One Thousand Miles

Chapter  |  Breaking The News

Part  |  Two

The long drive to John's parents' house was quiet and comfortable. When we finally did arrive to his parents' home I had suddenly become very excited. I couldn't wait to tell Michael and Alexandria the good news. Since I couldn't tell me own parents that they would soon become grandparents the next best thing was telling John's parents. 

"Are you ready?" whispered in my ear as he helped me out the car. I sighed before giving his hand a light squeeze and smiling up at him. He smiled down at me before moving his eyes downward to my outfit. "You look beautiful tonight, might I say."

I blush and look down at our joint hands before looking back him. "Yes I'm ready and thanks, you look handsome in your suit." I lightly pat his chest and he chuckles before pulling me towards the large oak doors. As we get closer to the door I can hear voice coming from inside and I'm sure John can too. He grins down at me before reaching for the doorbell and pressing the button. The bell rings throughout the house and all voices lower. The sound of heels clicking across the marble floor caused me to straighten up and I placed my free hand on my slightly round belly.

When the doors swung open revealing a grinning Alexandria a huge grin broke out on my face too. "Oh it's so nice to see you two!"

John and I looked at each other before laughing. "Mom you act like we haven't seen you in years. We saw you only a few months ago."

I try to keep my tears from falling down my face, but it's harder than I thought. I tried to think about something else other than my family who I haven't seen in more than four years. I blink away my tears and look up at Alexandria with a sad smile.

"Oh, Stephanie is everything okay?" she asks as she cups my face in her hands. I don't trust my voice just yet so I slowly nod my head and force a bigger smile on my face. She smiles back before placing a light kiss on my forehead. "Sweetie you looked like you were about to cry."

I sigh and just shake my head. "Everything is fine I promise."

She nods her head before motioning towards the inside of the house. John lightly squeezes my hand and pulls me into the house. I hear a light gasp come from Alexandria mouth when I pass her and I instantly know she has noticed my pregnant belly. John and I stop and look around at the familiar sculptures and new pictures hanging up on the wall before turning towards a teary eyed Alexandria.

"So I see you've got new---" John started, but was cut off by his mother.

"So this is what this party is about? You're....pregnant?" she asks me even though she and I both knew the answer.

I open my mouth and look down at my stomach and rub it in small circles before looking back up at her and smile. I nod my head and a few happy tears stream down her cheek. "Yes, Alexandria I'm pregnant."

Before I could say anything else she brought me in for a tight hug. I laugh and wrap my arms around her as she hugs me tighter. Once we finally pull away I can't help but smile along with her. "Oh sweetie, words can't explain how happy I am. I am so happy that I'm going to be a grandmother soon, but what I'm happier about is the fact that you're going to be the mother of my grandchild."

I smile and look back at John who's looking at me with admiration in his eyes. I look back and grin widely. "Thanks Alexandria. You have no idea how much that means to me."

She nods her head and places her hand on my shoulder. "Well we should probably head into dining room. I'm everyone is wondering what is taking us so long."

John and I both chuckle before following her down the hallway with our hands joint together.

Things seemed to be going great. John's side of the family now knew about the baby and was all excited for him or her to come. We laughed and some even cried, but other that it was a great party.

After dessert I excused myself to go to the restroom and shockingly John let me go by myself. I didn't question it because I knew if I did he would end up taking me to the bathroom like I was three year old still being potty trained.

When I made it upstairs to the bathroom I stopped in my tracks when I noticed a man down on a wooden bench next to the bathroom door. I slowly walked over towards the man and once I got closer I instantly knew who it was.

"Chuck?" I question and his closed eyes immediately shoot open. He looks at me and I open my mouth to say something else, but he holds his hand up.

"Shocked to see me here? I don't why, I am part of the family too you know," he says as he reaches over the side of the bench and picks up a beer bottle that I hadn't noticed before.

"I...um...hi?" I say, but it comes out as if I was asking him a question.

He chuckles and pats the spot next to him, which I before slowly taking a seat next to him. He takes a swig from the bottle before placing it back down on the floor. "So...I see my cousin has knocked you up."

I narrow my eyes and my fists clench. "Could you please not say that? I---"

He laughs and I instantly stop talking. I glare at him as he laughs crazily, but he quickly sobers up. "Did you really think I meant knocked up as in pregnant? I can see in your eyes that my cousin has done some terrible things to you over the years, right? I mean this is what I expected since this wasn't the first time he's beat the living shit out of a girl."

My head immediately snaps over in his direction and my eyes widen. What was this man talking about? I wouldn't be surprised if he was drunk off his ass and was just giving me nothing but a load of bull. But then again he was right about the whole keeping me on a tight leash thing, so why couldn't he be right about this?

He chuckles and leans back against the wall. "Clearly you have questions and since I'm sitting here doing nothing I'll be nice enough to give you answers," he says. He clears his throat before sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees. His face becomes serious and his eyebrows furrow in concentration. "It was the summer after senior year. We both applied for different colleges, so we wanted to spend our summer together. We decided we wanted to go on a road trip across the country, so we did just that. Things were going great you know. Getting drunk at the bar, lap dances at strip clubs, it was heaven. Things were great until we ran into one of the most beautiful girl we have ever seen at some yacht party in South Carolina. She had long wavy black hair that went down to her wait, green eyes that you just couldn't look away from, and a pearly white smile to go with her 'always down for anything' personality. Her name was Lauren."

