When Forever Ends

I’m not completely sure of why she said that. I really, don’t understand why she said that. There was no reason why she could have said that.

Our baby. The words continuously echo through my head while Marley chats to my family over diner. Our baby? Why did she say that? She normally says ‘my baby’. I don’t want my mom to think that the kid Marley is carrying belongs to me. I’m not responsible for that.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask. Marley nods and I led her upstairs to my old bedroom.

“What’s up?” Marley asks pulling her shirt down a little.

“Um.” I say sort of nervously. What if I’m making to big of a deal out of this. Maybe it was just a slip. “Before you said ‘our baby’...it’s not my baby.”

“Oh.” Marley says, her face is expressionless. “Well, actually...I need to tell you something. I was going to tell you later but...I guess now works.” she smiles weakly. “Um, I was talking to Shayne the other day, and she said that you were who I was with the party.”

What? No? I don’t even remember talking to anyone at that party. I didn’t even get to see Ace or Jake. There is no way that I had sex with Marley and forgot. “No.” I say shaking my head. “That’s not possible.”

“Yes.” Marley says firmly.

“No. No. How does Shayne even know, she was drunk. Was she drunk when she told you this?” Where was she getting this from? Why would Shayne suddenly remember that it was me.

“No. Milo told her. He saw you and me.”

Milo? My weird drugged out cousin who was removed from the family numerous times? “He was probably on drugs or something, Marley. You can’t believe a word he says.”

“He wasn’t on anything...he had drug test the next morning.”

“No.” I shake my head. I can’t be a father! I don’t know how to be a fucking father! “I’m not the father.” I say firmly. She’s desperate for answer. That’s what this is. So now she’s pinning the blame on me.

“Vince,” Marley starts.

“No! You’re crazy! You’re just trying to pin this on me! I’m not the father! You’re psycho. Just...no. It’s not true.” I say keeping my eyes off her.

“Stop being such an asshole! It’s not necessarily your kid! It could be Dylan’s! And if it turns out to be your’s don’t worry! We won’t bother you again!” Marley growls and shoves past me to rush out of the room.

“Marley!” I call after her. She stops in the middle of the hallway and turns to meet me. “I can’t believe you’re trying to blame this on me!” I yell. Not what I intended to do. Before I have time to register anything she slaps me hard across the face.

“You’re such a dick!” she yells through her tears and rushes out of my mom’s house. I listen to the front door slam and her car speeding away. I silently curse her. Why is she doing this to me?

I walk downstairs and sit at the table, pretending like my whole family didn’t hear the screaming match upstairs. Also, pretending that my little brother was staring at the hand mark on my face with his mouth opened slightly.

The rest of the dinner is filled with awkward conversation. Everyone already knows what happened with Marley.

How can that be true? I can’t possibly be the father. I should have know it was going to lead to something like this. Woman are crazy. Why would she try to pin responsibility for her mistake on me? I’m not the one who got drunk to forget about my ex. That was her! She needs to accept the fact that no one is going to come forward and take on the responsibility of the child.

And she got mad at me? I’m the only one who has a right to be mad here! I thought I was doing great accepting that fact that she was going to have a kid soon. I’d be fine with that, I’d help her as much as could. There is no way I’m going to take full responsibility for creating a life when I didn’t!

I’m not going to go and apologize. I’m not sorry. I have nothing to be sorry for! She is crazy if she thinks she can tell people that’s my kid! She was pregnant when I met her. Just because her equally as crazy best friend’s drugged out friend says he saw me with her. I don’t even know the guy! I talked to him twice in my entire life...and both times he was high!

They’re both insane. Milo and Shayne. Shayne seriously is insane. She’s got a fucking kid. She’s been hiding a fucking kid from everyone for six years! How did she go around acting like someone’s best friend and not even tell them that she has a fucking kid!

Ace flipped out. He really flipped out. Alice gave him this envelope full of all this weird shit, like ultrasound pictures and fucking letters from whoever is looking after the kid. Even these letters written in big messy hand-writing. She had to be like fourteen when she had the kid, no wonder why she moved across the fucking country.

Marley and Shayne are perfect for each other. They’re both crazy bitches.