Not a Chance(34)

He felt the edge of his bed sink a bit and the springs creak. Dustin was the only person in the house. Why would he be sitting next to Travis?

Slowly, Travis opened his eyes and saw Tonya looking down at him.

"Hey, baby," she said in her thick, Kennett, Missouri accent.

Travis jerked upright and let out a sharp scream. "What the fuck?" He stared at her in amazement and horror.

Dustin must have heard him yell because he stumbled into his room and flipped on the light switch. Travis threw his arm up over his eyes.

"Tonya?" Dustin said, his voice sleep scratchy.

"Hey, there, little brother," Tonya said, cheerfully. As though she weren't the anti-Christ come to destroy them all.

"Uh...hey," Dustin said. He was useless around women.

Travis squinted, getting his eyes adjusted to the light. Tonya sat before him, a harbinger of destruction. She was the answer to his constant prayers. God's way of saying, "No, Travis. You cannot be happy. You must sink into the black abyss of your past sins for all eternity." And she smiled at him as though he should be happy to see her.

"Are you really here?" he asked. "Is this really happening?"

"Yep," she said cheerfully. And then Travis watched her hand as it journeyed downward and rested on her incredibly round belly.

"Dear God," Travis said.

"Oh, don't worry," Tonya said. "I ain't due for another couple of weeks."

Travis gaped at her in horror. "Please. Please go away."

Tonya stopped smiling. "That's just mean, Travis."

He couldn't bring himself to apologize. His future sat in front of him and it was bleak. It had taken him nearly four months to get rid of her last time she'd come looking for help. Now she was pregnant. No telling what she needed or how long she would stay.

She used to be beautiful. To Travis, anyway. She'd been a tomboy. She wore her bright, auburn hair in braids. Her arms and legs were long and strong, her body was lean. They used to swim in the river together and go cliff diving. They would party with their friends and then sneak out into the woods and have sex under the stars. He'd loved her with all of his heart because he knew no other way to love. The divorce had nearly destroyed him.

Now he looked at her and saw nothing of the young woman he'd fallen in love with. By all accounts she was still a young woman. But a hard life full of sin and dissipation had aged her prematurely. There were lines on her face and her hair was lank and lusterless. Her teeth had seen better days and, though her belly was round from the pregnancy, the rest of her body was painfully thin. Malnourished. Bones protruding everywhere.

A few minutes later Tonya, Dustin and Travis sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee.

"So after he kicked me out," Tonya said, finishing up the story she'd been telling them, "I couldn't think of what to do. And I remembered Travis saying how if I ever needed anything, he'd be there to help. And so here I am."

Travis felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Dustin was in shock, staring at Tonya like she was an alien. Tonya smiled at Dustin and reached over to pat his hand. "How are you doing, sweet thing?" she asked.

Dustin slowly looked to Travis and then back to Tonya. "I've been better," he said.

"You're so cute," she said, dimpling at him. Then she turned to Travis. "I know you weren't expecting me and you got your life all put together. But I ain't got nowhere else to go. I got no money. I took the bus here and had to walk from the station. I got six more dollars left in my purse. And with the baby on the way, I just don't know what to do."

Travis burst out laughing, then. Dustin stared at him in horror. Tonya stared at him in confusion. "I'm sorry," Travis said, still laughing. He pressed his palms into his eyes and forced himself to take several deep breaths. Finally he got control of himself. He still felt like laughing, but he'd managed to stop. "I'm sorry," he said, his tone more serious. "Okay...back to this Elliot guy..."

"Allen," Tonya said, correcting him.

"Whatever," Travis said. "He's the father?"

"No. We found out he's not the father. And that's how come he kicked me out. I just told you all of this."

"Yeah. So, who is the father?"

Tonya looked away and jutted her jaw out like she did when she was frustrated. "I ain't stupid," she said. "I know you don't want me here. But I need help. You can't put me out when I got a baby coming any day now."

Travis laughed again. "I just asked who the father was."

"Because you want to find him and make him take me. Well I ain't telling you. You don't know him anyway."

"I should think not. You finished screwing everyone I know about six years ago."