"She joined us on our little adventure across the country and as more time passed by I started to fall more and more for her. It wasn't until a week before college started that I realized I was in love with this girl, so I knew I had to tell her how I felt before it was too late," he stopped and took in a deep breath before continuing. "Unfortunately it was already too late. John told me he was living to go to the store to buy some chips for the road tomorrow and I believed him. I sat there for about five minutes before gaining the courage that I needed to go talk to Lauren, but when I made it to her hotel room I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It disgusted me to hear his name come out her mouth when it should've been mine. I should have been the one in there making her feel pleasure and...love."

"I quickly ran back to the hotel room John and I shared and just sat there staring at the walls blankly. I was so out of it that I hadn't heard John when he came in holding a bad of cool ranch Doritos, Lauren's favorite. I asked him where he has been before the store and he knew that I knew where he had been. He didn't bother lying to me, which seemed to make me a little less pissed at him, but I was still pissed. He knew at that moment that I had some type of feelings for her and asked me if I was okay with them being more than just friends. Not wanting to seem pathetic I just brushed it off and told him that my feelings for her weren't that big, but I still made him promise to take care of her. He just gave me a cocky smile before telling me all about how good she was in bed and I just sat there and listened as if I could care less and he believed it."

"Once summer was over and it was time for us to go to college I was pretty upset that I would leave the love of my life and cousin. Yeah I was still pissed that he got the girl and I didn't, but he was still like a slightly younger brother to me. We all exchanged numbers and promised we would keep in touch, but who knew John wouldn't need Lauren's number? During the whole trip Lauren never told us what college she was going to, so I was pretty shocked when John called me and told he had spotted Lauren on campus. I was a little frustrated at myself for not listening to John when he told me months before to apply for the same colleges as him. Now Lauren and him would be able to spend more time with each other and just the thought of what they were doing in their alone time just added fuel to my fire."

I watched closely as his body tensed before reaching out and placing my hand on his shoulder. He seemed to relax a little before continuing. "He told me about all the dates they went on, their new apartment they had just moved into, and the cat he had got her for her eighteenth birthday. Things seemed pretty nice between the two, but since I wasn't physically there to see what was really going on I couldn't help Lauren. I couldn't help her escape the pain John's physical, verbal; emotional.....sexual abuse was causing her because I never knew about it. I remember when she called me for the first time since the summer which was months ago. She apologized for not keeping in touch with me. She told me there was a reason, but was too scared to tell me. I kept asking her what the reason was, but she would just say nothing with this shaky terrified voice. It was then that I realized that something was wrong so I asked her if everything was okay, but before she could answer I could hear loud banging noises and shouting coming through the phone. She told me John was home and that she had to go before hanging up without so much as a goodbye."

"I immediately got myself a plane ticket and flew out to New York that weekend and went straight to John's apartment. I was so glad he had given me the address months before just in case I came to visit and needed a place to stay. Anyways, I knocked on the door once, but there was no answer. I knocked on the door a few more times until finally Lauren opened the door. Or should I say a black and blue version of Lauren opened the door. She was so pale and so skinny. She looked she hadn't eaten in days. Before I could even open my mouth to say anything she had pulled me into her arms and sobbed into my neck for what felt like hours. I just stood there and gave her the comfort she needed. Once she was done crying I had took her small pale hand in my own and pulled her down the stairs to the beat up rental car so I could take her out to eat. She didn't hesitate to tell me what was going on after she had finished eating her food. She told me about how John would beat her for telling him no, talking back, talking to other men, and sometimes just for no reason. I almost flipped the table when she told me about all the times he forced himself on her whenever she told him no, but what really got me pissed was when she told me he made her drop out of college and lose my number."

"I completely lost my cool and started throwing our plates, cups, and bowls across the room until finally the manager came by and kicked us out. She just stood there staring at me with wide eyes as I paced back in front of the rental car. When I finally looked up at her and took a step forward she took a step back. I remember her asking, no begging me not to hurt her. I remember how my heart sank in my chest and the sadness I felt when she said those words. I knew I probably shouldn't have, but I slowly moved towards her and she moved away from me until her back hit the brick wall of the restaurant. I remember placing my hands on her hips before slowly leaning in and kissing her with so much passion, love, and care which she probably hadn't felt in months. I was upset when I pulled away, but what shocked me was when she grabbed my face and brought my lips back to her."

"We ended up having a little make out session right there up against the wall of Stake and Shake, but I honestly didn't care. I didn't want to take her home, but I knew I had to if I wanted to get her back in time before John noticed she was gone. I was so pissed at myself when I pulled up and found John just getting out his car. He smiled over me through the window before his eyes moved over to Lauren in the passenger seat. It broke my heart to see her hide her face behind her hair and try to make herself seem small. I knew it was my fault that John was going to cause her so much pain once I left and I loathed myself more than anything anybody in this world for being the cause of one of her very many beatings. I stayed the night in their apartment on the couch, but no noise came from their bedroom which was a good thing. The next day when it was time for me to leave Lauren gave me a quick peck on the cheek and hugged me for longer than I expected. She whispered in my ear that she would try to find a way out and would try to keep in touch with me. I knew she would because that was another thing I learned about Lauren that summer. She was a fighter and a person who always tried."

