After finding out I was pregnant, we reapplied for family housing. He told me that we were approved, but we needed one more document. We needed a marriage license. I assumed we would look for another place since we weren’t married, however, he had a plan. He called his brother and they manufactured a false marriage license. I was scared. We were lying. But, I was also scared of not being able to take care of my baby. We needed the discounted rent in order to survive. The day we got the keys, I was so happy. Unfortunately, that joy would be short lived.
One day I received a call from my twin brother, Dre. He asked if he could move to Montana with me. I was ecstatic. Knowing my brother would be there made me feel a sense of safety. Kayla was born a few months before my nineteenth birthday, and Dre arrived shortly after. He helped me so much with her, since her dad spent a lot of time practicing and playing football. Periodically they would go to other games together, but I stayed home with my new baby girl. Somehow, knowing most of my life was going wrong, taking care of her made me feel like I was doing something right.
One night they came home panicked. I instantly became scared, even before they told me what was wrong. I thought my brother had done something and was about to get in trouble. I begged Dre to tell me. He looked at me and said, “A girl at the game has accused Kayla’s dad of rape.” What! Wait. Are you serious? I looked over at her dad, he was sweating and said, “No I didn’t. No I didn’t.” I could tell on his face, he was being less than honest. I asked for her name, and then left my baby with Dre. After finding out who and where she was, I went to her. I asked her what happened. She looked me in my eyes and said, “He raped me.” We were both crying uncontrollably. I looked at her and said, “But I have a baby.” She said, “I’m so sorry, but he raped me.”
The next serval days were intense. I was lost. My brother didn’t say much, except that my boyfriend wasn’t who I thought he was. And just like that, he was kicked off the football team and out of school. We began packing to return to California since we could no longer live in family housing. One night, while sleeping, there was the loudest banging on the door. My heart dropped and I grabbed the baby. We looked out of the window, it was the police. Bravely, and rightfully so, the girl reported the rape to the police. They were there to arrest him. They banged on the door for what seemed like all night. But they never entered the apartment. I asked my brother what he and I should do. He said, “Shannon, we need to get back to California.” And so we did.
From that moment forward I knew it was just me and my baby.
S
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