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Oh shit.
No.
Nonononononononononononono.
Her eyes turned sad as she watched realization dawn on me.
“Come on, babe. We’d better go visit the pharmacy.”
***
“Have you ever seen the movie Juno?” Allie asked me an hour later as I chugged a liter of OJ so I could pee on my fifth stick. You could get four false positives, right?
“Shut up,” I grumbled. My stomach protested the acidic drink after so long without food, and I had to take a few deep breaths before I could finish off the bottle.
“It’s not really that bad. I mean, it could be worse. You’re both hot, so at least it’ll be a cute baby. Plus, you’ve got your whole life planned. You’re responsible and stuff. If anyone could handle a baby, it’d be you.”
She meant well. I had to remember that ignorance was not a reason to commit violence. With as much self-control as I could muster, I picked up the fifth and final test we had bought.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I no longer have a boyfriend. If I have this baby, I can kiss my scholarship goodbye. No career for me. I’ll be the town’s cautionary tale about teenage pregnancy destroying hopes and dreams. I’ll have to get a job at that creepy Grocery down the street to earn enough money to feed the thing, and I’ll rot here until the day I die.”
And then I burst into tears.
Allie grimaced as though unsure what to do with the ranting lunatic that had replaced her best friend. I didn’t blame her, but I sure wasn’t in the mood to admit it. I stomped into the restroom, took the test, and glared at the pink line that had the audacity to appear just the same as the other four.
“Fuck!”
“Umm,” Allie said quietly, “do you want some more OJ?”
CHAPTER 7
I wanted to disappear.
Just run away and ignore the problems that were hounding my thoughts and stealing my sleep, but I knew I had to face this. Something had clearly gone wrong on the night of the state swim meet, and while Kane may have spoken his piece, I had yet to say mine. I didn’t know if it would make a difference, but he deserved to know all of it. Including that he could possibly be a father.
My throat tightened at the thought. How the hell had it happened? One time. Just one, and we used protection. It wasn’t fair.
I thought about confronting him at school, but it seemed too public. Plus, Cody was the guard dog I could never seem to get past. Always ready to steer Kane away at any sign of trouble.
So we got creative.
Allie convinced Evie to cough up Kane’s home address, and I was shocked to learn he lived in the bad part of town. No wonder he spent time at Evie’s house.
I wheeled my bike down the center of the road, past dark-windowed homes with junk on the lawn and pairs of sneakers strung up out front. A siren echoed somewhere behind me and I picked up my pace, rounding a corner on to Kane’s street.
Behind a mountain of broken white goods and car parts sat a tiny house at the address Evie had scribbled down for me. I picked my way to the front porch and banged on the door frame when I couldn’t find a bell. A rattling cough preceded the appearance of a large man behind the broken screen.
“What d’you want?” he asked, leaning in, but making no move to open the door.
“I’m looking for Kane. Who are you?”
“I’m his daddy. What’s a pretty little thing like you want with that waste of space?”
I should have been offended, but my mind refused to let go of one small detail.
“Kane’s dad is dead.”
He laughed. An obnoxious bark that sent the smell of stale cigarettes wafting over me. My gag reflex tightened, oversensitive and ready to lose the piece of dry toast I had forced down before my ride.
