Georgia On My Mind-Book Four

Chapter 10 - Frat Party

The next day, I text Starlah to let her know I'll meet her at her place since she lives so close to where the party is held. She agrees, and I call off work for my shift tonight and get myself all dolled up to go out. I pick out a grey low-cut halter top and a black skirt with black ankle boots.

Momma is working again today, and Daddy is hanging out with Uncle Seth in the garage.

I walk out to the garage to let Daddy know where I'm going tonight. Daddy and Uncle Seth are laughing and carry on about God knows what with a beer in their hands. I interrupt their little party, "Daddy, I'm going out with a friend from school tonight. I'll be home late."

He looks at me with a blank stare. "Who is your friend? What kind of party? Is this a frat party?" he asks curiously.

"Her name is Starlah, and yes, it is a frat party," I say bluntly.

"You aren't going to a frat party Georgia." He says sternly.

"Why not? Do you honestly think I can go all through college and not attend a frat party?" I ask him with an irritated tone.

"Girls get drunk and get taken advantage of at frat parties," Daddy says as he takes a swig of beer.

"Well, not this girl. Come on, Daddy. I'm not even old enough to drink." I remind him.

"Doesn't matter. There will be lots of booze there for you to get your underage hands-on." He barks.

"Well, I don't care; I'm going because I need the total college experience," I pout.

Daddy sighs and throws his hands up, and Uncle Seth snickers.

"Come on, D. You know she's a good girl. She's going to be just fine. Remember what she did to that little weasel that tried to get her to go back to his hotel room after prom? You know she won't do anything bad." He says reassuringly.

Daddy grits his teeth. "It's not her that I worry about; it's all those little punk ass boys at the party trying to take advantage of her." He says argumentatively.

Seth rolls his eyes." Okay, whatever, but you and I both know Georgia can hold her own." He says in my defense, putting his hands up.

I smile at Uncle Seth, and he winks at me.

Daddy has his head in his hands. "Georgia, please don't make me regret this. I don't care what time it is; if something happens, you call me." He pleads.

"Agreed," I reply to him.

He reaches out his arms to me. I begrudgingly walk over to hug him and Uncle Seth; even though I'm fuming over what they did to John Luke, I won't make it obvious. I leave and head to Starlah's house. 

When I get to her apartment, she opens the door to greet me. "Hey, Starlah,"

"Hey, Georgia. Come on in." She says.

I walk in, and she leads me back to her bedroom. She sits down at her vanity to finish putting on her makeup; so, I sit down on her bed. "Do you want me to drive?" I ask her.

"Sure, it doesn't matter. I like this guy that's going to be there tonight. So, I may just go home with him if it works out the way I plan," She admits.

"Oh, what's his name?" I ask curiously.

"It's Michael Harrington. Do you know him?"

"Nope, I don't think so."

"He has a brother; maybe you can hook up with his brother. They are both fine as fuck." She suggests.

I shrug and shake my head. "Well, I guess we will have to see what happens."

She flashes a grin and continues putting on her makeup. I look down and close my eyes. I'm lying through my teeth; there is no other man I can see myself with other than John Luke. It makes me sick to think about hooking up with anyone other than him.

After a few minutes of Starlah fumbling around with her makeup, we excitedly get in the car and depart for the party.

I pull up down the road from the frat house, parking as close as I possibly could. I can hear music blasting from inside the house as we walk up. There are crowds of people everywhere. A group of guys stop talking amongst each other and stare at us as we walk up the front porch. "Hey, sexy girls." One of them says. I ignore them and follow Starlah through the front door. We force our way through crowds of people to find the guy she came here to see. She leads me to the kitchen, and she stops frozen in the center of the room. "There he is." She says.

"Where?" I ask.

She points to a good-looking guy who stands over 6 ft tall with dark hair taking shots with a couple of other guys. "Oh, he is cute," I acknowledge.

"Let's go over and talk to him." She insists.

"Okay, lead the way."

I follow close behind her as she approaches him. He looks up in our direction as he notices we are coming. "Hey, Starlah. Who's your friend?" he asks.

"Michael, this is my friend Georgia. Georgia, meet Michael." She says.

"Hi." I wave at him shyly.

He smiles and yells out without taking his eyes off me. "Hey, Mitch! Come here. Starlah brought a hot friend!"

I notice a guy in the corner of my eye approaching; I turn to him, "Hey, I know you. Aren't you in my Accounting class? I'm Mitch, Mitch Harrington." he says casually.

"I believe so. Nice to meet you officially. I'm Georgia Hudson." I respond. It's nice to see a familiar face.

Michael wraps his arm around Starlah's neck and whispers something in her ear. She giggles and pats his chest before they both sneak off in the other direction.

Mitch leans into my ear, "Do you want to go outside where it's not so loud and crowded?" he asks.

I nod, and he takes my hand and leads me outside.

There are a few folding chairs out on the patio. We sit down, and he turns the chair to face me. "So, are you from around here?" he asks.

"Yes, near here. I live in Laurel. What about you?" I ask.

"I am from Gulfport. My family lives there." He says.

"Oh, nice. What does your family do?" I ask curiously.

