Uncovering His SECRET (21 page)

“Just happy, Tegan
Hall. Very happy,”

“Whatever. Don’t
tell me. I’ll find out, though, you know I will.”

“You’re about to.
In 3, 2, 1…”

I look out the car
window and my mouth drops in shock as tears form in my eyes. We’re
at the school, but it looks like the whole town’s here, instead of
just the people I was expecting to see. There are big signs all over
with my face and positive messages.

“Teg
A
n Kelly
is______, and so am I!” is what the signs say. There are words like
“smart,” “beautiful,” “nice,” “awesome,” and so many
more handwritten in.

In the front of the
crowd, my friends and the girls from the group are all wearing
shirts, too. They say “Teg
A
n Kelly is_____, and have sayings
written on them in Sharpie. Stella’s says “my bestie for life.”
Wayne’s says “My kryptonite.” Ethan’s says “my mama.” My
eyes are getting too blurry to see any more, and I drop my head into
my hands.

“Hey there, how are
you going to see my shirt if you’re not looking at me,” Caleb
asks as he turns off the car.

I look up as he takes
off the jacket he’s wearing. His shirt has Kelly crossed out and
Hall written in. The entire message says “Tegan Hall is the love of
my life.” I burst back into tears. “You promised to never make me
cry on purpose again, you jerk.”

“These are happy
tears. I’m allowed happy tears.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now
let’s get out of this truck before they all come over and drag you
away from me.”

He gets out and then
comes around to open my door. We hold hands as the crowd cheers. I
get more hugs than I ever thought I’d have in my life, before Cal
takes my hand again. We lead the crowd into the football stadium
which has a full on carnival going on. There’s also a stage with a
DJ and a dance area on one end. Don’t even get me started on the
food. My mouth is watering and Caleb has to throw me over his
shoulder to keep me on track as I try to break away.

“Later, honey,” he
tells me with a laugh as I smack his ass.

“You better buy me
one of everything.”

“It’s all free for
everyone. Courtesy of my family, and yours. Your
real
family, I mean,” he informs me as he sets me on the stage.

“We have the best
families.”

“Yes we do.”

He sits next to me in
one of the chairs on the stage as the high school guidance counselor
steps up to the microphone. I squeeze his hand, knowing the
waterworks are probably going to be back out in full force. He
squeezes back, and hands me a box of Kleenex from next to his chair.

“Thank you all for
coming out today to help us celebrate Tegan Kelly. For many years,
she was vilified in this town, and when the incidents of a few weeks
ago occurred, I knew she could help the girls—and boys—of this
town look at how they treat each other and allow themselves to be
treated. I approached her about meeting with some students, and she
didn’t hesitate to say yes. Her small group has grown, with more
students asking to join every day. She’ll be going home soon, but
she’s passing the torch to some other amazing women in town so they
can continue the work she’s started.

“The students came to
me a few days ago, and asked if we could do something for Tegan. They
wanted to remind her, and everyone else in this town, just how
special and awesome she is. There were horrible words used to
describe her in the past, and we all agreed that we wanted to replace
them with all the good there is in her. Her husband and friends
jumped in to help, and now we have this big celebration.” She turns
to look at me, where I’m ugly crying with Caleb’s arm around me.
“Tegan, we’d love for you to say something if you could.”

I can. In fact, in that
moment, I realize that I’m going to reveal my biggest secrets. It’s
time. I stand and hug her, before stepping up to the microphone.

“You all have no idea
what the gift you’ve given to me today means to me. Besides filling
me with love and gratitude, your gestures have given me strength. The
strength I need to finally tell everyone what really happened to me
right before I left this town all those years ago. Only a couple of
people here today know all of the story. My husband, son, and best
friend haven’t even heard what I’m going to tell you. For too
long, I was scared to admit that I was weak, but Caleb has taught me
that sometimes the person you love will be strong enough for both of
you.”

