Don't You Know I'm Thinking of You Everyday

Collis watched the waves eat up the sand from her bedroom window on her purple bedspread. She loved how after she got back from her summer break everything in the house was untouched.

It was the average regular year back in Ocean City. The summer months for Collis, her two brothers, Haywood and James, Christa, Collis’s mom and Collis’s dad, Malekai were spent in their Florida house with all the cousins. Then the family would go back to Maryland in September and school would start a few days after they arrived.

Collis and her family had just gotten back from their summer break. Haywood and James were helping Malekai and Christa with the luggage. Usually Collis would’ve helped her older brothers, who were no doubt doing all of the work, but Christa had insisted that Collis shouldn’t strain herself.

The reason?

Collis was six months pregnant at the age of sixteen.

Collis rubbed the top of her stomach and earned a kick from the baby.

Collis heard a knock from the door and saw Haywood standing in the doorframe looking at her holding her bags.

“Thanks, Hay.” Collis’s voice came out raspy.

“Your welcome.” He said. He walked closer towards his little sister. “I think it’s time to go see him.” he sat next to her on her bed.

She turned toward him and sighed, “Haywood, I don’t want to.” Collis ran a hand through her dark brown hair.

“I don’t care what you want, Collis. He deserves to know.”

“I. Don’t. Want. Him. To. Know.” Collis said, her mood changing from at peace to angry.

“If you don’t tell him, I’ll invite him over for dinner, Coll.”

“Don’t!” Collis yelled at her eighteen year old brother. “Get out!!”

Collis brought her legs to her chest as close as she could. She was big. The summer had been terrible for her. She’d had to pee the entire time and she couldn’t hang out with her cousins at night. She couldn’t sneak alchohol with Ann, her older cousin on the porch. Collis had spent her summer break in front of an air conditioner making sure she was cool with her shirt pulled up feeling over her belly.

She ate almost every second of the day and avoided her aunts and uncles at all costs. She was sure that they thought she was a slut for getting pregnant at sixteen. Collis’s family was supposed to be perfect.

Collis hadn’t even told the guy that had gotten her pregnant. She knew him. Spencer Pierce. He’d been her friend since pre-school.

Spencer was a year older than Collis and at seventeen he was very cute. He had dark brown hair that fell over his one eye and blue eyes. He was James’s friend.

Collis found out she was pregnant in April. She’d hidden it from Spencer for two months until her and her family left for Florida. Collis began to really show around the third month mark. Whenever she hit five months in August, she was humungous.



Collis pulled on a pair of fluffy white pajama bottoms and grabbed Haywood’s old grey hoodie she’d stolen from him. She struggled to get a pair of socks onto her feet and when she finally did she was out of breath.

She grabbed her cell phone and waddled to the door of her bedroom. She walked slowly down the stairs. Her parents were in the kitchen and James was in the living room with his girlfriend, Jane. Haywood was sitting at the table.

Collis sat down next to Haywood. She pulled out her cell phone and found that she had two new text messages.

Spencer: wanna hang out 2nite? :3 ur home I think and I miss you!!

Haywood: Surprise…

She looked over at her brother. He was chewing on a piece of strawberry gum, the scent flowing out of his mouth.

“What does surprise mean?” she asked, her nostrils flaring.

Haywood grinned. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Collis’s heart dropped. He couldn’t have. No…no…no…. He wouldn’t…would he? He couldn’t have called Spencer.

Collis pushed back the heavy chair and walked into the kitchen.

Her father grinned at the sight of his only daughter. “Hey Coll.” He greeted her as he mixed something into a pan of sauce.

She didn’t answer and Malekai became worried.

“Is everything okay?”

Collis shook her head and he knew that his daughter was on the verge of tears. “Daddy…is it just us for dinner?”

Malekai’s heart felt at rest as that was the only thing that was bugging Collis, “You had me worried, Coll!”

“Answer my question.” She was actually crying now, tears spilling over and down her cheeks, dropping onto her chin and falling delicately onto her grey sweatshirt.

“Yes,” he answered as he used his thumb to rub off one of Collis’s tears. “We’re having the Pierce’s over for desert and after dinner drinks.”

Collis pushed his hand away. “You guys can, but I’m going to Mesa’s house.” Collis pulled out her phone and began typing

“Collis, you can’t hide from Spencer forever.” Her father grabbed the phone away. “He’s the father of your baby, right? Those are that baby’s grandparents. They deserve to know.”

“But if I tell him, he’s just gonna run away! He’s a coward.”

Malekai sighed. “Honey, you don’t know that until you’ve told him. Whenever they get here, you and Spencer should go on the beach and talk about it. See what Spencer says before we tell Pam and Jason.”

