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Ethan clenched his jaw. "A termination won't happen," he stated inflexibly.
"How about adoption?" The older man turned to his wife and said, "Honey, you need to calm down. You know ending the pregnancy isn't the right thing to do. Adoption would accomplish the same thing for Ava's future."
Ethan boldly met her father's gaze with open defiance. "We're not giving our baby up for adoption, either. We're getting married and we're going to keep our baby." And fuck you people to fucking hell.
Ava's mother began talking to her husband as if Ethan hadn't even spoken. As if they weren't even sitting in the same room, as if they had no say-so in the matter. "That's an idea. She won't be able to live here during the—" she paused as if she was forced to say a dirty word, "pregnancy. We'll have to find a suitable home for unwed mothers, in Dallas or Houston. They should be able to take care of the adoption as well."
Ethan literally couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took a moment to turn in his seat and study Ava. Lifting her chin with two fingers, he gently forced her eyes from the floor to meet his. What he saw there almost gutted him. She was an emotional wreck, her eyes wild, her free hand firmly on her tummy and holding it there as if ready to do physical violence to protect her child from harm. Otherwise, her limbs were frozen and a faint thread of near hysteria produced trembles that he could feel beside him.
Ethan forced himself to smile at her, hoping to reassure her as he released her chin. He kissed her softly on the forehead, trying to show his love and strength before turning to her parents once again with determination. "We want to get married. Maybe I went about this the wrong way. Maybe I should have told y'all first that I love your daughter and want to marry her. I'll take good care of her—"
His impassioned speech was interrupted with a sarcastic snicker as Ava's mother crossed her arms over her chest. "Forget it. You're not marrying her. She's a minor and there's no way we're letting you make a worse mess than you already have. I've been incredibly patient with you, Ethan, but it's time for you to leave now."
"I'm not leaving—and I will marry Ava." Ethan was proud his voice didn't waver as he tried without any success to comprehend how bad this discussion was going off the rails.
"You're not marrying her. I repeat. She's a minor and we won't give our permission. You're lucky we're not calling Sheriff Thompson to come pick you up. Statutory rape is a crime, young man."
Rape? Jesus Christ. "As much as y'all want to believe I'm a felon, seventeen is the age of consent in Texas and Ava's seventeen. So, go ahead and call the sheriff. We'll see what he says on the subject." It was a challenge that Ethan knew would go unaccepted. Calling the sheriff would only open a can of worms for the Andersons. Ethan could clearly see they were more worried about what the town would think about them than they were about their own daughter's welfare and happiness. Although the sheriff was trustworthy and had never been known to spread gossip, calling the law was a chance that Ethan knew Ava's parents wouldn't take.
Mrs. Anderson continued to stare at him coldly for a few chilly seconds but then backed down just as he'd known she would. "Even though it's probably what you deserve, calling the sheriff would undoubtedly cause your parents heartache and we wouldn't want to do that." Sure, she wouldn't. Ethan almost sneered those words out loud but he heard the sound of the back door opening and then the steady tread of what he knew was Ty's feet across the kitchen floor. Ava's mother paused before continuing, "All I want right now is for you to leave us alone with our daughter so we can decide what's best for her without you and your ridiculous ideas clouding her mind."
"What's going on?" Ty asked as he came to stand at the entrance of the room.
Ethan blew out a breath as all eyes turned to Ty. A sharp stab of foreboding hit him as he watched his buddy. He desperately needed a friend right now, but he had no fucking clue how Ty would take this news.
Ava's mom glanced at her son and then began berating him as if he were somehow to blame for the events of the day. "It seems your friend has stabbed you in the back by getting your sister pregnant."
Ty stood still as he listened to his mother. As he absorbed her words, he first glanced at Ava, no doubt seeing her tears, and then at Ethan. As Ty stared at him and Ava continued to grip his hand as if her only strength came from him, Ethan wanted to cry like a baby. But he didn't. He'd be strong in front of Ava—he swore to God he would—even if he had to keep repeating it to himself over and over and over again.
