told him I wasn’t interested, but we connected. He comforted me and promised me things. I believed everything he said to me. I thought he loved me.”
My mother held me again, and this time I pulled her closer. I knew if I had to look into her worried eyes again I’d hate myself forever.
“Have you ended things? Is that why you’ve come home? Did you need some time to yourself? Does this guy go to your school? Is that where you met him?”
“He works there,” I confessed.
“Is he campus security? A landscaper?”
“Mom, he’s my professor.”
She let go of me and placed her hand over her mouth. The look of shock on her face said it all. “Please tell me your brother put you up to this.”
I shook my head, tears falling down my cheeks. Everything my parents had taught me, the morals I promised to live by, all shoved aside for selfish acts of adultery. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I never meant to hurt anyone.”
“Oh my god. Cammie, are you in trouble?”
“His wife is the assistant dean. Her father runs the college. Mom, she threatened to take away my scholarship. She has pictures of me. I can’t deny it. She knows everything.”
“What are you saying? Did you get kicked out of school?” I could tell she was about to lose it. My mom usually kept her cool, but this was too much to endure.
“It was suggested I leave. That’s all I know. I packed my things and left the premises. I don’t even know if Stanford will be notified. Without my final credits I can’t get into the medical program anyway. I’m screwed. I’m so screwed.”
My mom stood up and paced. She ran her hands through her hair and mumbled things to herself like she did when she was freaking out. I couldn’t keep it together. Despite the fact that I’d come clean about the affair, she didn’t have a clue about my pregnancy.
“You’ve really put yourself in a terrible position, Cammie. I don’t even think your father and I can do anything to get you out of it. Do you have any idea what this is going to cost you? If word of this gets out you won’t get into any graduate school. How could you be so careless? We taught you better than this. I thought of all people you’d make the right choices.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I said I was sorry.”
“Cammie, I’m going to have to talk to your father about this. I can’t keep this from him.” When she stormed out of my room I gathered it was because she couldn’t look at me without feeling disgusted. I suppose I’d made her feel like a failure. They’d finally gotten Cassie through her tough times, only to have me screw up royally. I didn’t know if they’d ever forgive me for this mistake, especially after they discovered there was an innocent life involved; a part of me I’d never be willing to give up.
The slam of the front door startled me. My mother’s anger left her so enraged she probably went out in the fields to find my dad. I needed to seek refuge until he’d have time to chill. When my dad lost his temper you didn’t want to be in the same zip code.
Deciding it was best to leave the house, I headed to the family barn located on the main ranch property. There were two houses on the property belonging to family members. Uncle Ty and Aunt Miranda lived in one, while the other was occupied by my cousin Isabella, her husband, their daughter, and her grandparents. Since I didn’t want to have to explain my condition to anyone else, I snuck into the barn where most of the family congregated on Sundays when we all would share a meal after church. It was also a hangout for when we had parties, or us teenagers needed a place to take our friends.
I was glad to find the place dark and empty. After turning on a light and getting a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, I plopped down on one of the old sofas hoping to settle. When the door flew open I suspected it was my father, only to discover my cousin Jake and a familiar face from earlier. They didn’t see me in the dim lit room.
“I’m telling you, if you invest now your shares will double in value,” Wes explained.
“I know, but I’ve got bills, and my wife doesn’t like