Darren Makes a Stand

I look at Sarah. Her face is buried inside her trackie top. There is a little bit of blood on her thumb where she has picked away at the skin.

‘She’s only bloody thirteen,’ says her dad to my mum, ‘that’s no age to be getting up the stick.’ He turns towards me, ‘I ought to wring your bloody neck’.

I suck my teeth at him. The fat old cunt, give me a couple of years and I’d batter him.

He starts pointing his finger at us. ‘You’ll never amount to anything, lad. I knew your old man, remember. Even if you’re only half the villain he was, you’re bad news and I won’t have you mess up our Sarah’s life.’

My mum leans forward in her chair and makes a daft little coughing noise, like we don’t know she’s there or something. ‘You know, there are of course procedures that can be arranged, depending how far gone Sarah is.’

I look at Sarah to see what she thinks to that. Nothing, she just disappears further into that trackie top.

I reach over and touch her arm. ‘Babe, what do you think? Do you wanna get rid of it or what?’

She hunches her shoulders closer together and edges away. ‘I don’t know Darren.’

Well I do. It’s time for me to make a stand, show this lot that I’m ready to be a man, take responsibility for my actions and all that.

‘I don’t think she should,’ I say, ‘I know that we’re young and that but it’s not like this is some daft little kid’s thing, we’ve been together for nearly a year.’ I look straight into her dad’s eyes. ‘I’ll do right by her, you know. I love Sarah, like, properly love her.’

‘Ah you’re only fifteen lad, you don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘I do, I fucking love her alright, watch...’

I get out of my chair and kneel down in front of Sarah. ‘I know we’ll have to wait a couple years till you’re sixteen, but Sarah I love you and I’m chuffed you’re pregnant; Will you marry me?’

The whole room goes silent. It feels like even the wallpaper is holding its breath.

She finally takes her head out of that trackie top and looks at me; her eyes are proper red from crying. ‘Darren,’ she says ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s yours.’