As he and Ty continued to weigh each other in silence, Mrs. Anderson piped up again, filling the room with her special brand of malice. "Yes, Ty, it's true. Ethan probably never cared about you at all. Evidently, all he wanted was a chance to seduce your little sister. I've asked him very kindly to leave our home but he's refused. It's really sad that all he cares about is himself at a time like this. I'm trying my best to let him leave of his own accord, but if he doesn't, we'll be forced to call the police."
Ty whipped his head around to stare at his mother almost as if he'd never seen her before. He studied her for a long, silent moment, his eyes narrowing. Then he looked to his sister again. "Are you all right?" he asked gently.
Ava shuddered as she slowly shook her head back and forth. She returned Ty's look imploringly, as if she needed something from her brother in that moment.
Ty was on his knees in front of Ava in a split second. He moved to take her into his arms and Ethan released her hand to let him. Brother and sister wrapped their arms around each other and as he rocked his sister back and forth, she began to cry even harder. Ty pressed her head against his shoulder. His gaze locked on Ethan.
Ethan let out a relieved breath at the look of compassion in his buddy's eyes. That was exactly what Ethan needed—to know that Ty would have their backs on this. As Ty continued to hold Ava, trying to calm her down, Ethan spoke low and urgently, so Ava's parents wouldn't hear. "I need you right now, man."
"What do you need?" Ty all but mouthed back.
"Your parents want me out of here but I can't leave Ava alone with them right now, not with the way they're acting," Ethan said under his breath.
"Not a problem. I'll stay with her. It's a shock, I know, but they'll come around."
Ethan shook his head. "I don't think so. This has been a shit day for Ava and she needs to rest now. Just make sure they don't hassle her anymore."
"Hassle her about what?"
As Ava's mom stood to her feet as if she'd had enough of their conspiring ways, Ethan quickly whispered, "About abortion or adoption—and about not seeing me anymore."
Ty reared back as if he'd taken a sucker punch to the gut. After releasing his sister, he rose to his feet and faced his parents, as if he didn't recognize them. "Is that true? Y'all are trying to make them get rid of the baby? Get rid of your grandchild?"
Ava's dad continued to take a backseat as he'd done all along by remaining silent, although he flinched at Ty's question. Her mother, on the other hand, had no problem remonstrating her son. "She's a child, Ty. She's not ready for motherhood and she's not old enough to make decisions like this by herself. Of course we want her life to go on as before, except, of course, she won't be seeing Ethan anymore. That should go without saying."
As if he were in a court of law, weighing both sides before making a ruling, Ty took only a couple of seconds before he glanced back to Ethan. "What do you want to do about this?"
Ethan stared steadily at Ty. "I figure you already know what I want, so why don't you ask your sister what she wants?"
Ty studied him for two seconds before nodding his head. He looked toward his sister. "You want to marry him, too?"
"Yes," Ava answered strongly. "And we want to keep the baby."
"And live happily ever after?" Ty asked, tongue-in-cheek.
Ava shrugged a shoulder. "Hopefully, someday, yeah."
One side of Ty's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "Yeah, okay, I get the picture." He turned back to Ethan. "I got your back. I can handle my parents."
At the sincerity and simplicity of Ty's answer, Ethan felt a great, if only momentary, weight lift from his shoulders. He couldn't continue to stay here or Mrs. Anderson would get angry enough to call the law. Even as upset and pissed as he was, he clearly understood that he needed to move things along on the most even keel he could possibly manage. He hated to leave—hated it. But he knew he had to. Thankfully, he could trust Ty to look after Ava. He could trust him to keep her parents away from her.
Without prolonging the ordeal, he stood to his feet and shook Ty's hand. Without a single glance toward her parents, Ethan gently pulled Ava to her feet. "Walk me to the door?" he asked quietly.
She gave a slight lift of her chin in acknowledgement and they were allowed to walk unhindered from the room. At the back door, and away from prying eyes, Ethan took her in his arms and held her a moment. "The worst part's over," he said, although he wasn't sure he believed it.
She lifted her head and stared at him sadly. "I think it's only the beginning."
