A Different Life: Football Wife by Melody DuPree (short novels to read .txt) 📖

“You fell off of the bed when Junior made that turn didn’t you,” he asked me and I nodded.

Senior came over to me and helped me up and hollered for Junior to get the RV moving again. The motor roared to life and we pulled away from where we were parked and then I realized we were in a stadium parking lot. I shook my head and stifled a yawn but Senior caught it and ushered me back to bed. I pulled the covers up over my head and curled up into a ball. Just as I was about to go to sleep I realized I was missing something. I got up and went to the box labeled bedding and opened it and found what I was looking for on the top of the pile. I picked up the Ravens throw blanket and walked back over to the bed to see Senior in the doorway looking at me in confusion.

“I don’t know how I was able to sleep without this blanket because I am significantly attached to it and if anything happened to it I would be devastated,” I explained holding up the blanket for him to see.

He nodded with a smile and came over to me. He wrapped me in his arms and sat down on the bed. He pulled me down on to his lap and held me in a tight embrace as I realized I was engaged to him and that there was a possibility that I would have his son’s child. I thought it through and figured that if Junior didn’t want the child then I would give him or her up for adoption. I silently promised that it would be an open adoption and that I would spend as much time with my child as possible.

“What if Junior doesn’t want the child, Mel? What are you going to do then,” Senior asked me.

“I am going to give him up for adoption and still be a part of his life. I will visit him. I will go to his birthday parties and I will make sure he plays football and knows who his dad’s family is. I will always be there for him,” I whispered and sighed silently.

“I think that that is a wonderful idea, sweetheart,” Senior said and I smiled.

“You really think it’s a good idea,” I asked looking up at him.

He smiled and nodded and I pressed a kiss to his lips as he leaned his head down towards mine. I pulled back and he laughed. Just then we hit another sharp turn and we were both thrown to the floor. I cracked my head against the floor and muttered something unintelligible that wasn’t very nice and I got up off of the floor. I stormed down the stairs and into the cab and smacked Junior upside his head.

“What was that for,” he asked not looking at me.

“For throwing me off of the bed for the second time tonight. It is pissing me off and if you don’t stop hitting these turns at the last second you are not going to like me,” I ranted.

He muttered something that sounded strangely like, “I don’t like you now,” and he jerked on the steering wheel just in time to reach the exit.

“What was that? Because it sounded like you just said you don’t like me right now,” I said sitting myself down in the passenger seat.

He pulled the RV over and looked at me with tears in his eyes. When he spoke his voice and words radiated the pain and anger he was feeling.

“You were supposed to marry me but no my dad gives you a nice antique ring and you say yes to his proposal. But when I asked you six weeks ago you weren’t ready to get married. You said you wanted to go to college and get a degree in journalism before you got married. But the moment my dad asks you to marry him you say yes like a little girl when she’s asked if she wants chocolate on Valentine’s Day and it hurts because it makes me feel like you started going out with me to get close to my dad,” he said and I shook my head.

“I started going out with you because you were the only one who was kind to me when I started going to public school. All my life I have been picked on and abused. For once I had finally found a friend but then I found out you weren’t who you said you were. You lied about who your dad was and what sport you played. It seemed like all of the walls I had around my heart that were slowly crumbling were being built right back up to protect myself. I went on high alert because your dad could have said I was harassing his family and filed a restraining order against me. I still wanted to be friends with you but I was hesitant and the answer I said to your marriage proposal was given because your dad had already asked me and I told him I had to think about it,” I said and he shook with suppressed sobs.

“I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. The way you spoke about my dad before you even met him was with love and adoration. All you wanted to do was meet my dad. I guess I never really wanted to believe that you loved someone you barely knew more than you loved me,” he said and got up and moved in to the open space of the RV.

I got up and walked up behind him quietly turning him to face me. He looked at my face and shook his head and walked away from me. I turned around and went back to the front and locked down the RV’s doors. No one could get in or out while this lock was on. I stayed by the trigger and sat down in the driver’s seat so Junior couldn’t get to it and I waited for him to come back over to the cab so we could get moving again. Just then I heard a snore come from the direction of the couch and I looked over to find Junior fast asleep on the couch. I sighed and buckled up quietly putting the RV in drive. I gently pressed down on the gas pedal and turned the steering wheel ever so slightly to get back into moving traffic. A few minutes into the drive Senior came downstairs and entered the cab to find me driving the RV.

“Do you even have a license to drive anything but a bike,” he asked and I shook my head.

“No I don’t and that is the reason we are moving so slowly. Now just tell me which exit to take to get to your house,” I said and he pointed to the next one that was marked exit 129b Baltimore.

I pulled over to the exit and got off before I pulled into a gas station parking lot to switch places with Senior. Once we had switched places I went upstairs to go to sleep and I promptly fell into my bed and went to sleep. As the day progressed I drifted in and out of my dream world where I was comfortable and at peace with myself. At half past noon there was a knock on my bedroom door and the gentle sound of my name being called. I opened my eyes and groaned before closing them again and going back to sleep. I slept until I could sleep no more. Then at six o'clock the next morning there came the sound of my name being called and I sat bolt upright because that was not Senior's voice calling out to me and the person was inside the room with me. I looked around and caught a shadow of a person moving in the corner of the room just opposite from my bed. I jumped out of my bed and scrambled to the door way but before I got there I was knocked to the ground.

"I bet you thought I would willingly call you mom didn't you," Junior sneered looking down at me with nothing but venom in his expression.

I grabbed his wrist as he bent over to yank me up and sent him sprawling to the ground behind me. i quickly got to the other side of the room and called for Senior  through the intercom that was in my room. Junior came up behind me and pulled me to him while holding a knife to my throat.

"One word, one sound and you die do you understand me," he hissed venomously into my ear and I nodded.

Just then Senior came running into the room and slapping Junior’s hand away from my neck he knocked the knife out of Junior’s hand. I grabbed onto Senior and held onto him tighter than anything just like my life depended on it. Senior grabbed Junior and dragged him down the stairs before taking off his belt and beating Junior with it. I ran down the stairs and tackled Senior with all of my might ultimately pushing him farther away from Junior than I had planned. Senior rounded on me and pushed me to the ground with enough force that it took my breath away. I climbed to my feet and took off for the stairs and bolted my bedroom door shut behind me. I heard footsteps on the stairs and then a light tapping sound on the door. As I came closer to the bed I heard crying downstairs and a light continuous tapping on my bedroom door.

“Mel let me in. I promise I won’t hurt you baby girl. Please let me in,” Senior’s voice called through the door.

I walked slowly towards the door and turned the lock before I took three steps back and ran towards my bed. I climbed underneath the covers and went back to sleep just as Senior came back inside the bedroom. He climbed into the bed and pulled me into his loving embrace and held me even tighter as I struggled to break free from his grasp. I kicked and squirmed and burst into tears as he continued to hold me to him.

Publication Date: 03-08-2014

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