Hell Into Heaven: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Jesse

Holy Fuck! I'm going to be a dad! I was happy and freaking out at the same time. I didn't plan on coming back home with my mom after my break up with Nikki.

I don't even remember my reason for breaking up with her. I regret it badly. Nikki is still the only girl who has really loved me for me. We didn't even behave like a normal boyfriend girlfriend relationship. It almost felt like we were already married. Maybe that's why I ran from the relationship. I got scared of the love I was feeling for Nikki, and I destroyed her heart that she entrusted me with... And to top it off... she's now carrying my child. I gotta make things right... and fast.

I'm with my brother alone at the airport while waiting for my mom and grandma to finish using the bathroom.

"Hey, bro, I got something to tell you," I say shakenly. "Nikki's pregnant."

"Oh shit, for real, bro? That's cool man. You gonna work on your relationship with her or no?" he replied back.

Of course I'm going to make this work. I love Nikki. Ever since I broke up with her, her face is all I see on any other girl that walks by no matter what state I'm in.

"Hell ya I'm gonna work it out with Nikki. I love her. I regret breaking up with her."

"Yeah I was getting worried about you bro, she was a keeper. When she started relaxing a little bit around us, she took care of you like a wife, not a girlfriend. That's fucking hard to find these days," said Bruce.

My mom and grandma came back and I stayed quiet until we got on the plane going back home. When my grandma asked me if Nikki was pregnant after I talked with Nikki, I lied and told her she told me no. I know I'll probably get hell for it later but I wanted to talk to Nikki first face to face so I can really see how she's feeling.

*Next day*

-Hey Nikki, I'm back from holiday. Can we meet up today so that I can talk to you alone some more about our baby?-

Her response was immediate.

-Hope your holiday was great. Yes I can meet you at your house as soon as I get out of school. That should put me at your house around 3-3:30ish.-

-How are you gonna get to my house?-

I hope she isn't walking. She walks everywhere and it's always on the bad busy streets.

-I'm walking genius. How else am I going to get there?-

Anger almost got the best of me but I stopped because I know she can't help it. She has no car and no reliable adult with a license that can drive her to me.

-I'll meet you half way at the park. Where we usually meet okay?-

At least that way I won't worry about her as much.

-Okay, see ya later today.-

-Hey, I still love you.-

She didn't respond back to me. I figured she was already in class so I didn't message her again.

2:30 hits and I know she's just gotten out of school and is walking to me already. I start walking to the park where I usually meet her at. I wait by the swings and try my best to think of the right words I want to tell her. I want her to know I still love her and that breaking up was a mistake and not because she's pregnant.

I see her walking toward me. She still looks so beautiful and she's not even wearing make-up. I walk up to her slowly a few steps and wait for her to make the rest of the way to me. She dropped her bag and kept moving the last few steps toward me and hugged me real tight. She almost took my breath away. I felt my shirt getting a little wet where Nikki was hugging me but I said nothing and hugged her back.

"I'm having this baby. With or without you. I still love you too and I'm willing to work things out with you... But don't you ever crush my heart like that again. Am I clear, Jesse!?" Nikki said as she raised her head up with tears still coming out of her eyes.

"I promise. Mi amor." That's all I could say before taking her lips to mine.

It felt like years since I've last kissed her and I didn't want to stop. We broke our kiss but remained holding each other. When we broke apart I took her school bag in my hand and took her hand in my other hand tightly.

"This is gonna be hell, you know?" Nikki started first as we headed to my house.

"With who? My mom or your folks?" I almost laughed but then stopped myself and started worrying some more. I started worrying that her folks will still leave marks on her regardless if she was carrying my child or not.

"My folks of course. I know your mom might panic a little bit with the history that I've been told about your cousins and their kids. But I'm sure once she hears us out that we plan to be together and raise our kid together she'll be fine," Nikki said softly.

And funny thing is that she's right. My mom will freak out a little bit but will be happy for us when she hears that we are staying together and raising our kid together.

I still couldn't help but worry about Nikki and her folks. She's alone now when she goes home to them. Her sister still never went back home. According to Nikki, she's been gone since Nikki was 12. Nikki's older and abusive brother is always sleeping over at some friend's house to where she hardly ever sees him either. Good thing too because I wanted to deck him in the face for abusing Nikki too as a kid.