I take a deep breath,
and try to keep my voice steady. “When I was sixteen, I found out I
was pregnant. Although I’m not here to condone teen pregnancy, I
can tell you that I wasn’t scared, or worried. I knew my boyfriend
loved me, and would love our child, too. Until I made a mistake at a
party in Houston. It’s not the mistake you all have thought it was
for over ten years, but it was a big, naïve mistake on my part none
the same.

“I had heard the
warnings about not letting someone give you a drink at a party if you
didn’t watch them open in, or pour it. If a stranger had offered to
grab me a drink that night, I would’ve declined. But it was one of
my boyfriend’s best friends who offered, and it was just a soda. I
thought I was safe with him, but I wasn’t.”

“Motherfucking
bastard,” I hear Cal say behind me, but I make myself face forward
so I can continue without breaking down.

“I started to feel
weird, and very hot. I asked for Caleb, but Greg told me that he
didn’t know when he’d be back. He said I should just take off my
clothes if I was hot. In my drugged state, I thought that was an
excellent idea; although, part of me was telling me something was
very wrong. It just wasn’t a big enough part to make me stop. When
Greg pulled me into his room, and closed the door, I took off my
shirt and jeans. I had on loose jeans, which allowed me to keep my
boots on while I took them off. That was a good thing, because I’d
need those boots later.

“When Greg started to
lay me down on the bed, I felt myself getting sick. I was still in
the phase of my pregnancy where I had morning, noon, and night
sickness. I’ve always believed my son was protecting me that night,
because I had to throw up. Greg put a trash can under me as I rolled
to the side of the bed and threw up everything in my stomach. Doing
that didn’t remove the drug from my bloodstream, but it did clear
my head enough to make me realize I was almost naked in a bed with
someone who wasn’t my boyfriend. I kneed Greg in the balls, and ran
from the room.

“I honestly cannot
even remember passing by the other partygoers as I got out of that
house as fast as I could. I was lucky that the house in Houston was
near campus, because there was a twenty-four hour women’s clinic
just down the street. I had seen it when we’d driven past earlier,
and I ran there like my life—and my baby’s—depended on it. When
I ran in yelling about my baby, they thought I was in labor or
miscarrying. The doctor on duty calmed me down enough for me to tell
her that I thought I’d been drugged and was worried about my baby
being affected by the drug.”

“I’m going to that
fucking jail and ending his life. I swear it.”

“After checking me
out, and keeping me overnight while she had a local hospital rush my
blood tests, she confirmed that I’d been drugged, but told me my
baby would be fine. She asked me if I knew what I was planning to do
about my pregnancy, and I told her I was keeping my baby. I said that
the father would be as adamant as I was, and we’d find a way to
make it work.”

“Oh my God.”

I have to turn this
time, because I know he’s beating himself up. “Stop it, Cowboy.
You didn’t know. And it’s about to get worse, so I need you to be
okay,” I say with my hand over the microphone. He nods, so I look
back at the crowd and continue my story.

“Things didn’t work
out the way I thought they were going to, as most of you know. Greg
said I slept with him, and Caleb believed him. He and his friends
called me horrible names, and said horrible things to me until the
only thing keeping me from killing myself was the baby that was
growing in my belly. My son was saving me, over and over again,
before he was even born. That’s just the kind of awesome he is.

“I tried to hide my
pregnancy from my parents while I was figuring out how to get out of
town. When my mother discovered my secret, she told me I had to have
an abortion. She made an appointment, and I wasn’t allowed to leave
the house until she took me to Houston that day. Luck was on my side,
since the appointment was at the same clinic I had run to the night
of the party. The doctor had seen my name on the list and knew there
was something wrong since I had been so sure that I wanted the baby.
She called her friend, Cyndi Evans, and asked her to come to Houston.

“When we got to the
appointment, the doctor insisted on seeing me alone. She took me into
her office, where I met Cyndi for the first time. I told them my
story, and they promised to protect me. My parents received a very
large amount of money, and I received the love and support of a woman
who became like a new mother to me.”

