Russet Moon

I'm not doing this for you

The next morning I woke up with a new mindset. I was determined to try and make things work between me and Jake, for our child's sake. I got ready for work and woke Jake up with the smell of sausage, bacon, eggs and hash browns. He was shocked to find freshly made orange juice and a plate waiting for him at the table. The two of us ate together at the table and actually made conversation between bites. As I left for work I was proud of myself. I could do this.

As I walked into the employee room at work I was stopped by my boss.

"This is your last day here Swan." He said to me.

I felt my heart sink, was I being fired? I couldn't be fired I needed this job to take care of my child.

"Please... I- I, whatever it is I can fix it please, I need this job." I begged.

"I mean at this hotel, we have one too many maids here so we are choosing select employees who have done extraordinary and are relocating them to our second hotel branch." He quickly said to me.

"So I still have my job?" I asked.

He nodded his head. "If you are willing to relocate."

"Relocate..." I brought my hand to my head in relief. I still had a job. "Relocate where? Tampa, Orlando?"

Relocating wasn't an issue I mean the commute would be farther but it was money.

"The Kahala Hotel & Resort." He paused for a moment. "In Honolulu"

I gripped the wall for support. If I wanted to keep my job I had to move to Honolulu. Sure it would be a good place to live but I just got back to my mother and I didn't have the money to just pick up and move.

"I've only told you about this so far because I feel like your quality of work is worthy of this promotion. Shorter hours more pay, great benefits that you won't get here." My boss pressed.

I shook my head. "I'm flattered that you thought about me first but I can't afford to just pick up and move-"

"-All expenses needed for the relocation are paid for in full. They will find you a home, secure it and pay for the first month in full plus travel."

I took a deep breath trying to assess this. "Can I think about it?"

My boss patted my shoulder in a friendly manner. "Take the day to think about it and get back to me when you can." He said as he slipped me his business card.

I stared after him as he disappeared into his office. I headed back outside and caught the next bus home. The moment I walked into the house I sat down to think. Jake showed up a few hours later and joined me at sat down beside me.

He pulled me into his arms and began massaging my shoulders. I was reluctant to this but let him continue. His strong hands worked well kneading at my tight muscles, I could feel the tension melting quickly away.

After a few minutes I shrugged away from him. "Why are you doing this?"

He slowly reached for my hand and took it. "If my mother was here right now she would want me to do my best to make this work. In a few weeks you are going to be my wife and I'd like us to try acting like husband and wife."

This sounded weird coming from the boy I grew up with since I was a baby. He was practically like my baby brother and now we were having a baby together. The idea of us spending the next 18 years raising a child and then growing old together seemed weird. But maybe he had a point, maybe if we actually tried we could make this work.

"I'm not moving back to Forks." I said quickly.

"That doesn't matter I can stay here, its actually alot healthier for me. I was starting to feel really weird the past few months but the moment I landed here in Florida I've been feeling better, stronger." he replied.

"What about Hawaii?"

"As a Honeymoon?" Jake asked a bit thrown off.

I shook my head. "I mean to live. Would you mind living in Hawaii?" I asked as I walked into the bedroom to grab a pillow for my back.

When I sat back down on the couch Jake pulled me in his arms. "Well it's sunny there, beaches, forests, sounds good to me."

"I got a promotion today, shorter hours, better pay; all I have to do is relocate to Honolulu."

"It's all the same to me, whatever you think is best for our childs future I will support you in. It's up to you though to break the news to your parents."

I think I could get used to the new 'supportive' Jake. Maybe we could truly make our live together work. I sat in silence curled up against Jake trying to think of a good time and way to break the news to my mother. I knew she wouldn't be happy about it only because she had just got me back. Then it struck me, I couldn't go unless she did. I was 17 and Jake was 16. We either had to get emancipated or have my mother move with us.

Then it struck me, did my boss know this when he told me about the promotion? He has several other other employees so maybe it slipped his mind.

"You know what is funny." Jake began, drawing me from my urgent thoughts. "I've always liked you."

I sat up quickly. "You didn't seem like it." I replied.

"I'm barely 16 years old and I am less than 6 months away from becoming a father to the child of my dads best friends daughter. May I add that her father also happens to Chief of Police. I was scared out my mind and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you."

Without another word I rose to my feet and went into my bedroom. So Jake liked me. I was unsure how I felt about that but how I felt didn't really matter anymore. Every choice I made from here on out would be made to benefit my unborn child.