Safe Haven

“You did really well tonight,” Brent said as he and Marnie made their way through the parking lot after their shift together and towards their cars.

“You seem surprised,” Marnie smirked as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Brent smirked back, “I am. I didn’t hear you complain once about your feet hurting or any other pain and aches that come along with being pregnant. So yeah, I am surprised, especially after working a seven hour shift.”

“I’d rather make some money and be out of the house being productive than complaining,” She shrugged.

And it was the truth. Sitting home all the time gets incredibly boring, which is a lot of the reason why Marnie felt so alone, and she hated it more than anything. She would rather be at work for seven, eight, or even ten hours and be a little discomforted by an ache or pain than be at home bored and alone. Of course, she knew she couldn’t push herself too hard. Working and making her own money was perfectly okay, but seeing as she had just entered her fifth month of pregnancy, she knew she would need to slow down a bit in a few weeks because she didn’t want to endanger her or the baby’s health.

“I’m glad you have an attitude such as that,” He smiled at her, “It should be nice working with you for the time being.”

“I agree,” She smiled, “Anyways, I must get home and get off my feet now. I’m exhausted!”

Brent chuckled at her, “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow night, Marnie.”

“You most definitely will,” She assured him, “Oh, and hey, can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

She licked over her bottom lip and twiddled with the pair of keys in her hands, “Can you maybe keep this whole pregnancy thing a secret?” She asked him with pleading eyes.

He sighed but nodded, “It’s your secret to tell. I won’t be spilling about it to anyone, and that includes family and friends too. I promise.”

“Thank you, Brent. That means a lot to me,” She wrapped her arms around his neck for a quick hug, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Marnie,” He muttered as they pulled away.

“Bye,” She waved at him before spinning around to unlock her car door.

The ride home was silent and only took about ten minutes. Soon enough, Marnie was pulling into her driveway. She narrowed her eyes at the sight of Papa Gates sitting on her porch steps waiting for her. She wondered what he was doing there so late. It was just a few minutes past one in the morning, and she knew that was late for him usually.

She grabbed her purse and climbed out of her car, making sure to lock it behind her. She headed up the walk way and towards the older man who she considered as her father since her own father had passed away many years ago.

“Papa Gates, hi,” She smiled, “What are you doing here so late?”

He didn’t smile at her, he didn’t frown, he didn’t show any emotion what so ever, but his eyes held love and care and she knew that he wasn’t upset with her, which was good. “Brian came and talked to me today,” He said to her.

Surprised to hear that Brian had done that, she lowered her eyes to the ground shamefully and embarrassed. “Oh,” She mumbled.

“Come sit, Honey,” He said to her, patting the spot beside him.

Drawing in a deep breath, Marnie tossed her purse down onto the pavement along with her keys before sitting down carefully beside him. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she made sure to keep some distance between them.

“I’m so sorry,” She started out by saying.

His heart practically broke at the sound of the disappointment in her voice, because he knew that she was disappointed in herself that she had disappointed him and Suzy, which was complete nonsense. Papa Gates was nowhere near disappointed in Marnie. He was actually more disappointed with his son for walking out like he had that morning.

“Don’t you dare apologize, Marnie. Not for this,” He told her as he took a hold of both of her hands in his, “Brian is just as wrong in the situation as you are. It was stupid to have sex with one another, and even stupider for you to have hidden the pregnancy for this long and for him to be thinking about not being involved.”

Her eyes coated with tears, “I don’t know what we’re going to do. He doesn’t want anything to do with me or the baby.”

“Oh Honey, you know that isn’t true,” Papa Gates denied, “Brian is just so overwhelmed right now that he doesn’t know what he wants or doesn’t want. But you want to know something?”

“Hm?” Marnie sounded as she looked at him.

“He does want to be a part of this child’s life. That’s why this is so hard for him,” He explained, “He knows that when Michelle finds out about this entire thing, she will most likely cancel the wedding and walk away, which he doesn’t want, but he also knows that the right thing for him to do is choose his own child over her. He may be terrified and angry about this right now, but soon he’ll choose what he wants to do, and that will be the right choice for him and Michelle and this unborn child.”

A tear slipped down Marnie’s cheek before she could wipe it away, “What if he chooses to walk away completely and not acknowledge that this is his child? I can’t do this alone, Papa Gates. I just can’t.”

“He won’t, Marnie,” Papa Gates seemed so entirely sure, “And if he does make a stupid choice such as that, then he will have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. But you, however, will never be alone. You have Suzy and I, and Brent and McKenna, and Scott and Melina, and the rest of the Avenged Family. You are not alone, Marnie. You never have been and you never will be.”

“You swear?” She sniffled.

He smiled sadly at her and nodded his head, “I swear. Trust me, Honey I would never lie to you.”

Marnie wiped away her tears and licked over her lips, “Thank you, Papa Gates.”

“There’s no need to thank me for only telling you the truth, but you’re welcome, Sweetheart,” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, “Now tell me, because I’m honestly dying to know, do you know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?”

Marnie smile softly and nodded, “Yeah, it’s a girl.”

His eyes lit up with excitement, “That’s great. Suzy is going to be thrilled when I tell her.”’

She laughed faintly, “I love you, Papa Gates.”

He smiled, “I love you too, Marnie. Now you get some rest and come over tomorrow sometime so we can discuss some other things with you, all right?”

“Okay,” She nodded, “I’ll be over for breakfast in the morning then.”

“Nine a clock sharp,” He winked at her, knowing she already knew that.

They stood up, shared a long tight hug, and then parted ways. Papa Gates headed home since it was so late, and Marnie headed into the house to change into some pajamas and go to bed. She had battled through a very rough and exhausting day, and now all she wanted to do was sleep.

Marnie knew that for now on until her baby girl arrived into the world, things were going to be crazy and hectic with everyone finding out. She was relieved that Brian knew though, and that Papa Gates and Suzy knew as well. Plus Brent knew too, which was great. So far four people knew, but there were still quite a few people left who didn’t know, and would surely find out sooner or later.

She could only hope though that everyone else took the news as calmly as possible, rather than it blowing up in her face. Marnie knew however that Michelle was going to be the one who was really going to throw a fit, and dreaded the moment that woman discovered the news.