"My mom stays home, but my Father is the Senator of Mississippi. Do you know Lester Harrington?" He asks.

"Oh nope, sorry, I don't know much about politics," I admit.

He laughs. "Me neither, and I like to keep it that way."

He's funny; I can't help but smile.

"So, what does your family do? Do you have brothers or sisters," he asks.

"My Dad is a lineman, and my Mom is a nurse. I have a little brother named Bentley." I respond.

He nods, paying close attention to every word I say, "What do you study?" he asks curiously.

"Business, you?"

"Marketing." He replies.

He and I carry on a long conversation after that about various things. I can tell immediately I like him. He's easy to talk to and very friendly. Starlah and Micheal stumble outside, where we are sitting. "Hey Georgia, I'm gonna catch a ride with Michael tonight."

"Okay, no problem," I tell her.

They sit down on the patio with us, and we all talk and get to know each other. A few hours later, I realize it's getting late, and I need to head home before Daddy flips. As I get up to walk back to my car, Mitchell jumps up and offers to walk me outside. He leads me through the large crowd in the frat house, out the doors, and to my car. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I'll see you at school." He says.

"Yeah, back at you, Mitchell," I reply.

He opens my car door; I get behind the wheel, wave goodbye, and drive off.

Over the next couple of months, Starlah and I become close. I haven't heard from John Luke, but he told me that this would probably happen, so I don't stress it too much. I miss him terribly, but I knew it was important for me to meet new people and live a little.

TWO MONTHS LATER...

I wake up feeling nauseated, so I jump off my bed and run to the bathroom. Everything I ate the night prior comes right up. I must have eaten something that didn't agree with me. I sit there for a minute, hanging over the toilet; I feel like death. I have two classes today, so I hope I feel better soon.

I lift off the cold tile floor, walk back to my room and sit on my bed.

As I sit there for a minute, I realize I have to meet with my advisor today, but I couldn't remember the time.

I hop up to check the calendar on my desk and look up the time I have written on today's date. A reminder from last week struck a nerve in me. It reads:

PERIOD WEEK

I glance up at myself in the mirror. Last week I was supposed to start my period. It was like clockwork, and I always prepared for it. My period is a week late! s**t! This can't be!

I sit down at my desk and stare at my calendar. I'm really off my game; this isn't like me to miss something that important. I start to panic as I feel my face flush and my temples throbbing. Calm down, Georgia!

After getting myself showered and ready for the day, I walk out of my room and head for the kitchen. Momma is cooking bacon and eggs this morning, and the aroma is nauseating. I can barely keep from yaking. She looks up as I walk into the kitchen. "Morning, pretty girl."

"Morning, Momma," I mumble as I plop down on the chair at the table. "Hey Momma, do you have anything for nausea?" I ask.

"Sure do, honey." She replies as she walks over to the medicine cabinet, grabs a pill from a bottle, and hands it to me. I take the pill and pop it into my mouth; then, she feels my head. "You don't feel feverish. Is something wrong?" she asks curiously.

"No, I'm fine, just upset stomach."

"Maybe you are hungry; want some breakfast?"

"No, thanks, Momma. I'll take this first and see what happens." I respond as I pour myself a glass of water and swallow the pill before it disintegrates in my mouth. Then I hold my head in my hands. I'm nauseous, and I feel intense cramping in my belly.

Benny shakes his head and throws down his fork, "Don't yak at the table, please. I'm trying to enjoy my breakfast."

I look up to give him the death stare.

Daddy struts in with his work clothes on and plops down at the table with us. "You okay, princess?"

"I feel sick."

"Awww, maybe you should go back to bed." He suggests.

"Nah, Momma gave me something. I'm going to see if it passes," I reply.

Momma walks over and serves him a plate of food. "Smells great, baby, thank you." He says.

Seeing how the smell of the food makes me want to blow chunks, I get up to gather my books and notebook, place them in my bag; then, I grab my purse and keys. "I've gotta get going. I have to meet with my advisor this morning. Hopefully, I feel better after that."

I don't have my meeting until noon, but they don't need to know that. I bid farewell to everyone before I take off. I immediately stop a the drugstore to buy a pregnancy test and haul ass to the nearest fast-food restaurant to use the restroom. I storm into the burger joint across the street and sit down on the toilet to read the directions. I pee on the stick as the directions indicate- one pink line for no and two for yes, so I sit and wait for the results to process.

Once the time has passed for the results, I look down at the test. f**k! My entire body trembles with fear. It is two pink lines. No! It can't be! s**t, maybe it can? John Luke didn't use protection, and he is the only one I've had s*x with. Oh, my God! Daddy is going to kill me! How am I going to tell him? Surprise! Daddy, you are going to be a Grandpa! It will not go over well. I need a plan. I can't tell him it's John Luke's. They will hate him forever. I can't spring this on John Luke while he's away; it will freak him out. No, I'll tell him about it when he calls me; I can't keep this from him. That wouldn't be right, especially since he's the Father. He's going to miss out on so much now that he's gone. I'm going to have to decide what I'm going to do. Do I spill the beans and tell everyone that John Luke is the Father and confess my love for him, or do I keep it all to myself?

Decisions... Decisions...