Page 67 of Nowhere to Run
“Unfortunately, my dad died unexpectedly, and I was forced to move in with my uncle,” I continued, tugging at the bottom of my hoodie.“I was forced to break up with your dad, and after I moved, I didn’t know how to get in contact with him.My uncle wasn’t a nice man, so I didn’t have access to many of the things kids my age did.A friend of mine looked your dad up on the drive out here, but there wasn’t much on him.He’s still working on trying to locate him.”
“Did my dad know you were pregnant?”
“No.I didn’t know I was pregnant until a few months after I moved in with my uncle.”
Her shoulders fell, and I knew that while it wasn’t the story she had wanted to hear, it was important for her to know the truth about where she came from.
“I wish that your dad could have been there because I know he would have been an amazing father.I always regretted not finding a way to tell him.”
“Did your uncle know you were pregnant?”
I shook my head, feeling like I was ruining any positive expectations she might have been holding onto about where she came from.
“No.No one knew.I kept it a secret from everyone because I knew that my uncle would force me to terminate the pregnancy.He didn’t want to take care of me to begin with, let alone a baby.”
“How did you know it would be safe to come here?”
“I didn’t,” I admitted.“I was so young that I didn’t know much about babies or pregnancy, but I knew that something was wrong when I kept getting stomach pain.I didn’t want to risk having you and my uncle finding out, so I snuck out and got a ride with this elderly couple.I didn’t care where they were going, as long as they took me with them.This was the first town they stopped in, and thankfully, they dropped me off right in front of the clinic.”
“Did you ever think about coming to find me after you left me?”
“Every single day.”
She nodded, letting the tears roll down her cheeks.
“My life hasn’t always been great,” I said softly.“I’ve had a lot of bad things happen to me over the years, and a lot of really bad people who have tried to hurt me.I’ve stayed away from you because I didn’t want to risk anyone finding out about you.If no one knew, no one could hurt you because of me.It would have been far too dangerous to risk trying to find you.”
“Are you safe now?Is that why you’re here?”
I pressed my lips together because I wanted to assure her that it was safe, but the problem was that it wasn’t.As long as Tray was alive, I would never be safe.
“I’m as safe as I can be,” I answered.“The friends who brought me here today are super protective and will do everything in their power to keep me safe.”
She looked around the room, then at me, her blue eyes the same color and shape as mine.
“What happens now?”she asked, an edge to her tone.“Now that you’ve found me, are you going to leave again?”
“I don’t know what happens now.Eventually, yes, I will have to leave and go home.”
Her head bounced up and down as she nodded, her jaw clenched as she looked away.
I leaned forward to look at her and gently placed my hand on her knee to get her attention.
“Just because I have to go home doesn’t mean I’m leaving you again, Kaitlyn.I am here and ready to be as big a part of your life as you’ll allow me to be.I don’t know what the future looks like, but I know that I will do whatever it takes to be part of yours.”
