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“So what did your parents say?” he asked her.
“Just my mom. My dad doesn’t know.”
Thank God.“What did your mom say?”
“She told me to talk to you first before I decide. So…" she trailed off, twirling her hair with her fingers. "What do you wanna do?”
“I mean…it’s not really my decision. Is it?”
“She said it was only fair to let you have some say in it.”
Mike shrugged and tried his best to act nonchalant. “I’m good with whatever you decide.”
“Even if I said I wanna keep it?”
He swallowed hard. “Yeah.” He couldn’t even look her in the eyes when he said it.
She chuckled. “I already know you don’t want it. You can be honest.”
He kicked at a hunk of Georgia red clay with the toe of his Nikes. “I don’t want it. But if you want it, I guess I have to step up and do what I have to do.”
She was quiet for a minute. So quiet, Mike was forced to look up to make sure she was still there.
“You can relax," she finally said, putting him out of his misery. "I feel the same way you do. My mom said we can take care of it and nobody has to know anything.”
He let out a rush of air and felt twenty pounds lighter. He hadn’t realized how tense he had been. “So…how much does it cost? Should I pay half or something?”
“My mom said she would handle it.”
“Okay. When?”
“Whenever she can get me an appointment.”
He closed his eyes and thought about how close he had just come to a disaster. It was a stupid, rookie mistake, and he would never forgive himself for it. His father had been lecturing him since the moment puberty hit.Always use a condom. Don't trust these fast ass girls. Don’t bring no babies home.And Mike always knew what words were hiding behind the ones his father spoke:Like I did.
Truthfully, he wasn’t one-hundred percent sure Avianna’s baby was even his. She told him it had to be his because Chris, her boyfriend, was already at FAMU when she got pregnant. That’s if she was sure of how pregnant she actually was. He might have been a genius, but period math went right over his head. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I hate that you have to go through this.”
“It’s not your fault. Well, it’s notallyour fault.” They both let out uneasy chuckles.
“You need a ride?” he asked.
“No, I’m good. Chris is picking me up.” There was a slight hitch in her voice, same as there always was whenever she talked about her boyfriend.
“Ain’t he supposed to be at school?”
She looked away. “He has a short break.”
“Y’all good?”
“Mm-hm.”
He eyed her suspiciously. Something wasn't being said. But that was Avianna. Sneaky.
“Alright. I guess call me if you need anything. Or if you wanna talk about it. I kinda feel like an asshole right now for dipping out on this whole thing. Shouldn’t I be there?”
“Mike, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay." He wondered if he should give her a hug or something. "See you around, I guess.”
