The Pledge (4 page)

My mouth dropped open in amazement. Other guys had tried to hook up with me, but Momma wasn't impressed. She didn't play when it came to Cory and me.

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Murphy. I really appreciate it. I also want to say that I see where your daughter gets her beauty from.”

Momma and I both blushed. Momma recovered first and said, “Allen, you're laying it on a bit too thick now.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said, and they both laughed. He turned to me. “I'll see you in school tomorrow, Courtland.”

I could only nod and wave as I got in the front seat.

“He's cute and quite the charmer,” Momma said the minute we pulled away.

I could only nod at her as Allen waved at us. “Did you really just say he could come over and study—not that he will?”

Momma shrugged. “Why not?” she said. “He seems nice enough, and the Bible tells us to help those in need.”

I wasn't going to argue with her, although deep down I knew that Allen was just being nice. There was no way he would ever want to study with me, let alone visit my house.

“Hey, munchkin,” I said to Cory, who was sitting in the backseat. “How was the first day?”

She looked up from her Game Boy and grinned at me. “I made a friend,” she said, and I smiled, too, happy for my little sister.

“That's great,” I said.

Cory told me about her friend Destini, who she said was in foster care, then we rode to the Worth the Wait meeting in silence. Several of the girls were arriving as we pulled up. A few girls had skipped meetings that summer, and apparently at least one of them had forgotten the pledge to remain pure until she got married because I was pretty sure that wasn't a watermelon she was sporting under her shirt.

I looked at Momma to see if she had noticed, and she shook her head. “Now why would that child's mother still make her attend these meetings?” she said.

“Maybe she's supposed to serve as an example,” I said, fingering my pearl necklace, which served as a constant reminder to me that my virginity was a gift, and I wasn't giving it up to anyone but my husband.

My thoughts shifted when there was a knock on my window. I looked up into the grinning face of my aunt Dani and let out a scream as I struggled to get out of the car and hug her.

“Aunt Dani,” I yelled, squeezing her tight. I hadn't seen her in three years—she'd come to Birmingham right before moving to L.A.—but she still looked the same. Her breasts were bigger, if that was possible, and she had a ponytail weave that reached her butt and was dyed burgundy at the bottom. Even though it was August and about ninety degrees, she was wearing a black leather short set and black leather boots.

She squeezed me tight. “Corky, is that you?” she asked, stepping back to look at me. “Girl, I'm glad you finally lost all that baby fat. It looks like you're out of your ugly phase, too.”

She was talking loud, and people were looking at us as they entered the church.

“I don't go by Corky, Aunt Dani,” I said. “Everybody calls me Courtland now.”

“Girl, please. You'll always be Corky, just like I'll always be Dani,” she said. “Ain't that right, sis?” She looked at Momma, who gave this really tight smile before she and Cory hugged Aunt Dani and headed into church.

“So how long are you in town? Are you staying with us?” I asked.

“I haven't decided,” she said. “I'm going to take a break from modeling, so I figured I'd hang with you guys for a while. Girl, you know your house is too small. I have a room at the Sheraton near the Civic Center.”

“That's cool,” I said, just as our Worth the Wait adviser, Andrea, motioned for me to come inside. “You coming into church?”

Aunt Dani kind of laughed under her breath before walking over to a brand-new BMW SUV. “Nah, I've got some people I need to see. Your mother told me you would be here, so I wanted to stop and say hello.” She hit a button on the remote to unlock the doors.

“Is that yours?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said, looking at me like I was silly for asking.

I wondered how she'd gotten a car so fast since she had just come to town, but I really didn't care. “I guess modeling is paying well.”

“Girl, modeling isn't the only way to get paid.”

She must have noticed the confusion on my face because she grinned. “We'll have to get together soon so I can explain the facts of life,” she said. Then she was gone.

I was
getting dressed in the locker room before our final practice for the first football game of the season when my cell phone rang.

Since Coach Wilkins was already yelling at us to get on the field, I thought about ignoring it, but at the last minute I changed my mind.

“Hello,” I said in a rushed tone.

“Is this a bad time?” a voice said.

“I'm about to go to practice,” I said. “Who is this?”

“Who do you want it to be?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes and played along. “Chris Brown, is that you?” I joked, referring to the popular singer.

“Cute,” the guy said.

“Seriously, I'm late for practice. If you're not going to tell me who this is, can you call me back in a couple of hours?”

The guy laughed. “It's Allen,” he said.

I dropped onto the bench in the locker room. “Hey,” I said, trying to sound as though I talked to him on the phone all the time. “How come you weren't in class today?”

“I had to meet with some people,” he explained.

“Oh,” I said. “You didn't miss much, although we do have a test next Friday.”

