Parker's Island (41 page)

“Let her in
,
” Brian said, standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Christin
e stepped aside, allowing me
inside.

Brian stared at my belly, looking so hurt.

“I’ll leave you two to talk
,
” Christine said
, looking fearful for her son
.

“Christine, please.  I need to tell you both the truth.”

Just then Molly came bounding down the stairs.  She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me.
“Delaney?  You’re…
pregnant?” s
he asked, stunned.

“I was going to
come and see you today too
,
Molly.  How are you?”  I asked, not sure what else to say
,
just then.  I was very surprised to see her coming
down
from Brian’s room.  Not unhappy, not jealous, just surprised.  I finally understood why she took it so personally that I
had
hurt Brian.  She love
d
him.
I could see it in her eyes.  She stared at me, then
at
Brian
,
unsure of what to
say or
do.

“Let’s all go sit down
,
” Christine said.
“Can
I get you something to drink?” s
he asked, always the perfect hostess.

“No, I’m fine, thank you.”

We all
walked
into the dining room, and flashbacks from the last time I was there returned full force.  I started to stumble, and Brian caught me before I fell.  “I’m sorry
,
” I said, standing upright and stepping away from him.

We sat down at the
table
.
Molly wrapp
ed
her arm
s
around Brian’s arm as if to show me that he was no longer available to me.  “So, let’s hear it
,
” Brian said.

“I’ve um
, I’ve
practiced this a hundred times, but my prepared speech has escaped me
at the moment
,
” I said, swallowing hard.

“Why don’t you just try the truth
,
for a change?” Molly s
pat
, angrily
.

“Yeah, okay.  So, here goes.  The night of the grad party,
we both got sick
.
Y
ou remember that part
, right Brian
?” I was stalling.

“Yeah
,
”
h
e said sharply.

“Um, well I remember starting to pass out and you reaching out to catch me.”
  I was shaking.

“I was there
,
Delaney.  I remember.  What happened after that?  You weren’t there when Molly shook me awake.  Where did you go?
  And how did you end up
…
with him?
”

“I…
I didn’t go anywhere
.
I was taken
.”

“You were taken?”
h
e asked, sounding
s
keptical.

“Yes.  I’m assuming
I was taken
.
I was out cold…
for most of it
,
anyway
,
”
I said, looking down
and shaking my head
as Chad’s image flashed
through
my mind.

“Who took you?”

“I can’t
tell you
that
.”

“I thought you were here to tell the truth
,
” Brian said.

“I a
m.  I just can’t tell you who…
”

“Who what?”
h
e
aske
d, irritated now.

My voice was quivering and my throat was very dry, but I continued, knowing he deserved the truth
.
“
I
um, I
woke up alone…
in a room
at the Inn
…
on a bed.”  The tears were silently running down my cheeks now.

“You don’t have to go on
,
honey
,
” Christine said, figuring it out.

“Yes
,
I do.  He needs to know
,
” I took a deep breath, wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.  “I
really only
have one other memory of that night
.  S
omeone was standi
ng over me, and he um…
he…
”  I
couldn’t stop the tears, no matter how hard I tried.

“Oh God
,
Delaney, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t know.  I swear I didn’t know
,
” Brian said, wanting to comfort me, but torn with Molly sitting at his side.

“I know.  It’s not your fault.
  And I finally know now that it wasn’t
my fault
,
either.
” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Molly
aske
d, obviously feeling hurt and betrayed.

“I couldn’t.  I just wanted to forget.  Logan begged me to tell him who it was and to go to the police, but I refused.  I
just
couldn’t face it.”

“What does Logan have to do with any of this?” Molly asked. 

“He was the one who
found me running up the road. 
He lives on the island
,
Molly.  He took care of me that night and…
and
I’ve been staying with him since
th
at
day you took me to the airport
,
”
I said, feeling terrible for bringing it up in front of Brian.

“
He just
happened
to find you?”
Molly asked, sounding skeptical.