Collis’s tears fell faster. “I’m scared.”



Collis ate her supper quickly and then retreated to her bedroom. She wanted to shower and then get dressed in something besides her pajama pants. She changed into a pair of lounge pants with reindeer printed on them and then a white Hollister maternity sweatshirt. She pulled her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and then jammed on a pair of brown UGG boots. Her lounge pants flowed over the top of them, but she didn’t care. She laid in her bed and closed her eyes.

Collis had been seeing the doctor regularly and apparently everything was fine with her baby. They didn’t know the sex yet, because Collis’s baby was always in a difficult position. The doctor in Maryland told Collis that he thought that the baby was going to be a boy while the doctor in Florida thought that the baby was going to be a gorgeous girl. Collis genuinely didn’t care if the baby was a girl or a boy. She had names picked out for each situation.

Parker Mae or Jade Alia for a girl and Taylor Joe or Owen Jacob for a boy. Collis’s names changed daily, but she was stuck on Parker or Jade for a girl. She still wasn’t sure about the boy.

Collis rubbed her hands over her stomach feeling the baby move around inside of her and hit her with it’s fist. She’d began calling the baby Taylor since it suited for girl or boy but when the baby kicked it just didn’t feel like a Taylor so that was the problem with Taylor Joe. Parker on the other hand kept drifting back into Collis’s mind.

Collis stayed in the same position until she heard the front door open and her name being thrown up the stairs by her mother.

Collis grabbed her phone which was setting next to her and dialed Haywood’s number.

“Come help me.” She yelled whenever he picked up.

“Your nice.” He scoffed. He hung up and she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

The door of Collis’s room was opened and she felt her brother’s footsteps shaking the bed. He sat behind her on the bed and pushed his pregnant sister up. He got off of her bed and grabbed her hand. “Want me to walk you downstairs too?” He wasn’t being sarcastic. He’d helped her walk down the stairs in Florida.

She nodded, “Thanks.”

He smiled at her. He was her big brother and all he wanted was to help her out in this.

“So…he’s down there?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah.”

Collis closed her eyes. Maybe she could transport herself back to the night that they had sex and change her mind whenever he asked her if she wanted to go upstairs…. He hadn’t forced her. He was just as drunk as she was.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, Haywood leaned in to Collis’s ear and whispered, “I’ll hide you. Take him outside and talk to him. Go out the backdoor.”

Haywood stepped in front of Collis.

“Spencer…” Haywood called.

Spencer stood up. He was wearing a pair of jeans and his hair was a mess. He looked cute tonight in an effortless way. He was certainly not like a girl who had to spend three hours perfecting her hair and makeup. Boys just had it so easy. They didn’t have periods, pregnancy, and the trouble with looks. They were either hot or not.

His teeth were brightly white. He saw Collis’s face, but not her stomach, “Hey, Coll.”

Collis managed a small smile, “Hey,” her voice cracked whenever she spoke, “can we go outside and talk for a little bit?”

Spencer nodded.

Haywood stepped away from Collis and her stomach was completely noticeable, but Spencer had his eyes on Collis’s face.

Collis went out the backdoor. The backdoor led directly to the beach.

Collis’s family had put up a porch swing on the beach for Christa and Malekai so that they could watch James, Haywood, and Collis play in the sand.

“Spencer…” she sat down and put her hand on her stomach.

Spencer finally noticed, “Oh.” His mouth formed an ‘O’.

Collis gulped. “Can you sit down?” she asked.

Spencer sat down without saying anything.

“I’m pregnant.”

Spencer laughed like she’d just told him a joke.

“What?” her mood was changing from nervous to angry. She hated when people laughed at her situation. Yeah, she was pregnant.

“Nothing.” Spencer said.

“No! Just tell me.”

“Collis, it’s nothing.” He insisted.

She rolled her eyes and pushed her hands down on the cushion trying to get up. “Thought you’d listen.”

Spencer sighed, “Collis.” He grabbed her arm.

Collis whipped around and jerked her arm away.

“Collis, I’m gonna listen.” He said. “Sit down. Let’s talk.”

“You don’t care!” Collis cornered. “I know you don’t. You couldn’t care less if a monster truck ran over me. You’d probably laugh.”

“I would not, Coll.” Spencer said. He stood up. He laid a hand on her stomach.

She stiffened.

Spencer smiled, “Is that my baby?”

She didn’t answer.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Coll?” he asked quietly.

“I was scared.”

Spencer looked up, “I’m not letting you leave, you do know that right?”

Collis finally smiled and wrapped her arms around him. There was a space in between them, thanks to the baby, but Collis didn’t mind. Neither did Spencer.