The Dark Side Surfaces

This chapter talks about the first major obstacle faced by J.C. and me.

It was around 9:00 or 10:00 that night when he suddenly stopped texting happily and started texting sadly. I asked him what was wrong, and he was very reluctant to tell me; he seemed to think that I would just up and leave him once he disclosed the issue.

 

I continued to coax him gently, assuring him that I wasn't going anywhere and that he didn't have to be afraid to tell me whatever it was, because it couldn't be that bad. "After all," I typed, "it's not like it's an STD or a baby or anything like that...right?"

 

I ended up deciding not to send that text; even though I had thought that it might lighten the mood a little bit, it just really didn't seem appropriate the more I thought about it. Instead, I opted to just wait and see if he would decide to tell me whatever he was so upset about. And a few moments later...he did.

 

"My ex is claiming she's prego."

 

It was like somebody had tossed a bucket of ice water on me while I was having the most wonderful dream in the midst of the most peaceful sleep. I must have read that message at least a thousand times within three seconds of receiving it, just trying to get my mind to wrap around the fact that this situation was actually real; that it wasn't just some nightmare that I was eventually going to wake up from and laugh about with J.C. I would have killed for that to be the case; to be honest, if it had been, I don't think I would have ever laughed harder. But it wasn't a nightmare, and it wasn't funny. It was reality...and nothing had ever frightened me more in my entire life.

 

Like so many other conversations, I am unable to remember the exact details of what was said between J.C. and me that night. I do recall that I cried as I texted him; cried because I knew where this revelation would most likely lead us. I knew what J.C. needed to do...and as much as I knew it would hurt me, it was what I wanted him to do. There was a baby coming--a sweet, beautiful, innocent little soul who not only needed his parents to be together and provide a warm, loving home...but who also deserved to have that.

 

I told J.C. that I wanted him to go be with her; that he needed to do it for his child. However, he fought against doing so. He acknowledged that it was the right thing to do, but insisted that he still wanted to be with me and not her. He begged me not to leave him...and I promised him with all of my heart that I wouldn't dream of doing so, telling him that I would be there for him, the baby, and even his ex in any way that I could be.

 

Upon first learning of the alleged pregnancy, J.C. was not completely convinced that it had actually occurred; he seemed to think it was a definite possibility that it was simply a scheme his ex had concocted in an attempt to win him back. As my tears continued to fall and we continued to talk, I prayed to God that his assumptions were correct.

 

A week before we had officially gotten together, we had driven our friend, Daniel, from Pollok to Marshall, where he was enrolled in the technical college. During the trip there, I heard the song 'Love Don't Run,' by Steve Holy, for the first time. We didn't know about the baby yet, obviously...but for some reason, that song gave me a strange feeling. For some reason, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to end up being an incredibly significant song for me. And upon finding out about the baby, I officially declared that to be my song for J.C. Its beautiful, tear-jerking lyrics said absolutely everything that I was feeling perfectly.