Covering the Carolinas Read Online Free

Spring Break. I’m so sorry. I’ve totally messed up
everything for everyone around here.”
    “ No Mar, you’ve messed it up for yourself,”
Mama says with a ton of attitude as she makes her way toward me and
my sisters move to make room for her.
    “ Mama, I’m sorry. I should have listened more
to you and dad. I know I’ve messed up, but now I’ve got to deal
with the consequence.”
    Mama ponders a minute then speaks. “Marleigh, hunny,
does he know?” I shake my head no. “It’s going to be okay. We’re
here for you. Isn’t that right, Charles?” She says as she cuts her
eyes to my daddy. It’s almost as if he’s trying to find the words.
He doesn’t move from his seat, instead he places his hand on his
forehead. Then, he speaks.
    “ Marleigh, I can’t say I’m not disappointed,
but now is not the time for a lecture. You’ve always been my girl
that’s full of life, has no filter, and never worries about
tomorrow. Life isn’t predictable, but our choices impact it. Yes,
this is going to change your life story, but it doesn’t define who
you are. You are smart, intelligent, and determined. Your mother
and I will support you any way we can. When you tell GC and his
parents, we’ll be with you every step of the way. I am
disappointed, but I love you.”
    I take a minute to think about what he says. I can’t
tell GC. He has a dream, and a big one at that. I can’t hold him
back from what he loves and has looked forward to his entire life.
I just can’t.
    “ No. I’m not going to tell him. He deserves to
live his life. He has a dream, and I won’t let us interfere with that. Plus, there are three
states between us. It’s not like I can just go knock on his door
and say, ‘hey, you’re gonna be a daddy’.” I say with a snarky
attitude.
    “ Hunny, I know you think this is the end of
the world, but not telling him, that’s wrong on so many levels. You
both deserve to live your lives and it’s not all your fault. You
don’t have to do this alone. We’ve raised you better than that.
Just think if it was the other way around? Would you want to be
left in the dark?”
    “ I don’t care, Mama. I’ve messed up my life by
being careless, I’m not messing his up too. I’ve made up my mind.
I’m cutting all ties with him.”
    As I stand to go to my room Daddy
calls after me , “GC and his family deserve to know
about this baby. Then I hear him tell Mama
he hopes my stubborn ass will change my
mind.
    GUNNISON
    Grabbing my hoodie from the bleachers, I hear
my phone begin to ring. As several of the guys ask me about meeting
up tomorrow, I nod as I see that it’s Marleigh. It’s about time. I answer it and hurry out of
the gym and toward my truck.
    “ Hey, Mar! I’ve missed your voice. Texing
isn’t cutting it.” She doesn’t say anything. “Marleigh, are you
okay? What’s wrong?” I wait impatiently for her reply. Deep down,
I’m worried, she said she wasn’t feeling well and now she isn’t
talking. “GC, I’m sorry I haven’t called. Things have been crazy.
How have you been?” She says genuinely.
    “ Good, basketball is going really well, the
team is hot right now, but most of all I really miss talking to
you. On the way here, all I wanted to do was hold your hand. Is
that crazy?”
    “ No it’s not. There are times I wish I could
wrap my arms around your neck and never let you go,” she says, but
I can tell she’s holding back.
    “ Mar, is everything really okay?”
    “ GC, you know we had a great time at the
beach, but things moved so fast. I’ve never met anyone like you. I
also know we can’t keep doing this distance thing. I think we
rushed things and made promises we might not be able to keep.
You’ve got so much going on with the farm and basketball. I just
think we need to focus on what is important right now. I don’t want
to influence your future decisions. I want you to live your
dream.”
    “ I don’t understand. Every time we talk, we
discuss our