11
It’s been two months since Mae’s death. Leanne and Rose had made up and it was like they never fought. They were both standing in Rose’s room staring at the pregnancy test Rose had brought a couple of days ago. It’s been two months since her last period and she knew without a doubt what that meant. The test was just to confirm her suspicions.
“Well it’s been ten minutes,” Leanne
got to her feet and walked to the dresser to see the results. “We should know by now.”
“Well?” Rose asked, wringing her
hands, hoping that her suspicions were wrong.
“What does it say?”
“Plus sign. You’re going to be a momma.”
Rose sunk back down onto the bed, her
face pale and eyes wide. This was
horrible news. What was she going to
do? What was she going to tell her
mother…or Jack? He had promised to
stand by her side and be with her, but a baby changed everything. All their hopes and dreams were going to
have to be put on hold.
“So when are you going to tell him?”
Rose swallowed. “We have a date tonight. I’ll tell him then. Leanne, what am I going to do? We’re only sixteen years old!”
“You can always give it up for
adoption. Or the other thing.”
“No.
I could never kill my baby. This
is a part of both Jack and me. Hurting
it, would be like hurting us. We’ll
think of something.”
“Well, your mother’s going to kill
you. Just for the record,” Leanne shook
her head.
“Leanne…if you don’t mind…I kind of
want to be alone right now. I have a
lot to think about,” Rose sighed, looking around at the contents of her
room. Stuff that had seemed so
important to her just two months ago now seemed so frivolous and childish.
“Sure. I’ll call you tomorrow and see how things went with Jack,” She
hugged Rose, wanting to comfort her friend.
“Hey don’t worry. He’s a great
guy. I’m sure he’ll stand by you, no
matter what decision you make.”
Rose just forced a smile and watched
her friend leave. Picking a recent
picture of herself and Jack, Rose felt tears leave her eyes. They were so young. How could they ever support a baby? Would Jack hate her for this? She closed her eyes, wanting the world and
the situation to just disappear. She
felt so stupid for her actions, not using birth control and now they were both
going to pay for it. “I’m sorry
Jack. Don’t hate me.”
~*~
Jack pulled up in front of Rose’s apartment building his temper raging. Once again he had another argument with Chloe and this time it was about Rose. Chloe felt that Jack was seeing too much of one girl. That he should go out and play the field. He was too young to settle down. Insulted, Jack had told his sister to mind her own business. That Rose was the best thing that had happened to him and he had dated other girls and none of them could be held in comparison. Then he pointed out that Chloe was his age when she found and ran away with Carter, in fact she was younger! At least he hadn’t run away and then he stormed out; hoping to calm down before Rose got out. He didn’t want her to know about the argument just yet.
Rose smiled as she came out, her eyes
a bit somber and nervous. Jack
frowned. He wondered what had
happened. Well he’ll find out sooner or
later.
“Hey,” He smiled as she slid into the
passenger side.
“Hi,” She leaned in and kissed him
tenderly. That was one thing she loved
about Jack. His sweet tender kisses
that tasted like drops of sunshine. At
that thought, her nervousness began to fade.
This was Jack. She could tell
him anything.
“So…where do you want to go?”
“How about to the wharf? I just want to set with you where it’s
peaceful and lovely,” Rose sighed, looking away from his intense gaze.
“Is everything alright?” Jack asked,
concerned. She wasn’t as talkative as
she usually was. Something was up. Did she want to end it? Did she feel the same way as Chloe?
“Oh everything’s fine,” She quickly
nodded. “Can we go please?”
“Sure,” Jack shrugged, pulling off
onto the road. He looked at Rose,
nervously gnawing on her lip. Yep. Something was up. Something serious by the look in her eyes.
Ten minutes later, they were walking
along the docks, looking out at the shimmering blue lake. Rose stared out, thinking of how the water
was the color of Jack’s eyes. She couldn’t
help but wonder if the baby would have the same color eyes.
“Rose…you’re awfully quiet. What’s going on?” Jack took her hand in his,
concerned about her silence. “You can
tell me.”
Rose sighed, leading Jack to a bench
where they sat down. Rose was looking out at the lake while Jack looked at her,
wondering just how serious all this was.
“Jack…there’s something I have to tell you…something that could change
both of our lives…well it’ll definitely change mine anyway…”
“Rose. What’s going on?”
Rose took in a deep breath and held
her head up, meeting Jack’s gaze straight on.
It was the moment of truth. Now
she would see if Jack really meant what he said so long ago. “I’m…I’m pregnant Jack. Two months along.”
Jack stared at her in shock, not
knowing how to respond. Pregnant. She was going to have a baby…no; they both
were going to have a baby. But they
were so young. Sure he knew he wanted
to be a father some day, but now.
“Jack…say something. Please,” Rose bit her lip after five minutes
of silence had passed. Was he angry
with her? Did he blame her for getting
pregnant?
“What do you want me to
say? I mean, this is quite a shock
Rose.”
“I know. I was shocked as well.”
“Are you sure that you’re
pregnant? Maybe your system is off or
something…”
“I took the test three times
Jack. The results were all the
same. I’m sorry…I didn’t mean for this
to happen…it just did,” tears stream from her eyes. She has never been so scared in her life. She was afraid she’d lose Jack and her
mother would throw her out, leaving her nowhere to go and no one to go to. “I’m sorry.”
His heart breaking at the sight of her
tears, Jack pulled her into a warm embrace, trying his best to comfort
her. He wanted her to know that she
wasn’t alone. That he was with her and
would never leave her. No matter
what. They’d get through this
together. “Shhh Rose. Don’t be sorry. This isn’t even your fault.
That night was something we both wanted and now we have a baby to think of.
It’s not like we’re the only teen parents in the world. Kids our age have babies all the time. We’ll be ok.”
“What are we going to tell my mother
and your sister?” Rose pulled out of the embrace, wiping away her tears. “What if they separate us? What then?”
Jack held her hands tightly in his and
stared intently into her eyes. “I will
not allow that to happen. No one can
force us to do anything we don’t want to do.
We’re in this together, and that’s how it’s going to stay.”
Rose smiled, leaning back into Jack’s
arms. “What have I done to deserve such
a wonderful boyfriend?”
“Just lucky I guess,” Jack
grinned. “I love you Rose. Now until Eternity.”
“I love you to Jack. I know everything’s ok as long as you’re
with me,” Rose sighed, burying her face in his shirt, unaware of the hard times
ahead.