*2 months later*

I haven't heard anything from Nikki in forever. Last month there was a meeting where her folks and my mom and grandma and sister were supposed to sit and talk with me and Nikki and discuss on what we planned to do about the baby. For some reason, her folks pushed Nikki onto a bus heading to Chicago to march in a parade with veterans from the American Legion that's near my house. On top of that they have practically imprisoned her at home. She can't go out, they took her phone away, and they've been checking her emails too.

Somehow Nikki got a hold of a cellphone from one of her friends and started texting me trying to explain what was happening on her end. Shortly after that Nikki went into dehydration. She was outside in the summer sun all day and her friend Margaret didn't help her out like she said she would and her psycho of a mother kicked Nikki out of her home and drove off to Nikki's mom's work place.

Nikki walked to the park where we usually met and was almost passed out by a tree when I came to get her. She was crying and freaking out. Margaret was her best friend since middle school with Nikki and she just stabbed her in the back.

"I told you someone was going to get hurt from this..." Nikki said while hiccupping and crying some more.

I held her close and took her back to my house. I got her some fluids to get her back to hydration. She didn't want to go home. I didn't blame her for not wanting too. She was scared of what her folks would do. She freaked out more when she heard her father's van coming up our street.

"Damn, Nikki, you got bloodhound ears," my mom said before waiting at the door for Nikki's father to come to the door.

"Is Nikki here?" Her father's voice stretched to the dining room where Nikki was shaking against the wall out of fright.

"Yes she is, why don't you come in and have a seat?" My mom opened the door wider for Nikki's father.

I tuned out of the chatting going on between my mom and Nikki's father. I was busy trying to calm Nikki down before she passed out from breathing too fast.

I pulled her up to her feet and slowly pulled her to the living room where her father was sitting. I sat her with me on the couch on the opposite side of where her father sat.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I told Margaret I wasn't getting rid of my child..." Nikki said so softly I was surprised her father heard her at all.

*Another three months later*

"Nikki! I'm going to fucking kill that man if it's the last thing I do!!!" I said with such rag as I started making my way to the door. Nikki grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back.

"Jesse, he doesn't remember what he did! The last thing I need is for you to be in jail and never see our son born!!!" Nikki said while struggling to pull me back.

I stopped when she said jail. I didn't want to go there. Once again she was right. I turned toward her, still angry from what I saw on her....

"Take off your jacket... Let me see the rest of it... It's pointless to keep hiding them from me..." I said as best as I could without bursting into more anger.

She pulled me into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She sat me on the toilet seat and slowly started to take off her jacket... and then her shirt... and then she lowered her pants a little to show me her thighs. She turned slowly with her bra still on and showed me her back and the back of her thighs. My mouth just dropped and my eyes watered. When she turned back and faced me again, I slowly wrapped my arms around her, crying because I can't do anything to help her.

"How much longer before you're 18?" It was a rhetorical question but non the less she answered my question anyways.

"5 and a half weeks," she said while kissing my head.

*Two weeks later*

I'm rushing to the hospital now with Nikki. Nikki got into an accident to where a big piece of wood hit her foot. If she didn't move in time the piece of wood would have hit her baby bump. The hospital said nothing was broken and that the baby was still doing fine. They told Nikki to take it easy. Her folks never showed up the hospital to take her home. I didn't hesitate a second at that thought and took her home with me.

The color came back to her skin for the first time in a long time since she first found out she was pregnant. She was so relieved to be away from the hell hole of a motel that her parents are still calling a home.

I took the next day of work off to make sure Nikki got settled okay and had no issue with her school since she was on bed rest for another couple of days due to the injury. Her folks still haven't called her either. I couldn't believe it either. What parents wouldn't be worried about their pregnant teenage daughter that got hurt? Regardless if they liked me or not.

"You've heard anything from your folks yet?" I asked.

"No, and honestly I don't care anymore. Throughout most of my life I have tried to take care of them. I can't keep doing that anymore when I have to take care of myself and this baby of ours that's still inside of me," she said as she looked at her school laptop to get her assignments from her teachers.

I'm still happy that she's here with me. This is the most time I've had her with me since the start of her pregnancy. I just hope that time flies a little faster to her 18th birthday so that she can stay with me forever and never have to worry about her folks again.