After Conner left, I went to find Sarah and Ryan. I found them sitting at the dining room table. "Hey, mom and dad. Conner is picking me up in the morning for school. Then after my class, I will drive his car here. Then William and I will meet him at the school after it lets out. So we can have a date here at 6:30, I am cooking chicken alfredo, and then we are watching a movie." I say.
"Well, it looks like I am going to have to talk to him. Give him the if you hurt my baby girl, I will hurt you talk." Ryan says, smiling. I laugh and feel heat raise up my face.
"Conner asked for my permission for a hug; I gave it to him. Once I was in his arms, it felt right. I felt safe in his arms. That has only ever happened the first time I hugged you, dad. It felt weird, but so right." Sarah and Ryan are both smiling at me. I smile back.
"Sweetheart, we are so proud of you. You have grown and come out of your shell over the last few months. Emma and Conner have been good for you. I love watching you become a more confident mother and person. It is awesome to watch." Sarah says.
"Thank you, mom. I am going to check on William then head to bed. I love you, mom and dad. Goodnight." I say as I run around the table and hug them.
"We love you too, sweetheart; goodnight," mom, and dad say at the same time.
I go into Williams' room and check to see if he is ok. Once I know that he is asleep and doing good. I get in the shower, wash up. After I finished, I put on my pajamas and shorts then climbed in my bed, drifting off as soon as my head touched my pillow.
***
At about five o'clock, William woke me up to get his diaper changed and fed. Once I finished feeding him, I sat down in the rocking chair and rocked William until he fell asleep. I placed him into his crib and went back to bed. An hour later, my alarm went off. I got up, used the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and started to look for something to wear. I settled on black leggings and a long white t-shirt. Then I went to my bathroom, deciding to leave my hair down and putting my winged eyeliner and lip gloss on. I checked the time, noting I still had a few minutes before Conner would be here.
I checked on William again before I grabbed the baby monitor and went down to the kitchen. Once there, I grabbed a coffee mug and poured me a cup. "Good morning, Mom. William ate about 5 o'clock. He should be good until I get home.
"Good morning, Ray. So, are you nervous," Sarah asked me?
"Yeah, a little, but I will be fine. I trust Conner and know that I will be safe with him." I say. I hear a knock on the front door and answer it.
"So, baby girl, you ready to go?" Conner says when I open the door.
"Yeah, let's go," I say as I grab my backpack and head out the door. We headed toward Conners' car.
"Rayna, baby, are you ok with this? I don't want to push you from what you are comfortable with doing. I want to spend time with you, but I am worried about how you are feeling."
"I am fine. I feel safe with you. Last night when we hugged, I felt safe in your arms. I have not felt that way when being hugged by any guy except for Ryan. I know you would not hurt William or me. Conner, you have my full trust." I ramble.
He smiles at me and pulls me in for a hug, "Good because I think I am falling for you." He says to me. I smile, a blush forming on my cheeks. "Let's get to school beautiful," Conner says, opening the car door for me, making sure I buckled in before closing my door, going to the driver's side, and climbing in. He then pulled from the driveway.
Once we were at school, Conner came to the passenger door and opened it for me. He holds out his hand to help me out of the car. He interlocks our fingers as we head to the school. We get stares, and some people whisper, but I don't care. People are going to hate and gossip; we cannot do anything about that. As we walk into the school, I see Emma waiting on me by her locker. Seeing that I am with Conner, she smiles. "Hey Rayna, hey Conner, how are you two this morning?" she asked.
"I am doing amazingly good this morning; I have this beautiful girl by my side. I couldn't be better." Conner says.
"I am also doing good. I have been especially happy this morning," I say, smiling. We then head to the gym. Once we get there, Conner pulls me in for a hug and kisses my forehead.
"I will talk to you after we get changed. See you here in a few minutes," Conner says as he walks toward the boy's locker room.
Emma and I go into the girl's locker room, change, and head back to the gym. Conner was standing by the bleachers and smiled once he saw us. Just as Conner and I were walking toward each other, Allison walked up to him. "Hey, honey, what were you doing with the slut this morning?" She says.
"Allison, why are you always calling Rayna names? What has she done to you? Oh, that is right, nothing. Except maybe put you in your place a time or two." Conner says.
"She has taken you away from me; you were mine before she got here," Allison says.
"Please, Allison, all there was between you and me was me getting my cock sucked and fucking. I have told you more than once you are not my type. I don't want you. What I did over the summer was messed up, and I regret it all, even fucking you. Now leave Rayna and me alone." Conner says.
"What does that slut have that I don't, for crying out loud, she has a bastard?" Allison whined.
"First of all, don't ever call William that ever again, and secondly, you are the pot calling the kettle black. What gives you the right to call anyone a slut? The last time I checked, you go up to random guys and offer them blow jobs, and you also sleep around, so wouldn't that classify you as a slut?" Conner says with his jaw clenched. Allison was in tears as she ran to the locker room.
