ZACK’S POV
Back home, I brought Caroline’s stuffs and as soon as mom saw me, she came to me and took the bag and carried it to my room leaving me stupefied.
“Whoa, why are you taking it to my room?” I hurried behind her and questioned her move and she gave me a casual look.
“You both will live in your room, right? Where else should I keep it?” she asked me and I cringed remembering she not knowing anything about the breakup scene.
“I’ll handle it. You don’t worry and take some rest" I snatched the beg back and asked her to go downstairs so that I could have a private talk with Caroline.
When I got inside my room, I saw that Caroline was already laid in my bed relaxed and was taking a good nap curled to my pillows. Though I wanted to wake her up, seeing her rest so calmly didn’t let me do it and I quietly put down her stuffs and was ready to leave when she woke up herself and smile a wide smile.
“Hi. You’re back. What took so long?” she asked me in her half-asleep tone and I didn’t waste the chance to talk to her.
“Caroline, we need to have a talk about something” I started off with a low note and sat with her on the bed. She leaned up much straighter on the bed and listened to me carefully.
“Zack, why do you seem so tensed? Did the doctor say something? Haven’t you forgiven me whole heartedly?” she held my and worriedly asked me. I could see the anxiety and tension in her eyes and it was all enough to boost her blood pressure so I calmed her down!!
“Relax. There’s nothing like that” I smiled a dull smile and she relaxed down, but still worried over what was going on in my mind.
“I want you to know that I have accepted our baby into my life. But….” I paused when I saw her smile hearing me and all the worry had vanished off his face.
“But you can’t take me in. I know and I understand. Whatever I did was not an easy thing to forget" she easily understood what I meant and I sat wondered seeing the sudden character growth in her. There was no sign of an immaturity in him and what appalled me the most was her understanding of my silence so easily.
“Zack?” when I was drowned in her admiration, she snapped me out of it and held my hands.
“Can I ask you something?” she murmured to me in a low tone and I nodded to her.
“If I change myself for the good and repent for the actions of my past, will you accept me back with my baby?” her tiny little eyes were now moist and was struggling to take breath.
This was the first time I ever had an answer for a question someone had asked me, especially Caroline.
“Caroline, I need some time from everything. And whatever happened between us was not so good for me to forget easily but all I can promise is that, till the time, I’ll take good care od you and our baby" I sighed and replied to her. I must say, I did have my old feeling still fresh for her and I pulled her closer to me and gave her a kiss on her forehead and she rested her head on my chest.
“I’m ready to give you a second chance. But you’ll have to give me the time I asked for" I whispered to her and she accepted my demand without any objection. I could believe that one storm in my life had subdued and without burning my head on it, I enjoyed the moment with her but it was time for me to break the bad news to her.
“And, to start with, you will have to shift to the other room on this floor" I told her the bad news and she made her old puppy face that was too cute for me to handle my smile.
“Why? Please don’t kick me out" she pleaded me not to do that but I had to, for her own good.
“You don’t any idea on how my mind works now and even the slightest thing can trigger me now. You won’t be able to handle that so this room change is for you only" I caressed her pink cheeks and she had yet not accepted it.
“Please. If I see you, then only I’ll be able to know the new you" she cupped my face on her hands and as I had told her, my mood changed too quickly and it was a bad time for her to expect pampering from me.
“Caroline….” I named her in a harsh voice hinting my fueling anguish and she backed off her trying to convince me and stood up from the bed, ready to move out.
I also stood up and grabbed her bad and led her way to the room I had chosen for her. I helped her rest back on the bed and she was not happy with the change. I made her comfortable there and came downstairs to see mom struggling with a heap of bills.
“Mom, all good?” I went to her quickly and she tried her best to hide her anxiety from me.
“I need to get another job if I have to make meets end son. With Caroline and her hospital expenses on our head, we need some more income and I guess with another job, we’ll be able to get back stable" she laid a smile on her face to stop making me worried and I felt like I had gained a new superpower being able to see and understand things in its graveness level and this one was the worst in our life. But I was not going to heap it on her shoulders alone!!!
“Mom, cool down. There’s no way I’m letting you do that" I stopped her from even thinking about getting another job and mom gazed at me with wide eyes.
“When did you grow up Zack?” she admiringly smiled at me proudly and I was confused on what she meant!!
“What do you mean?” I asked her in wonder and she made me sit with her.
“Remember how you used to hover your responsibilities on me with the support of you dad to fulfil your craze for athletics? I have never imagined a day when you would take responsibilities of our family and our home on you. I feel really proud of you now Zack " she showered her motherly love on me and I felt to melt into her arms to get that care.
“But my actions are not that good. Mom, how can you even take the news that I made my girlfriend pregnant so lightly?” I was confused of her not at all reacting to that news and questioned her to which she giggled.
“You teenagers listens to whom when you grow up?? And with that you end up spoiling lives because of your mistakes” she told me with strange face that I wasn’t able to understand.
"Mom, I just spoiled that girl’s life?” I was utterly blank on how she was reacting and she again giggled at me. Seriously, women were driving me crazy for sure!!!
“Zack, when you did a mistake, you stood up to own it and also took its responsibility like a man. You didn’t turn into a coward and run away from it. If you had done such a cowardly act, I would have disowned you in the hospital itself. But the way you acted maturely like a man of honor, I couldn’t be prouder that the way you stayed by our upbringing" she brushed my hair like I was a monkey and I understood what she meant. Wow, I really felt to brag about myself hearing her hyped admiration for her son’s upbringing!!
“I’m Grover’s son, mom. How can I ever taint his values?” I told her bragging and she frowned.
“Hey, I was the one who carried you for 9 months and not your dad. Don’t I have a value here?” she yelled at me heavily envious of my me praising dad like always and I burst into laughter seeing her cute face. This was my compassionate and lovely mother whom my dad was madly in love with. How couldn’t any man fall head over heels in love with a women like her???
She hugged me and filed up all the billed back into the drawer and I has to start thinking about what I promised her. I had to find a job which would help me in both helping mom with the bills and also help me distract my mind from secluding itself into a dark corner of my bad boy mode. Yes, I couldn’t afford anymore mistake and had to be very careful with my own self-control!!!!!
We had some good time and I called up Mike to ask him about any available part time job in the town and the first suggestion he gave me was to take up a store keeper job in the town grocery store and I was ready for any job until it paid good.
With him, I went to meet the store owner to apply for the job. He was Christopher, a very old man in his late 80’s or something and without even looking up my application, he accepted me when he understood who I was and only then I came to know that he was an old acquaintance of my grandfather. Whew, I didn’t expect such a luck in the name of my grandfather whom I didn’t even knew!!!
“Son, whom can I trust the store to you than anyone else?” He handed over the keys to me this day itself and I was still in disbelief.
“Your family background is always a blessing for you I so live up to that" Mike was happy for me and I thanked him for the big help. Without his help, this job was a nonexistent for me you know!!
“Ah don’t worry, I will also accompany you here, shall I sir?” he looked up to Christopher and he let him help me in the same. Was I really blessed to be having such great acquaintances in the town??
I couldn’t be anymore happier than this day but who knew it was just going to get me slip into a terrible phase of depression from which I wanted to rise up from????