"Months seemed to drag by until finally our first year of college was over and we were free to do whatever we wanted. Lauren didn't call me, but I was sure John was the reason. But when she finally did call me I was probably the happiest guy on Earth. She actually sounded happy even though she told me she was still with John. She said they were visited her family for about two weeks and invited me to come down. John's face was priceless when I stepped into Lauren's parents' family room. That smile on her face when she stepped into the room was the best thing I had ever seen in my life. Even though she was wearing a black turtle neck in the summer and a pair of blue jeans to hide her hideous bruises, I still thought that what she was wearing was the sexiest thing. Of course her parents continued to question her about the turtle neck and jeans, but she always told them that she was cold. I was upset that she wasn't telling her parents the truth, but I could tell she was too scared to tell them. They eventually were going to find out even if it took years."

"Luckily for both Lauren and I, they found out sooner rather than later and it was all John's fault. We were all sitting at the dinner table getting ready to dig into our food when John told her she wasn't allowed to eat the chicken since it was fattening. She immediately told him no and just as she picked up her chicken leg he smacked it out her hand. She turned and looked at him with disbelief and before anybody could say anything he raised his hand up and backhanded her making her fall to the floor. After that all hell broke loose. I hopped out of my chair just as Lauren's parents did and quickly towards John to stop him from repeatedly kicking her in her stomach. It felt nice to sock him one good time in the jaw before I turned my attention to Lauren who was clutching her stomach and crying her eyes out. I tried getting her to calm down, but she wouldn't stop crying and asking me to take her to the hospital. I kept asking her what was wrong, but she was struggling to talk. I laid my forehead against hers and got her to slow her breathing and tears so she could tell me what was wrong and what she told was what I least expected her to say..."

I look up at Chuck with wide eyes. "What did she say?"

He looked at me for a moment before slowly moving down to my round stomach. He turned and faced the wall again and coughed. "She told me she was pregnant with John's baby. At first I couldn't believe, but once we finally got John out the house after her father threatened him with his shotgun we went to the hospital. Lauren's parents didn't think it would be a good idea if I was there, but she wanted me there at her side with my hand in hers. She wanted me there as a good luck charm. I laughed at how cute that was, but stopped once I noticed the sad look in her eye. She knew that she was going to lose the baby, but she said maybe if I was there I could make things better. Sadly things didn't get better because she lost the baby and after we were told the news she told me she no longer wanted to see John or me."

I watched as he reached down for his bottle of beer and took another long swig from it before placing it back down. I just sat there looking at him as all of this information processed in my head. Lauren. I didn't hear anything about her from John, but when he told me he was scared to meet my parent's all those years ago I didn't think anything of it. I thought he was just being shy and nervous, but that wasn't the case. His past was repeating itself. The meeting the parents, when I told no at Tyler's party, him forcing me to quit my job and taking the phone away from me, the pregnancy. But how was it going to end this time? Would this end? I'm so much more closed off than what Lauren was which is what makes us slightly different.

"Chuck I'm---"

"Charles who is this?" A voice calls from down the hall. Chuck and I both turned our head so we're facing the woman down at the end of the small hallway. She has black hair that was braided over to the side, slightly pale skin, and green eyes that were the same color as the dress she was wearing. She looked like she was probably a little older than me, but was at least two inches shorter than I was.

Suddenly Chuck stood up and grinned over at the girl before walking towards her. "Hey, I thought you were sleep. Something wrong?" he asked her softly. He cupped her cheek with his hand and placed his other one on her hip.

She laughed slightly. "Nothing is wrong Charles, but...who is this?"

They both looked over at me and I slowly stood up and walked over to where they both stood. I lifted my hand up for her to shake and gave her a small smile. "Hello, I'm Chuck's friend Stephanie Schmidt."

She gasps and her eyes widen. She looks over at Chuck and he just nods his head. "Babe its okay, calm down."

"How can I calm down when he's probably doing the same exact thing he did to me to her?" she said looking at me with big fear filled eyes. I look back at her for a moment trying to understand what she meant and then it finally hit me. Long black hair, green eyes, and I had a feeling that 'he' was John.

She was Lauren.

As soon as recognized who she was I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off when a very familiar voice called out my name. "Stephanie?"

I looked past Lauren and Chuck and my eyes immediately landed on John. We both stare at each other for a few seconds before his eyes slowly go to Chuck and Lauren standing in between us. Chuck turns towards John and immediately tucks Lauren into his side while Lauren looks down at the floor.

"Well look who it is. Lauren you look stunning as always," he says as he looks at her from head to toe. "Lauren sweetie what have I told you about looking down at the floor?"

She scoffed. "Go to hell."

John looked down at