“You ungrateful
little bitch,” I hear my mother say as she storms up to the stage.
“Who fed and clothed you all those years you were sleeping with the
rich kid?”

“I did,” Caleb’s
mom says, coming up behind her. “I made sure Tegan was fed and had
clothes that fit her, while you only cared about how much you could
take from her. I know you stole some of those clothes for yourself.”

“I needed something
new, too.”

“Then you should’ve
gone out and got a job instead of stealing from your daughter.”

“You can’t fault me
for wanting the life you were giving her. She never appreciated those
things. She was just using all of you.”

“Say one more lie
about Tegan, and I will lay you out right here in front of God and
this entire town. I should, anyway, just for the fact that you tried
to end the life of my grandson.”

“She shouldn’t have
spread her legs.”

She’s on the ground
in seconds, clutching her jaw. “I’ll sue you.”

“For what?” I say
into the microphone. “Did anyone here see anything?”

Not one person speaks
up as my mother gets to her feet. She glares at me one more time
before leaving. I hang my head for a minute, and feel Caleb’s hand
slip into mine as he stands next to me.

“I’m not going to
bore you with a bunch more details, especially because those food
tents all have my name on them, but I want to say that with Cyndi’s
help and love, I was able to go to school and start a job I love. I
have amazing friends who are here today, women and men who are so
amazing that I have to pinch myself sometimes to prove I didn’t
just dream them up. They helped me and Ethan through all the years I
was away from here, and they’ve supported me since I decided to let
this guy back into my life. If you take one thing from what I’ve
told you today, I hope it’s that you all have value, and that
things aren’t always what they seem. So try not to judge other
people until you know their story. Thank you.”

I step back and they
start clapping. Everyone in the stadium gets to their feet and starts
clapping for me. They’re yelling my name, as I turn to Caleb and
cry into his chest. He leads me off the stage and kisses me until my
tears stop.

“I want my food now,
please.”

“I hope they brought
enough for you,” he says as he walks backwards.

“You trying to sleep
on the couch tonight?”

“Definitely not.”

“Then shut up and
take me to the food, dammit.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Caleb

After Tegan has tried
some of all the different kinds of food, we go on the Ferris wheel so
we can kiss at the top, and then try out a couple more rides. We’re
walking around looking at all the games and charity booths. All the
money that’s collected is going to a Down Syndrome charity in honor
of little Ben Griffin, Luke and Olivia’s son. He was born with the
disease—which they were aware that he may be—and is being
welcomed into this large ‘family’ of people in the same way I’m
sure my son was. I think he’s an adorable baby, and if anyone says
different, I’ll be more than happy to set them straight.

There’s a dunk tank
featuring Zack and Miles. The line is a mile long, which makes me
smile. I’d like to take a shot at Miles, just because I know Tegan
slept with him. “It was only once,” she tells me with a laugh
when she sees me glaring his way.

“That’s still one
too many.”

“How was the
monastery you were in while we were apart?”

“You’re funny. Not.
But point taken.”

“Is there anything in
particular you want to do?”

I’m about to answer
no, when I see that the kissing booth is about to switch out guys.
Well, actually I hear the screams before I see it, but I’m
immediately heading that way. “Yep. I see something I want to do.”
This will teach him to mess with me again.

“Oh my God. Are you
serious?” she says when she sees where I’m heading.

“I am.”

“I’m so taking a
picture of this.”

I walk to the front of
the line and see Wayne’s eyes widen. I turn to the crowd. “Ya’ll
don’t mind if I jump the line, do you. I’m going to pay $1,000 to
kiss the pop star.”

“Fuck,” Wayne says.

“No. Just a kiss.
Pucker up.”

I hand over my money
and lean in. He shrugs, and meets me halfway. Our lips only touch for
a few seconds, but I hear the clicks of cell phone cameras going off
around me. I smile as I pull back, and so does he.

“Well played, man.
Very well played,” he says as we both wipe off our lips with wet
napkins.

I nod, and then turn to
address the crowd. “His lips are really soft, ladies. Enjoy.”