? I know she had to have told you."

"Scott, you know that it is for her to tell when she is ready. I'm not going to betray her trust, especially not when she needs people the most."

Scott left them and went upstairs. He had some apologizing to do. Scott had always been protective of his sisters. With Tatum, even more. She was so quiet and reserved. The thought of someone taking advantage of them had his seething. She had so many plans for herself and now it was going to be even harder for her to reach those goals and aspirations.