“He saw us get off the boat.  He followed us along the beach during our walk
,
Brian
.  He said he parked at the hotel so that he could see me again. 
Then later, h
e saw me running down the road
wearing your jac
ket.  My dress was in pieces….
you don’t know how grateful I was to have
your
jacket
,
”
I rambled.

“Why did
n’t you tell me
?
”
Brian
whispered
.

“
I couldn’t face it. 
I thought I could just forget. 
For months I pretended nothing had happened.  Once we were together for a while, I realized that
I loved
you
and I thought that was all I needed
; that the two of us could have the fairy tale ending. 
I
really
didn’t know I was pregnant.  I hid it from everyone,
including
myself.
”

“I wondered how you couldn’t know.  It makes sense now.  I’m so sorry
,
honey!  I wish you’d said something
,
” Christine said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.
             
“I couldn’t.  I
just
kept pretending it didn’t happen,
but the day that
you confronted us, I knew you were right.
  It all made sense.  I’d been lying
to everyone
for so long
.
I didn’t know
how
to
tell you
the truth
then
, not
without it all sounding like a
nother
lie
.
”

“I would have believed you
,
Delaney.  I loved you.” I saw Molly cringe at
Brian’s words
, but I kn
e
w we both needed to set some things straight.

“Brian, what I told you was true.  I
didn’t sleep
with Logan
that night
, I swear
it
. 
This isn’t his baby
.
I need you to believe that.  I need you to believe that I loved you, that I still love you.”

“Delaney, I…”

“I know.  It’s okay.  I’m so happy for you two.  It could never be the same between us now
,
anyway.  I just needed you to know.
  I was never unfaithful to you, I swear it.
”
  I thought about what I said for a minute and then added, “I know you alw
ays thought that Logan was i
n
the back of
my mind, and maybe he was.  But what
you and I
had was real.  Please believe that.
”

I turned to Christine, “I’m so sorry I lied to you and
that
I hurt Brian. 
I never wanted to hurt anyone.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong
,
honey.”
s
he said, tears strea
m
ing down her face as well.

I turned to my best friend and said,
“Molly, do you hate me?” I need
ed
her to forgive me.

“No.  I just wish you had told me
,
”
s
he said, looking hurt and angry.

“Who…
was it?” Brian asked.

“It doesn’t matter.  It’s over.”

“I need to know.  Please Delaney, I need to know.”

“Why
?  A
re you going to go
and
beat him up?” I asked, grinning at him.

“Tell me who it was
,
”
h
e said
, with a rage in his eyes that I’d never seen before
.

“He’s already been punished.”
             
“Not by me!”

“I just want to forget…him
, please
.”

We
all
sat there quiet
ly
for a few minutes, everyone lost in their own thoughts.  “Well, I guess I should go home
now
.”  I stood up, and said, “Thank you for listening to me.  I’m very sorry that I lied to you all.  Please believe that I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“Delaney, what are you going to do?” Brian asked.

“I’m going to have a baby.  That’s all I can focus on right now.”

“And Logan, how does he fit in?”
Brian as
k
ed.

“He took me in and took care of me.  He’s a wonderful man, just like you
,
”
I smiled at him.
             
“Why aren’t you wit
h him?”
Molly asked.

“He’s not mine.” 

“
You said that before,
I don’t unders
tand…
” Molly said.

I took a deep breath and said, “He’s married.”

“What do you mean
,
he’s mar
ried?  How can he be married?”
Molly asked.

“It’s a long story, but I assure you
,
it’s true.” I turned to leave.

I heard Molly
whisper
something to Brian, and he said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes
,
”
s
he said.

Brian walked me to the door and said, “I’ll give you a ride
home
.”

“No, it’s okay.  I need the exercise
,
” I said, patting my swollen belly.

I turned back and smiled at Christine, thanking her with my eyes.  I saw Molly and I knew I had lost her.  I turned back around and
just as I was about to walk out the door,
I heard her say, “Still
Best Buddies Forever
?”  She was
openly
crying
now
, something I hadn’t seen her do since she was five years old.

I ran to her and hugged her hard. “I thought you hated me!  Please understand
why
I couldn’t tell you.”