Page 49 of Gunner

I never did.

“Mom, it’s not like I committed murder. I had sex. That’s all.”

It was at that moment my father started humming the Marine Corps Hymn. I noticed he did that a lot when he didn’t want to hear girlie stuff.

Ignoring him, I looked up at Mom. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“Sarah,” My mom sighed. “Gunner is a grown man and knows better. And you better believe, little girl, that he will hear from me when I get my hands on him. But you are my daughter. I didn’t raise you to act like this. First, you get kicked out of school and hide it from us. Then you spend the money we gave you for a trip that you insisted you go on with your friends because you wanted to see the world. You bounced around with your friends for months, only to show up in the middle of the night at home. If that wasn’t bad enough, you’re not here twenty-four hours before you crash your dad’s new truck and now this!”

Well...when she put it that way, it did sound bad.

“Sarah, you are supposed to be an adult, making adult decisions. Not acting like a child!”

I knew not to say shit.

Mom was gearing up for a full-on Mother-Daughter meltdown.

“And now there is a chance you might be pregnant! Pregnant!” she shouted.

See...meltdown.

“You have no education. No job. Nothing! If you think your father and I are going to set aside our lives to help you raise your child, you are sorely mistaken, little girl. We’ve raised our kids. Two of them. All on our own. I can’t believe this! Are you just going to sit there and say nothing?”

Looking up, I saw that mom’s question wasn’t directed at me, but at Dad, who was just sitting there stewing as he nodded at everything mom said. “Well, I think...”

“And another thing!” Mom interrupted. “Just where in the hell are you planning to raise this baby? You realize that this isn’t something you can return because you don’t like how it fits, right? It’s an actual human being I’m talking about. It’s a baby. A real baby!”

“Mom,” I blurted. “I don’t even know if I am pregnant.”

“It doesn’t matter!” my mom screeched.

“Beth, honey,” my dad said, sitting up. “There is only one solution and though I’m not thrilled with it, it does kill two birds with one stone.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Mike?”

My father grinned, then turned to me.

I gulped. For the first time in my life, the gleam in my father’s eyes scared me, and whatever he was about to say didn’t bode well for me.

“I blame myself, pumpkin. I’ve given you everything you wanted in life. Even going against your mother at times. Now, I see the error of my ways. This isn’t something I can fix. It’s time for you to grow up. The only way I know to ensure that happens is to set you free.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean by that, daddy?”

“Beth, honey, call the phone company and have them disconnect Sarah’s phone. Then call the bank and cancel Sarah’s emergency credit card. I’ll call the insurance company and take her off our policy. Our daughter wants to play at being an adult, well she can figure out how to be one.”

“What!” I shouted, jumping to my feet. “You can’t do that. I need my phone.”

“Sit down, Sarah,” my father growled.

Doing so immediately, he added. “I tried to warn you. Tried to teach you that actions have consequences. Now you are going to learn the hard truth. I will take you home, where you will pack your things. You are now Gunner’s problem. He is just as guilty as you are in this mess and it’s time that fucker also learns that actions have consequences. Now, before you throw a tantrum, I am not kicking you out forever. You will always have a home with your mother and I but until you and Gunner get your shit together, the both of you can figure it out together.”

He couldn’t be serious!

He was serious.

Because as I watched him drive away from Gunner’s house, I realized I had no way of getting a hold of Gunner. Daddy even took my phone saying he paid for it, therefore it belonged to him.

Looking around the living room with all my boxes, suitcases, everything that I owned surrounding me, I didn’t know what to do first. I knew I needed to call Gunner, but without my cell phone, I didn’t know how.