“I heard,” he said. “That's actually why I'm calling.”

“What's up?” I said, nodding at Candy, who stuck her head in the locker room and told me to hurry up.

“Can we get together a couple of days next week and study? I really need to do well on this test.”

“Sure,” I said, telling myself that studying with Allen Benson wasn't such a big deal.

“That's cool. Why don't we meet Monday during study hall?”

“Okay. Have a good weekend. Good luck at the game,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said. I ended the call then double-checked to make sure I had actually turned the phone off, then I got up and danced around the empty locker room. I was so keyed up I didn't hear Coach Wilkins come in.

“You need to save that energy for the field,” she said. “Please feel free to join us whenever you're ready.”

I hustled onto the field and went through the motions at practice, too focused on Monday during study hall. I couldn't believe I was actually going to be studying with Allen Benson.

 

The first game of the season had me pumped. For me, there's nothing like being in front of a crowd. I spotted Momma and Cory in the stands, and I shook my blue and gold pom-poms at them. They waved back, then I tuned them out, intent on giving my best performance.

I had choreographed a routine to Chamillionaire's latest hit for halftime, and the crowd loved it.

Even though we lost the game, I knew it was going to be a good season for our squad. We were all pumped about regionals and possibly competing at nationals in Orlando.

I had asked Momma before the game if I could go out with the squad, and she had reluctantly agreed, after Aunt Dani talked her into it, telling her I was only going to be young once. I still had to be home by ten-thirty, but I decided not to push my luck. Although I wanted to stay out longer, I couldn't complain because the year before she had barely allowed me to go out.

Candy was driving, so I went and said goodbye to Momma and Cory.

“You sure you don't want me to drive you?” Momma asked, looking worried.

“Momma,” I said, dragging out her name like it had ten syllables. “I'm almost seventeen. Candy's a good driver.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Cory said, “You're treating her like a baby.”

I smiled my thanks.

“Well,” Momma said, still looking unsure. “You have your cell phone, right?”

“Yes, ma'am,” I said, wondering why she had even bothered to get me one. I begged and begged, and finally she had gotten me one of those prepaid ones. Half the time I couldn't get a signal and sometimes I would check the voice mail and discover I had three or four messages, although the phone never alerted me they had come in.

She reached into her purse and pulled out twenty dollars and handed it to me. “Call me if you have any problems, and here's some money to call a cab if you can't get in touch with me.”

I reached for the money, and she snatched it back, forcing me to look at her. “This money is for emergencies only, Courtland. Keep it in a safe place.”

“Okay.” I wanted to remind her Birmingham didn't have a lot of cabs, and even if it did, it wasn't like twenty dollars could get me home—at least I didn't think it would.

“Ten-thirty, Courtland. Not a minute later,” she warned.

I nodded then turned to head into the locker room. When I got to the door, Momma and Cory were still standing there waiting to make sure I made it in safely, just like I knew they would be.

I took a shower and threw on the sweats that matched our uniforms and my Air Force Ones.

About ten of us piled in Candy's Hyundai Sorrento SUV, and we headed to Ruby Tuesday's in Five Points South. As usual it was packed.

I went to the bathroom, and on the way out, I ran into this guy who had wanted to get with me last year. He was fine and all, but every time I talked to him, he was only interested in coming to my house, which wasn't happening.

“So when can I come over?” Noah asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Don't start,” I said, trying to get past him.

“I see you're still as stuck-up as ever,” he said. “You ain't all that.”

I tried to pretend his words didn't hurt, but they did. I decided to ignore him and went back to my friends.

We had just finished eating and were hanging out by the fountain when my phone beeped, letting me know I had a text message. I wondered if it was Momma, but I realized she would call since she didn't know how to send texts.

You're looking sexy in those sweats, the message read.

I laughed, thinking it was one of my teammates being silly. Then I saw Allen's number, which I had programmed in my phone after he called the first time. I looked around and spotted him across the street at Starbucks. He said something to his boys, which included Noah, then headed my way.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.” I pushed my hair behind my ear and started playing with my purity necklace, until I realized what I was doing. I stuck my hands in the pocket of my sweatshirt.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He shrugged. “The same thing as you, I guess, just hanging out. You want to go get some coffee or something?”

I wanted to say yes, but I caught a glimpse of the big clock near the fountain and realized if I went with Allen I'd miss curfew. I had just decided I would take my chances when Candy walked up.

“You ready?” she asked.

I smiled my thanks that she didn't mess up my game by telling Allen about my curfew.

“Hey, Candy,” Allen said.

“Hey,” she said, not even bothering to look at him.

“Oh, it's like that?” he said. “You can't show me no love?” He stretched his arms out, waiting for a hug.

“No, I can't,” she said with an attitude. She turned and walked away. “You coming, Courtland?”

