Torn

He packed everything, giving one last glance at the reason he was leaving. Daniel was torn at the prospect of leaving the only woman he loved, but the child that she carried made it impossible for him to stay. He thought about giving her one last kiss as she slept on the couch so peacefully, but he decided against it for the fear of waking her. So, he finished loading up his pickup and drove away from his house, his girlfriend, and life as he knew it.

Daniel thought his life was perfect. Teri had come into his life just two years ago and had left her mark. Their first meeting had been disastrous, but Daniel had not stopped thinking about the beautiful woman that he met. At only twenty years old, Teri had known where she was going in life. She had a steady job and was waiting for a chance to find real love. Daniel was a little lost, looking for a woman to help him find direction in his life. When they ran into each other again, both had softened to each other, believing in what they felt for each other.

After several meetings, Daniel and Teri had developed a special friendship. Daniel helped Teri relax more while she gave him some direction. However, it took several months for them to realize that maybe this was what they both had needed (and wanted) for a long time. To officiate their relationship, Daniel took Teri out to a fancy restaurant where they shared their first kiss, dancing to the soft music playing in the background.

From that kiss, their relationship moved quickly and, within months, they saw each other almost all of the time. Teri was at his house so often that she moved in just a few months later. They thought that they had found paradise. Teri and Daniel had found such a balance between work and their life together that their home was such a happy and peaceful place. Neither of them could imagine what hell they would have to deal with in a few months.

After a few months of living together, tensions began to appear, disrupting their happy life. Teri wanted marriage and a family, while Daniel wasn't quite ready to grow up. He thought what they had was perfect and nothing had to change. Their relationship worsened as Teri started hanging out with her friends again. She went out several nights a week, in which Daniel stayed home drinking to get his mind off of his troubles. Teri would come home late at night to find him passed out on the couch. She never even bothered to wake him up to sleep beside him. He just spent the night on the couch.

After a month or so of fighting, Daniel was ready to change for Teri. He loved her and wanted their relationship to work. He arranged for a romantic evening. Teri dressed up in a sexy black dress with heels. Daniel pulled out a nice suit to wear. They went to a fancy Italian restaurant, the same one where they had their first date.

After they ordered their food and wine, they both stood up to dance to the soft music. They remember their first kiss, both feeling bad about how their relationship had changed. Daniel noticed the tears flowing down Teri's beautiful face. He whispered words that he had not said in over a month by telling her that he still loved her. She cried as he got down on his knees and proposed to her, pulling out a tiny, but elegant ring. She wrapped her arms around him when he stood up after she accepted. That night, when they arrived home, they made love, something that they hadn't done in months. It was like their relationship was right where it had started. It was special and perfect, but not for long.

After that night, their lives went back to normal, but it didn't last long. Two weeks later, Daniel woke up on a Saturday morning to a bawling Teri. He hurried to the bathroom where she was throwing up. He rushed to her and tried to comfort her. However, this just made her cry even more. Daniel was so torn, seeing like this.

He thought it was just a stomach virus until it lasted for a week. Then, he knew that he had to ask her a question that she knew was coming. She was pregnant and, since they only had sex one time in the past several months, Daniel knew that the child was not his. After a heated argument that left both of them exhausted, Daniel packed up his pickup and left.

As Daniel drove down the road, away from the woman that he loved, he cried and wondered what he was going to do. It was his house that she was living in. He didn't feel like thinking as he drove to the local bar to drink away his problems.

Finally, a week later, he was ready to face the woman he loved. When he went into his house, he found her curled up in bed sleeping. He wanted to just curl up beside her and pretend that everything was fine. Instead, he softly called her name as her eyes opened. At first, she smiled at him before she started crying. His heart broke all over again. He kept thinking about how much he loved her.

Teri threw her arms around him and made him want to reconsider. However, he explained to her that they could not be together anymore. He loved her, but he couldn't stay. He told her that she had to find somewhere else to stay. They both cried as he stood up to leave.

The last thing that she heard as he walked out the door was have a good life and good luck with the baby. Just like before, he drove away, crying, from the woman that he loved.