Cyberspace Romance

Nightmare

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Zoey looked at Ryder for a few minutes, trying to figure out if she had heard him correctly. He was going to be a dad? She shook her head and then looked down at the floor. She prayed to God that she would wake up from this nightmare. She looked up, and opened her eyes.

"Shianne's pregnant?" She whispered.

Ryder slowly just nodded his head. Zoey sighed, as she walked over and took a seat next to Ryder. Clearly, he was going through more right now than she was. Here he was just turned eighteen, and accepted into the college of his dreams, and now he finds out he's going to be a father.

"What-- how did you find out?" Zoey questioned.
"Shianne went to get put on birth control this morning. . . and they told her she was already four weeks pregnant." Ryder said, "We were so careful, Zoe. . . I dunno where I went wrong." He said burying his face in his hands.

Zoey rubbed his back softly. It ripped her heart out to see Ryder like this. She hated to see him sad or depressed.

"It's okay." She cooed him.
"Okay? Zoe. . . I knocked a girl up." Ryder said looking up at her.
"Don't put it like that. . ." Zoey said.
"How am I suppose to put it? I'm eighteen and going to be a dad-- how am I even suppose to go to college." Ryder said.
"You're going to college, no matter what." Zoey said.
"How am I suppose to support a kid?" Ryder questioned.
"I'll help you, Ry." Zoey said.

Ryder looked over at his sister, and smiled weakly. He knew Zoey would be there for him no matter what, but he never expected her to react to his news like this. He had prepared himself for hours of screaming and lecturing.

"It's not your job to help me. . ." He said.
"Yes it is. You're my little bro. We're family." Zoey said.
"I really fucked up, huh?" He said laughing lightly.
"You didn't fuck up-- things happen. How is Shianne?"
"She's debating on how to tell Frantz. He's going to murder me."
"He'll probably want to." Zoey said.

This was the worse news she could have heard after a day like today. She wanted Ryder to finish college, and settle down before he became a father. She ran her hands through her hair as she sighed. She didn't know how much worse things could get.

"So, where is Bam?" Ryder questioned.

Zoey was so caught up in the news Ryder had, she had completely forgot to tell him anything about her and Bam breaking up.

"We broke up today." Zoey said softly.
"WHAT?" Ryder yelled.
"He kissed Amanda. . . So I fired her, and dumped him. I don't really wanna talk about it Ry. . ."
"Why would he cheat on you?" Ry questioned, he thought Bam and Zoey were in love.
"Guess he was looking for something more than I could give him." Zoey said getting up from the stool and walking into her bedroom.

She knew she was on the verge of tears. Nothing could stop them from coming now. She closed, and locked her door.

She had gave up a lot for Bam. She had forgave him for lying. She moved to another state. She quit her job. She dealt with Missy drama, and she had even confessed her true feelings which was something she had never done before. And what did he do? He ripped her heart out and stepped on it. She couldn't believe how stupid she was. She didn't even pick up on the signs. Amanda had let it slip that Bam and her had hung out at the bar. . . Bam didn't even mention it. Zoey now knew why he didn't say anything about it. She wondered how long the two of them had been fooling around.

She could feel the salty tears escaping her eyes as she walked over and pulled back her covers. She laid down in the bed and set her alarm clock for the next morning. Even though it was only six in the afternoon, she had no intentions on moving from the bed until morning.

Bam sit at the pirate bar sipping on a bottle of beer. Ville was seated beside him. Things were quiet and they had been for over four hours. He was patiently waiting on Zoey to call. Something told him it wasn't happening anytime soon though.

"Maybe you should call her." Ville said.
"No-- It'll only be worse. Zoey's the type of person who needs to come to you. Going to her will only make things worse." Bam said.

Bam took another sip of his beer and watched as the door swung open. Inside walked a very angry Joe Frantz. He stormed into the room and slammed his fist down on the counter. Bam scrunched his eyebrows up.

"What's your problem?" Bam questioned, he wasn't interested in Frantz's delimma's though. He had too much to worry about.
"Ryder fucking got Shianne pregnant." Frantz said.
"You're kidding me." Bam said.
"No, my little eighteen year old sister is now fucking four weeks pregnant."

Bam ran his hands through his locks of curls. Zoey was probably having the worse day ever. First, she sees him kissing Amanda, and assumes that he's cheated on her, and then she finds out her little brother is going to be a dad. What a nightmare.

"Ryder is Zoey's brother, right?" Ville questioned.
"Yeah-- I wanna strangle him!" Frantz said.
"Poor girl." Ville said.
"I know! She's only fucking eighteen." Frantz said.
"I was referring to Zoey. . ." Ville said.
"Why Zoey? My little sister is the one whose fucking pregnant."
"Zoey and I broke up today." Bam said looking up from his beer bottle.

Frantz questioned Bam on what happened, and slowly Bam explained everything. Frantz shook his head. He was fond of Zoey; and couldn't believe Bam had done that to her.

"It wasn't my fault!" Bam said.
"Yes, it was. You should have fucking opened your eyes Bam! You lost a great girl." Frantz said.

Bam rolled his eyes. It hadn't sunk in that he had actually lost Zoey yet-- he assumed that when she cooled down he'd be able to talk to her and explain things. He knew that once he explained things, then she would have no other option but to come running back into his arms. He wasn't stressing too much on the detail of their break up.

Zoey woke up around mid-night and walked through the house. She smiled, when she peeked in Ryder's room and saw him laying down on his bed sleeping. She knew he was going to have to grow up really fast here in the next year-- but she would be there to help him every step of the way.

Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed a glass from the cabinet and then turned the sink water on. She filled the glass, and then drowned her throat with the cold contents. She slammed the glass down onto the counter and shook her head.

How do things go from being so perfect to a complete disaster in twenty four hours? She and Bam were doing so great, and now they were nothing. Ryder was doing amazing, and had so many dreams, and now he was going to be a father. Zoey just didn't understand why life had to deal you these strange hands.

"What are you doing up?"

Zoey turned around slowly and saw Ryder standing in the kitchen scratching his head. She smiled.

"Couldn't sleep."
"I was sleeping great until you peeked into my room and woke me up." Ryder said laughing.
"Sorry, Ry."
"So, you wanna tell me about what happened between you and Bam?" Ryder questioned.
"I'm not really sure-- He brought by lunch, and then I walked back into the kitchen and saw him and Amanda making out."
"That doesn't sound like something Bam would do. . . I mean, he's not stupid enough to cheat on you right in front of your face."
"We were really busy though. . . He probably thought I wouldn't catch them." Zoey said.

Ryder shrugged his shoulders. Bam was his hero, and had been for over five years. He knew of Bam's past, and knew Bam had cheated on almost every girlfriend he had. But doing it right in front of there faces was not something Bam done. He knew Bam was sneaky when he cheated, so this didn't sound like Bam at all. He just hoped it was a misunderstanding, he knew how much Zoey loved him, and could see how much it was hurting her.