“I've got to get up early tomorrow,” I said, wondering if my excuse sounded as lame as it felt. “I'll see you at school next week.”

I hurried over to Candy. “What was that about?” I asked.

“Trust me, you don't even want to know.”

 

When we pulled up to the house, Daddy's unmarked squad car was in the driveway, which surprised me. Momma said he had been working a lot of overtime lately, but I didn't really believe it.

“I'll see you guys on Monday,” I said, as my teammates chorused goodbye.

The house was quiet when I walked in, and for some reason it scared me. Whenever I went out with my friends, Momma waited up for me, and although I pretended I didn't like it, it was something I expected.

“Where you been?” Daddy asked from the darkness of our den.

“I went out with my friends. Didn't Momma tell you?” I asked.

He didn't respond. I heard ice clinking in a glass, and I knew he was drinking. I hated it when he drank.

“Where's Momma?” I asked.

“Somewhere upstairs,” he muttered.

“Do you have to go back to work?” I asked, trying to make conversation as I turned on the hallway light.

Daddy and I rarely talked, and when we did, it seemed as though I was always the one initiating the conversation.

“Nah,” he said.

“Where's your car?” I asked.

He glanced at me like I was annoying him. “Why?” he asked.

“I was just asking,” I said.

“I had an accident, so I have the squad car until I get it fixed.”

I didn't even bother to ask if he was okay. “Good night,” I said and headed upstairs. Cory was already asleep, and I found Momma in her room reading her Bible.

I knocked on the partially open door. “I'm back,” I said.

She smiled. “Did you have a good time?” she asked.

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Where'd you guys go?”

I told Momma about my evening, and although I knew she was listening, her mind seemed to be somewhere else.

“You okay?” I finally asked.

“I'm fine, baby,” she said.

“What did you and Cory do after the game?”

“Nothing much. I was trying to get ready for church tomorrow. Don't forget we have to be there early for the annual prayer breakfast.”

I nodded, trying to hide a yawn.

“Why don't you get to bed? You've had a long day.”

“Okay,” I agreed. I walked over to give her a hug.

She didn't bother to respond. “Momma, are you okay, really?” I asked, searching her eyes.

She patted my hand. “There's nothing for you to worry about, sweetie. Everything is fine.”

“Yes, ma'am,” I said. “Good night.” I turned to leave then swung back around and gave her a hug. “I love you, Momma.”

She squeezed me so hard I thought my ribs would break. “I love you, too, baby.”

I got ready for bed, all the while thinking about Momma, trying to figure out why she stayed with Daddy. From what I could see, she didn't love him—I mean they rarely spent time together, and any time Daddy was home, the house was filled with tension. She had a job, so she couldn't use not having money as an excuse. I just didn't understand, and deep down, I didn't want to.

 

It didn't take me long to get dressed for school Monday morning since I had picked out my outfit the night before. Knowing I was going to see Allen in class every day, I always tried to dress my best, but I went above and beyond this time because I knew we were going to be studying together. I put on a red wrap dress and some red heels and looked at myself in the mirror, realizing I looked like I was trying too hard. I took off the outfit and tried on three more before I finally settled on some jeans and a wrap top and some heels.

I put on some lip gloss and eyeliner, then took off my wrap cap and styled my hair. Finally I added some gold earrings and my purity necklace.

“You look nice,” Momma said when I finally made it to the breakfast table. “Anything special going on today?”

“No,” I said. “Hey, munchkin.”

“Hey,” Cory said, glancing up from her Game Boy.

“I was running a little late so I didn't cook,” she said apologetically as she set a bowl of oatmeal in front of me.

“It's okay, Momma,” I said, digging in after we said grace.

I tuned out the conversation she and Cory were having, focusing instead on my meeting with Allen. By the time I made it to school, I was nervous, but I had no reason to be.

Allen never showed for study hall, and I felt so stupid.

When I met up with Bree for lunch, I tried to play off how much it bothered me, but she knew.

We made small talk all through lunch, and I was just about to dump my tray when Allen walked in. He waved at me like nothing was wrong, but I ignored him. When I heard him calling my name as I walked out the lunchroom door, I thought about not responding. He caught up with me and grabbed my arm, swinging me around.

“I'm so sorry,” he said. “I had to meet with Coach Patterson, and it ran late.”

“Don't worry about it,” I said, not bothering to make eye contact with him. Instead I spoke to a few kids who were passing by.

“Courtland, please don't be mad. I promise it won't happen again,” he pleaded.

“You could have at least texted me,” I said, finally looking at him.

“You're right,” Allen said, looking at the floor. He glanced back up at me with a huge smile, showing the dimple in his cheek. “I promise I'll make it up to you.”