I walk up to Conner, "Thank you for defending William and me," I say, hugging him.
"I meant everything I said to you last night, baby girl. There is no need to thank me, as I said, William is my son in my heart. I will always defend him and his mother," Conner replies as he hugs me a little tighter.
"Conner, you are amazing, you know that?" I asked him.
"No, I didn't, but thank you, baby girl, that makes me feel special," Conner says to me with a grin.
"Emma, does Allison ever call your child names?" Conner asked her.
"The bitch used to until I punched her in the mouth last year," Emma says, smiling.
Conners POV
When Rayna told me about how her family treated her, it sent me into a rage, which I did well to keep hidden. I wanted to go hunt them down and beat the crap out of them. She then told me that her brother's best friend raped her, leaving her pregnant, with her parents and brother in bedrooms close to hers. That made me want to kill the whole lot of them.
My poor Rayna has been through a lot of stuff in her short seventeen years. Wait, did I just call Rayna mine. When did I start thinking of her as mine? Well, I think I may be falling in love with her, and we didn't even really start dating until yesterday. How is it even possible? Our first date is tonight. She is cooking us dinner. Then we are watching movies. After we made the plan for our date and talked a while, I got up to leave, and Rayna said she would walk me to the door. Once we were at the door, I asked her for a hug, and she said sure. When we embraced, I felt like I was home. To be completely honest, I don't ever feel that way at my home. So, I went to my house to find my parents.
I didn't have to look for my parents. They were sitting in the living room waiting on me, "Conner, son, take a seat. We want to discuss something with you." my dad says. So, I sit down on the sofa. "So, Conner, it is clear to us that you have feelings for Rayna. What do you feel for her child?" my mom asked.
I look at my mom and smile, "Mom, I love that little guy like he is mine. I want to help Rayna raise him. If I go a day without seeing him, I miss him. Rayna and I are starting to date, and I feel like I am falling in love with her. The feelings I feel for Rayna is so different from what I felt for Addie. I don't think I was ever in love with Addie. Mom, I think I am madly in love with Rayna." I say.
My dad smiles, "Conner, we have seen a substantial change in you over the last few months. I take it that the change has something to do with Rayna. Are you sure that you want this relationship and the responsibility of a child? If you are, then call him your son." he said.
"Just remember, Conner, you are a father now. Rayna has been through a lot. I like the girl. If you hurt her, I will not be happy with you." mom says
I smile at my mom and dad, "You know Rayna was worried that you both would be upset that I was dating a girl with a child. She was the one that wanted to have dinner tonight with you guys so that you could learn some about her before I brought her home to meet you. With the way Rayna has grown up, meeting new people kind of freaks her out. She's accustomed to thinking that she is worthless and has nothing to offer people. All I see when I look at her is a very bright and loving person who has so much to offer the world,"
I look at my dad; he has a look of concern, "What has she been through, I mean, I know a guy raped her, but there is a lot more from what I am gathering. Can you give your mom and me a little more information?" Dad asked.
"Yes, I can, but it can't go further than us. I don't want anyone telling other people Rayna's story; it is her story to tell," I tell my parents. They nodded their heads at me and said they understood.
"Rayna's parents aren't the nicest of people. Her father would beat her. Her mom would verbally abuse her. As she and her brother got older, Beau would start mimicking their mother. If Rayna had a friend, they would do everything they could to mess the friendship up. One night, Beau's friend had stayed the night with him; he had come into Rayna's room and raped her. He took her virginity. A month or so later, she found out that she was pregnant. When she told her mom that she was raped and got pregnant, her mom kicked her out. So, she left and drove away, then happened to stop at the Cadbury's.
A few weeks after she came here, she started bleeding. She soon found out she was pregnant with twins and lost one. That woman is the strongest person I have ever met. I am in awe of her." I say, adding, "she has been having flashbacks of her father and her brother touching her inappropriately. She has started seeing a specialist that deals with this type of stuff."
"I just want to cry for the poor girl. No wonder she is so guarded. Conner, I agree with you. She is a strong woman. I am glad that she is determined to move past the things that were done to her and make a better life for her child and herself." mom said.
Then dad shocks me. "Who in the hell are her parents? I want names. The asshats need their asses kicked. Tell me their names?" My usually calm and mild-mannered dad bellowed.
"Their names are Joan and Cain Beckerman. They are in Idaho." I say.
"Conner, if you want to be in a relationship with Rayna, you, my son, better never hurt her. She deserves the world." my dad said.
"I agree, dad," I say, smiling.
My parents and I talked for a few hours. Mom and dad are excited to get to know Rayna and William; they are passionate about having a grandchild. They cannot wait to have them both over here. Mom and dad are going to go out and buy things for the house for Willy. I smile at myself and tell them I am heading to bed, and I am picking Rayna up for school in the morning. I then head up the stairs to my bedroom. I shower, put on a pair of boxers, and climb in bed, thinking about Rayna's date. I am excited and cannot wait.
