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“What about Bella?” he had said, and I had easily agreed because it was beautiful and sounded like the name of a princess, and I liked the way that he said it.
“Lucas, I need to talk to you,” I said.
He must have heard the concern in my voice, the absolute terror that I was feeling at the situation I was in, for his tone immediately changed.
“All right, of course. Do you want to come over?”
I nodded, and then realized that he couldn’t see me. “Yes.”
“Then come over. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and then hung up the phone. Hopefully, everything would be all right.
2
Lucas
I had no idea why Bernadette had called me, but it was safe to say that I was worried.
She had sounded like she was about to burst into tears, and even though the drive to my place from hers was rather short, every minute of waiting for her was agonizing.
I just wanted to know what was going on, to be able to wrap my arms around her tightly and let her know that everything was going to be okay, that I would fix it, whatever it was.
Except I didn’t even know if I would be able to do that. What if it was something that I couldn’t fix? What if she was in some real trouble that I couldn’t make go away? What would I do then?
The answer was obvious. I would do my best to stand by her, no matter what was going on. I had to, because I loved her, more than she realized, and I wanted her to be okay.
Finally there was a knock, and I rushed to the door to see Bernadette standing on the porch of my little suburban house, silhouetted by the storm outside.
The two of us lived in Portland, so the likelihood that there would be a storm or at least some sort of drizzle on any given day was pretty high. It was these kinds of days that made me want to confess my feelings to her, just so I could wrap her up in my arms and cuddle with her by the fireplace.
The fireplace had been one of the reasons that I had bought the house. I think somewhere in my mind I had been thinking of me and Bernadette all cuddled up, maybe a child with us, wrapped in a blanket in front of the fireplace. But who knew if that would ever happen?
I had no idea if she saw me that way and had no intention of asking anytime soon. I didn’t want to ruin the friendship that we already had, so I stuck to pretending like her very presence didn’t make my heart pound in my chest and send blood to the tips of my ears.
“Come in,” I said, opening the door wider and ushering Bernadette out of the storm, out of the cold. “Do you need anything? I could get you some tea or something to eat?”
She shook her head, wringing her hands in front of her as if I wouldn’t notice. I reached out to set my hand on top of hers, stilling the anxious movement.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” I said.
“I—maybe I’ll have something later,” she said, almost as an offering. “I don’t think I could eat right now.”
“That’s okay, why don’t you sit down,” I gestured to the couch, then took a seat in the nearby armchair, leaning forward with a worried expression.
She sat, then turned to me. “Lucas, I—I’m pregnant.”
As soon as the words were out, it appeared as though a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, but it also looked like she was about to cry.
I considered the idea for a moment that this could all be a joke, some elaborate prank that she was playing on me. It seemed too strange to be true, that my innocent friend––who had never gone against her mother a day in her life––was pregnant.
But I knew Bernadette couldn’t fake her emotions, and it was obvious from those that she was telling the truth, even if it was something that neither of us wanted.
“Bella…how…how did this happen?” I asked, leaning forward and taking her hand in mine, then giving it a squeeze.
“I…you know how my friends in college were.”
I tensed. Did those brats seriously push her to do something that got her into this situation? I would make them pay for that. How dare they?
