Authors: Alice Montalvo-Tribue
Shelter You
Copyright © 2014 by Alice Montalvo-Tribue
Published by Alice Montalvo-Tribue
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form without written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
Cover Image licensed from Big Stock Photo
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Cover design by Distorted Edge Designs
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Editing by Whitney Williams
Formatting by Integrity Formatting
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Other titles by Alice Montalvo-Tribue
Translation of Love (Of Love #1)
Desperation of Love (Of Love #2)
Excerpt from Three of Diamonds by W. Ferraro
Excerpt from Translation of Love by Alice Montalvo-Tribue
Excerpt from Desperation of Love by Alice Montalvo-Tribue
To Arbin for telling random people at bars and movie theaters that your wife is an author.
For Eva Rose because the love I feel for you is the love that inspired this book.
“I can only give you thirty minutes to get out of here before I have to report it to my supervisors that you’re gone. The clothes I brought for you are in the closet over there,” she says, pointing to a long closet built into the wall.
It reminds me of a high school locker, long and narrow. At the age of 17, I’ve become very familiar with those lockers, having used them all throughout my years in school and they were great years, happy years, right up until the end. It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago I was graduating high school, Miss Popular, top of my class, my pick of universities. To everyone on the outside looking in, it appeared that I had my whole future ahead of me. The perfect life, great grades, an amazing family, the world was my oyster. Little did they know that my future had already been decided, mapped out and planned for me. None of which I had any say in, none of which I was comfortable with.
I turn my attention back to the tall gangly woman in front of me. She’s unnaturally thin, but I can almost see the attractiveness there, that she might have been beautiful once upon a time. Her blond hair is coarse, straw like and brittle, and her glasses are too big for her face, but I don’t care about any of that. To me, right now she’s an angel. A real live angel sent down to help me get out of an impossible situation.
“Besides clothes I was able to get you all of the basic supplies you’ll need. It’s not much, but it’ll get you by until you can afford to buy more,” she says, as I nod.
“When I leave this room, pick up the phone and call the operator. Ask for a volunteer to bring a wheelchair up to your room because you are being discharged. Once she comes up, tell her that your car is already waiting and that you need her to wheel you to the east entrance. Show her your hospital bracelet. It matches Lily’s so you’ll be fine; she won’t know any better. She’ll ask if you have a car seat, so just tell her that it’s already in the car.”
My heart starts to beat faster as I listen to her directions. Am I really doing this? Am I strong enough, brave enough to defy my parents, go against their wishes?
“The taxi driver will be waiting for you. His name is Seth, he’s a friend of my husband’s. He’ll take you to the bank first. Take out every single penny that is in your savings account and then have him take you to the bus station. Take the first bus out of here, Mia. Leave your cell phone behind and get a pre paid one the first chance you get. You’ll be eighteen in one month, and at that time you can call and request a copy of Lily’s birth certificate. This way, even if they can track you, they can’t legally force you to come back.
It takes me a minute, but I finally find my voice. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this.”
“No one should be forced to give up their child; it’s wrong. Just promise me you’ll be a good mom and that you’ll call me if you need anything at all.”
I look up at her with tears in my eyes. If not for this kind woman I’d be handing Lily over to her adoptive parents in a matter of hours. It may seem cruel of me to have promised to give my baby away to a couple who desperately wants one and then to just pick up and run away but none of this was my choice. Four months before my high school graduation I found out that I was pregnant. As you can probably imagine for a seventeen year old to hear that she’s going to become a mother is shocking and scary. So I did what I thought would be the right thing, I went to my parents and asked for their help. Their solution? Hide my pregnancy until after graduation and then keep me a virtual prisoner in my own home until I gave birth. When I expressed to them my desire to keep my child they gave me an ultimatum: Give the baby up for adoption, or keep the baby but leave their house with absolutely no financial help from them. What else could I have done? I had no choice but to agree to their demands and I thought I could do it. I thought I could go through with it until I held her, my Lily, and I knew that giving her away would literally kill me—would make it difficult to go on with the knowledge that she was out there in the world somewhere, living a life apart from mine. And because of this I made her a promise and I’ll die before I break that promise. I’ll die before I ever let her go.