The next morning, I was a little nervous but excited. I was taking extra care of picking out my outfit for the day. Then I picked out my clothes for the date. Once I got dressed, I went down to the kitchen. Mom was sitting at the bar looking up baby stuff to get for William on her laptop. She looks up at me, "Good morning, honey. So, are you excited about the date tonight?" she asked.
I smile and say, "Very, I can't wait to see her this morning, although it has been mere hours since I saw her." I answered, then added, "I gotta get going. I am picking Rayna up," I say as I walk out the door.
Once I picked Rayna up, I asked, "So how did Will sleep last night?"
She smiled. "William slept until five. I fed him, changed his diaper, and went back to sleep," she said, then added, "How did your night go?" I told her about the talk I had with my parents, even told her that I told them that I thought of William as my son and that I love him and wanted the best for him. I look over at her, and she is wearing a beaming smile.
"Rayna, I think that I would like it if you were my girlfriend. Is that something that you are interested in?" I asked.
She looks at me, shocked, "Conner, are you sure? I mean, I would love to be your girlfriend, but only if you are sure,"
"I have never been sure of anything. Well, that is not true. It ranks right beside the fact that I want to be William's daddy," I say,
"Yes, Conner, I will be your girlfriend, but we are still taking things one step at a time," She says as we pull into the school parking spot. We climb out of my car and lace our fingers together. As we reach the gym, I tell her I will see her a few minutes after changing.
After changing, I stand in the gym, waiting to see Rayna. Once I see her, I start to head over to Rayna when I was cut off by Allison, "Hey, honey, what were you doing with the slut this morning?" She said I glared at her.
"Allison, why are you always calling Rayna names? What has she done to you? Oh, that is right, nothing. Except maybe put you in your place a time or two."
"She has taken you away from me; you were mine before she got here," Allison replies.
"Please, Allison, all there was between you and me was me getting my cock sucked and fucking. I have told you more than once you are not my type. I don't want you. What I did over the summer was messed up, and I regret it all, even having sex with you. Now leave Rayna and me alone," I tell her.
"What does that slut have that I don't, for crying out loud, she has a bastard?" Allison whined.
"First of all, don't call William that ever again, and secondly, you are the pot calling the kettle black. What gives you the right to call anyone a slut? The last time I checked, you are the one who goes up to random guys and offers them blow jobs, and you also sleep around, so wouldn't that classify you as a slut?" I asked her. She turned and ran away from me. Why was she even saying we were a thing? I mean, I got a blow job and got my rocks off. It didn't mean anything.
I am getting sick of how Allison keeps bullying Rayna. Allison has no shame. I know first-hand that the girl sleeps around. I know that most of my friends have had sex with her. I hate the fact that I have. It was on the same day that Addie and I had split up. Up to that point, I had only had sex with Addie, so five of the six girls I have been with were one-night stands. The whole summer filled with a lot of regret on my part. I wanted to have a summer of fun, but now that I have met Rayna, I wish I had put my energy into finishing my senior year early.
Hearing Allison call William a bastard sparked a protectiveness inside me that I never knew I had, which proved to me that I am thinking of William as my child. That little guy is the best child I have ever met. I am lucky to have him in my life. Being around Rayna as much as I have, I have learned a lot about her. She is a great mother. William's needs are her top priority, no matter what she is doing. She does most of William's care by herself; she works at Cadburys Bed and Breakfast. She has not missed a single day of school. Plus, she is available for her friends. I was one lucky man to be able to call her my girlfriend.
Soon, the class was over, and I met Rayna in the hall and handed her my car keys. "See you at three o'clock, drive safe, baby girl," I say, hugging her. I walk with her to the doors of the school and hug her again. She reaches up and kisses my cheek.
"William and I will be here waiting at the curve for you. Enjoy the rest of your day. Don't let Allison get under your skin too much." Rayna says to me, then turns to leave.
"The rest of this day is going to suck." I thought to myself as I walked to my next class.
Once in class, Mikey came up and sat down by me, "So, you've spent a lot of your free time with that chick Rayna, huh? What are you two, a couple? Are you tapping that fine little ass of hers?" He asked me.
I look at him, "Don't ever ask me whether or not I am having sex with Rayna again. It's none of your business. Yes, we are a couple, and yes, I have spent a lot of time with her and William. We are going on a date tonight. No, I am not having sex with her." I say with a massive smile on my face. Mikey nodded,
"Sounds like you are really into her. She must be pretty great." He says.
"She is great. We became a couple today. I have spent the last few months getting to know her and have spent hours with Will. I have fallen head over heels in love with her and William. I feel like William is my son." I say as the teacher walks in.
"Conner, you coming to my party tomorrow?" Mikey asked me.
"Nope, got a child now. I must grow up and be a father. Williams is my top priority right now other than school. But have fun, man. Talk to you later." I say, as I turned to the teacher and pay attention to what he was teaching us.