Redeem Me (Kin #6)(32)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Since we had a long drive ahead of us I contacted my coach. It wasn’t football season, but I still wanted him to be aware what was going on. My father was going to be pissed, but he’d know what was going on long before school contacted him, since we were going there first.

Once again Cameron slept in the car. I knew she needed her rest, and didn’t try to wake her even when I felt like I was going to pee myself. We pulled up at my parent’s house sometime in the afternoon. I wasn’t surprised that my mom was there, but was a little concerned when I saw my dad. He raised his brow and looked from me to Cameron. “Tell me there was some evacuation at school, and that’s why you’re not there for class.”

I put my hands up. “Just let me explain before you freak out.”

My mom held out her hand. “Cameron, why don’t you come in and sit down. There’s no reason we can’t talk in the living room.”

We followed my parents and sat down on opposite couches that faced each other. I reached over and grabbed Cameron’s hand. “I know we should be in school, but we’ve got a good reason for stayin’ away. Cam’s in some trouble with her family, and I’ve got to keep her safe.”

“What kind of trouble,” my dad asked. “I thought her parents were lawyers.”

“They are. Look, there’s no easy way to say this. Cam’s pregnant. We had to rush her to the hospital last night because she was having a miscarriage.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry, Cameron. I lost a baby too a long time ago before the twins.”

My dad wasn’t like my mother. He shook his head and put his arms across his chest. “You’re telling me that you got Cameron pregnant.”

I had to prevent him from telling her about Ashley. “Dad, please. Her parents are tryin’ to make her have an abortion.”

“I thought you said she miscarried.” My mother was so confused.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Cameron took over. “It was twins. I lost one of the babies, but the tests showed that the second fetus was in no danger. My father prevented Parker from staying at the hospital with me, and then he checked me out overnight. They wouldn’t allow Parker on our property this morning, and were already calling places to schedule an immediate abortion. Please, Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson, I don’t want to give up my baby.” I squeezed her hand to remind her that we were together in all of this. “I can’t let them find me, not until I’m far enough along that they won’t be able to interfere.”

She began to cry, probably afraid that my parents weren’t going to show her compassion. I stared into my father’s eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know what he was thinking. “Dad, I love her. Please. I came here today to let you know that I’m going to protect them. I won’t let anyone take this baby from us.” It was hard for me to say to him, not just because of what had happened with Shayne, but because the more I defended this unborn child, the more I knew I wanted to be it’s father.

My dad didn’t yell, and he certainly didn’t get up and start pacing around the room. As calm as I’d ever seen him react, he turned to give my mother a once-over before responding. “Parker, I appreciate you coming to us with this. You know how your mother and I feel about abortions, especially after everything your brother went through. It takes a real man to step up and raise a child. My only concern is that you’re running from her family. They’ll know you came here.”

“I was going to take her to the beach house. I already talked to my coach. Summer’s comin’ up, and I plan on showin’ up to take my exams. I’ve got a term paper due in one class, and a video project in another. My other two classes accept homework online. All I have to do is show up on exam day and I’ll pass for the semester. By the time summer’s over Cam will be far enough along to be safe. I get that this seems drastic, but you didn’t see them last night.”

“My parents raised me to become a lawyer. They see this as a terrible mistake that’s going to ruin my future. They think that my dating Parker is a mistake, and that he’s going to ruin my life. I had to sneak out of my house to get away from them. They took my phone, and had our house on lockdown. They don’t care how I feel or what I want.” Cameron turned and leaned her face against my chest. I think she was to the point where she couldn’t believe what we were facing. Everything was about to change for us. I didn’t know whether I’d be able to manage my classes from afar, but I was willing to put school on the backburner when it came to my girlfriend. She was my future before anything else.

“You can’t go to the beach house. Her parents can go on the internet and see that we own it.”

Damn.

“What should I do?” It had become apparent that he was going to help us. In that moment I felt like I had my father back.

“I’ll call your uncle and see if you can stay in Ford’s old apartment at the shop. You can park your car in the garage out back. Even if they put two and two together, they won’t see it from the road.” My dad got up and went into the home office. I heard him on the phone, obviously talking to my uncle. I put my head down when he started talking about me knocking up my girlfriend.

“Cameron, how are you feeling? I’m sure you’re not supposed to be doing all this running around.” My mother was concerned for her health. I was too, but first we needed to be safe.

“I’ve been sleeping for the whole ride. The cramping has stopped, and I feel a little better. It’s the stress I’m worried about.”

My dad came out of the office. “All right. After speaking to your uncle we’ve decided that it would be best if I took your car to my shop and kept it indoors. I’ll keep it covered like the other collectables that come in. Your mom and I will drop you off at the apartment, and we’ll run out to fetch you groceries, and things you’ll both need. Your uncle said he’s got an extra truck, and you’ll be able to use it whenever you need to. I want you both to figure out a way to take those exams. I’ll call the school in the morning and let them know we had a family emergency, and maybe they’ll be willing to work with you. Cam, I’d suggest that you do the same thing. I realize they may not go for it, but it’s worth a try. You’re both good students.”

I stood up and extended my hand out to my dad. “I really appreciate this. I know you’re pissed, but it means a lot.”