Page 97 of Finding Fate

“I actually just asked Stefano about working at the shop,” Tucker added. “I’m going to start working the counter next week. Izzy’s even going to be interning at the cake shop with my mom a few days a week.”

“Okay, yeah, but you can get school loans to help cover rent. You’ll just have to work to cover Destiny’s things.”

Isabel shook her head. She had to make her sister see. “Annie, why would we make it harder on ourselves than it has to be? By staying at home, we don’t have to worry about rent.”

“What about basketball? Are you still doing that, Tucker? Surely one of those scholarships would help.”

“Basketball is still on the table, at least for now. So is Izzy’s dance audition.”

“Dance audition?” Annie sat back, confused.

“I’ve got an audition for Baste Academy in May. Leo and I are trying to get in, and the scholarship is great, but it will be a ton of work if I get it, and Tucker’s schedule will be crazy and packed. Annie, we’re trying not to let everything we want get derailed, but to make that happen with a baby on the way means getting as much help from our families as we can, at least at first.”

“Baste Academy? Why didn’t she tell me anything?”Annie wondered. “But Jet and I want to help you, too. We can babysit.”

“Sometimes, yes. But only when you visit because you’re going to school, too.”

“But what about our plans?”

“Annie, those went up in smoke about five months ago,” Tucker said, his voice dismal. “We’ve got to make do with the new reality. Izzy and I realized that a while ago. You need to, too.”

Jet placed a hand on Annie’s knee to get her attention. “Sweetheart, sending in those applications was us helping our friends. What we wanted before isn’t an option anymore. It would have changed with Izzy going to that Academy anyway.”

Annie sighed. They’d been planning to go to school together for years. Wasn’t there anything she could say to change this?

“I just thought of something.”

“What?” Tucker sighed.

“Get married.”

“What?!” All three of her friends exclaimed.

“No, think about it,” she said quickly. “At that seminar back in August, the financial aid rep from St. Peters talked about it. Young married couples with low income, and kids are up for more grants and other money. We could even all four move in together. That would make rent cheaper. Yeah, it would still be hard, but we could make it work.

“Please listen,” she begged when she saw her friends rolling their eyes at her. “I mean, won’t it be weird? Y’all having a baby together and Tucker having to walk across the street to help or even to just see her? If you get married, it’d be so much easier for you to raise the baby together. You’ve both said before that you’re each other’s future, you’re destined to be together. That’s where Destiny’s name came from, isn’t it? So if you already know you’re going to get married one day, why not do it now? Well, not now now. You’d have to wait for Izzy to turn eighteen, of course, but that’s still way before we would move. There’d even be time to do it before the baby’s born.”

She reached the end of her spiel then and looked around for a response.

Jet was looking at her, almost humorously, and Tucker was shaking his head. Izzy had been looking down with her lips pursed, but she raised her head to speak.

“Are you done?”

“Yes,” Annie breathed, sure she had to have made some impact that time.

“Annie, I know you’re upset, but it’s not going to happen.”

“Why?” she complained. Her voice sounded almost whiney, not wanting to admit defeat but still unable to ignore it completely.

“I shouldn’t have to explain this!”the pregnant sister thought to herself in exasperation. “Because Tucker and I are not going to rush off and get married just because we have a baby. We’re not even done with high school yet, sis. There’s enough pressure coming our way without having to deal with being newlyweds on top of it.”

“But,”

“No, Annie,” Tucker said in a tone that rang with such finality that she had no choice but to give up.

“Fine,” she said, defeated, her last hope crushed into nothing.

“I’m going to go help Tabitha now,” Izzy said, giving Annie what was supposed to be a comforting pat on the back and grabbing some of their trash before she left.

Annie slumped back in the loveseat. How was she supposed to live separate from Izzy? They’d always been together. “Ugh…this whole thing sucks.”

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