Will it always be Like This?

Katie told her parents the news and they were anything but supportive. She goes to the one place where she knows she is welcome. What will happen when Ray gets a glimpse of what his life could be?

Ray had just gotten home from a church outing. He really didn't want to go because he knew Katie was telling her parents the news tonight. Now quite frankly, he didn't want to be at her house either because he knew that her parent's hated him. He could never quite figure out why exactly they hated him. It wasn't like he was every rude to them. But Katie loved him and that was all that mattered.

 

He checked his phone and wondered why he hadn't received any messages from Katie. Maybe she hadn't told them yet. Ray knew her parents were kind of overbearing and over protective. That meant that she had to break the news delicately. He changed out of his church clothes and threw on some shorts. Then he heard is mom calling him from downstairs. The tone in her voice made it sound urgent. So he threw his shirt on the bed and headed for the stairs. Once he opened his bedroom door he could hear the sounds of heavy sobbing. And there collapsed in his mom's arms was Katie. Her bags were on the floor and her arms were around Ray's mom.

 

"Katie! What happened?" Ray rushed to Katie's side. He had never seen Katie in this state and it worried him.

 

"Ray, I'm going to take Katie up to my bedroom. Can you take her stuff to the guest room, please?" Ray didn’t even answer his mother before she was already bringing Katie upstairs to her room. Ray did as he was told and brought Katie's stuff to the guest room. Once he had finished that he stood by his mom's door and listened closely to the sobbing that was going on inside. He eventually gave up on trying to make out the words Katie was saying. He would get his chance to talk to her alone.

 

Ray went downstairs and sat next to his dad on the couch. They sat in silence for about a minute before Ray finally spoke what was on his mind. "Dad, I'm so confused." Ray heard his dad chuckle a little bit. "I'm serious. This isn't just about trivial relationship stuff anymore. This is serious and I don't know what to do about it. Katie is hurting and I don't know how to fix it."

 

Ray's dad breathed out a sigh and put his hand on Ray's shoulder. "Ray I wish that I had the answer. I really do. But every relationship will have its ups and downs. And you won't always be able to fix every problem Katie may have. There are some problems your mother has that I have no idea what to do." Ray looked up a his dad. Ray was always under the misconception that his dad was able to solve everything. He never realized that there were problems that his dad couldn't fix.

 

"What do you do when that happens?" asked Ray. His dad stood up and sat on the table in front of Ray so he was looking him in the eye.

 

"Ray, you just listen. When she talks, you listen to what she is saying. Don't try and fix everything. That may frustrate her even more then the situation. All she needs to know is that you are there for her and that you will be there to support her. That will mean more to her than you trying to fix her problem." Ray's mom came downstairs and joined the two of them in the living room.

 

"Well, Katie is asleep in the guest room." She sat down in the chair next to Ray. Ray got up and started to head for the guest room. "Ray, let her sleep. She has had a tough night and she needs to rest." Ray looked at his mom and then at his dad. Ray reluctantly sat down on the couch and contemplated on what had just occurred.

 

"Mom?" Ray said without looking at her.

 

"Yes, Ray?" His mom was turned to him and looked straight at him.

 

"Will it always be like this? If Katie and I get married will we always have to deal with this?" Ray's mom looked to her husband and then down to the floor.

 

"Ray, I'm not going to lie to you and say that everything is going to be easy. Your father and I had a very difficult time the first few years. You will have to get used to each other living under the same roof. You will have to cooperate with each other and deal with each other's problems. And having a baby added to the mix could make those problems harder to deal with. It isn't impossible, but it isn't easy."

 

Ray stood up from the couch and walked to the stairs. "I'm going to head to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning." He started up the stairs when his mom stopped him.

 

"Alright Ray. Sleep well. We love you," said his mom. She smiled at him and smiled back.

 

Ray went up to his room and sat on his bed. There were so many thoughts going through his mind right now and he had no idea how to sort it all out. He had just seen Katie in a state that he hoped he would never see her in. He didn't love her any less, but he was starting to wonder if he could handle not always being able to fix a problem she had. Every since they started dating he had been her "knight in shining armor", coming to her rescue whenever she had issues with her parents. And the reality that they were going to be parents at eighteen years old had started to sink in. Could he really handle all of the pressure of having a family? He had always had everything provided for him. He never really wanted for anything. He wasn't spoiled, but his parents had definitely gone above and beyond while raising him. Could he do the same for his family?

Author's Note

Thank you ALL who have reviewed the first three chapters. I appreciate your feedback a great deal. I hope this book is coming along well and I hope that you guys like this chapter. Please feel free to give me any feedback on this chapter and also any ideas you have for future chapters. And if you want to share this story with others please feel free to do so! :) All advice and reviews I can get are greatly appreciated.

Reviews

[reeyce smythe wilder]

A definite improvement from the last couple chapters. I love that Ray is starting to actually think about his new responsibility as a soon-to-be husband and father as well as his hesitation and that hint of fear. The conflict is good, especially since Katie arrived in a mess. There were a couple of redundant words here and there but that could be polished up later on when you do the second or third write I assume. All in all, it was a good read and a strong foundation to build your characters.

[Angel]

The reality of his responsibility is settling onto Ray's shoulders...
I think you are doing really well with this story. This story could help young people understand a bit more about the step they are taking when they decide to make sex a part of their relationship. Too many of our young people are far too casual about it, and with the abortion rate up over a million yearly, not to mention the diseases that are out there, it is time to bring them back to earth.
Keep up the great work!!