Oh yay! Look a bonus. Two chapers today. They're both short.
Chapter 5
Tomorrow we leave for Abbottsford. I had to tell my mom today. After all, they always say that “The truth will set you free.” When I woke up this morning that quote was the first thing I thought of. Would I really be free once my parents heard the news? How would I tell my little sister? She’s at that age where she starts asking where babies come from, and I don’t know how much my parents want her to know. I know Patricia knew a few things, but I was unsure if my parents had told her about sex. My parents were pretty open about the subject. They figured if Patricia wanted to know something they’d tell her, but they never told her too much. They didn’t want to scare her.
Today I’d find sometime alone with my parents to tell them what had happened. I had a feeling I should probably address my mom about this first not knowing how my dad would react. So, I waited for that moment. I was packing away my winter clothes when my mom came in with some more empty cardboard boxes.
“Mom,” I said as I sorted through some old clothes of mine, pondering what I’d take with and what I’d donate “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”
She set down the cardboard boxes on my floor, alert by the words that spilled from my mouth.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I don’t really know how to explain this to you.”
“Explain what?” she asked in a soft voice.
“I’m pregnant, mom. I’m pregnant.” I whispered.
My mom held a hand up to her mouth and turned away. I could tell that she was about to cry when I saw a tear fall down her face. I hated when my mom started to cry, I never knew whether it scared me or made me want to cry as well, but my whole body would start to tremble and shake. I couldn’t make eye contact with her during those times. I couldn’t react. I was afraid to confront her.
“Kristen,” my mom started to say, “How could you be so irresponsible? Do you realize how much I’ve struggled to provide for you? Does that mean anything? I was only 16 when you were born.”
“But mom,” I continued as I tied shut a bag of clothes to be donated to goodwill. “I couldn’t tell him no, and I don’t know who he was.”
“Why couldn’t you say no, Kristen? You know I taught you to say no and back away when you were in an uncomfortable situation.”
“I was drinking,” I confessed “At Kateena’s party that was actually at her brother’s apartment. I didn’t have much, but after two beers I don’t remember anything that happened, although rumor has it that Cassidy may have put something in my drink.” “Kristen Marie Thorne, I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t like Cassidy or Kateena very much to begin with, but they were your friends, and I accepted that. Now, I feel terrible, like I should’ve pushed them away from you. You would’ve hated me for it, and we would’ve fought much more, but maybe you wouldn’t be, well I can’t even convince myself, pregnant.
“It’s okay mom,” I explained “We all make mistakes and mine was a huge one.”
“Rape wasn’t the mistake, Kristen. Whatever was in your system kept you from saying no, and you’re still under 18. The drinking and partying that was your mistake.”
“I now realize that,” I said as I continued packing away my belongings “I’m sorry.” My mom reached over to give me a tight hug.
“I’m still disappointed in you for lying to me Kristen, but you’ve learned your lesson.”
“From that experience,” I said “I don’t think I’ll drink ever again, at least until I’m 21.”
“Now, that asshole who knocked you up, I’d like to see him get locked away for a very long time.”
********
Mandi stood outside with Brad and Alex and Alicia stopped over before work to all say goodbye. We’d leave first thing in the morning after saying goodbye. Mom, Patricia, and I would take our van and dad’s pick up would be secured on a platform attached to the moving truck. Before we left I was sure to hug Alicia, Mandi, Brad and Alex before I left.
“You better call me!” Mandi said.
“Me too!” Chimed Alicia.
“You know I will,” I replied as I got into the front seat of my mom’s minivan, “See you guys soon, I hope.”
“Bye!” my friends shouted in unison.
I waved goodbye out the window shouting “I’ll miss you guys.”
I could see Mandi holding Alex up as he waved goodbye to me. Once we left my street I put my headphones in my ears and listened to my I-pod. My stomach got a little queasy when we got on the entrance ramp to the highway. I was glad I couldn’t drive yet. I could barely look down the road not driving.
I usually don’t get carsick when I’m riding in a car, but since I discovered that I’m pregnant, just looking down the road nauseates me. Need I mention that because I’m pregnant we’ve made a lot more bathroom stops than usual. Instead of just two stops, over the course of 3 ½ hours we’ve made a stop every thirty minutes, all because I had to pee.
Even Patricia is annoyed with all the stops we’ve made. She’s only six and she gets impatient during long car rides. The fact that I’ve had to pee every thirty minutes hasn’t been helping much either. She’s sitting in the back of the car behind me, her feet dangling from her booster seat, one of them continually kicking me in the back. I’m in the front sitting in the passenger seat next to my mom. We haven’t said much to each other, except mentioning that I have to pee, and we need to stop NOW.
My dad’s driving the moving truck, and he’s a few miles ahead of us because he got annoyed with us stopping so many times. I secretly wish my mom had sent my sister to ride with my dad in the moving truck. She’s getting to be a real pain; continually repeating “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Mommy, are we there yet.” Even the headphones on my I-pod don’t drown her voice out. If she’d stop kicking me, and if I wasn’t so emotional right now, it may not have bothered me so much.
“Could we get something to eat?” Patricia asked a little less than halfway there.
“Next time Kristen needs to stop.” my mom replied
“That’s going to have to be pretty soon.” I said.
“We’ll grab something at the next exit.” my mom said. We were somewhere in the middle of Green Bay, and there weren’t a lot of exits for the next 50 miles. We stopped at a gas station with a burger kind attached to it. My mom and I both ordered chicken fry meals, and Patricia got a chicken nugget kids meal with chocolate milk and fries. I decided to drink my soda slowly so I wouldn’t pee myself for the next few miles, and if I needed to I’d let Patricia have mine. My mom doesn’t want Patricia drinking soda, but I got iced tea instead of soda, so my mom won’t mind.
Chapter 6
Mom’s talking to the neighbors already I see. At the moment I’m just staring out my upstairs bedroom window to get a view of the neighborhood. Old houses line the streets, and just down the block I can see the high school. I’ll definitely be walking this year, and come March or April I’ll probably be pushing a stroller down that same street. Mom told me that she’d schedule a doctor’s appointment for me sometime this week at the clinic.
She told me that our neighbor’s name is Lindsey and she had a twin boy and girl that are going into the first grade, just like Patricia. Their named are Levi and Kenzie. Kenzie looks a lot like her mother with straight, long, strawberry blonde hair. Levi looks like his sister except for the fact that he is a boy and his hair is very short. Levi and Kenzie are both running through a turtle-shaped sprinkler in their front yard while their mom and my mom sit and chat in the two lawn chairs on her wooden porch.
Mom keeps telling me to come outside and enjoy the fresh air. I’ve had no reason to venture out yet, but I may take a short walk later on when I call Cassidy. I feel like a complete fool right now, I should’ve asked her about that night before we moved. I’m not even sure if my phone is going to get reception up here, and our house phone won’t be up until tomorrow. I think I’ll get reception up here, although I haven’t used my phone since about an hour before we came here, but I did have full service. But, I think I’m going to stroll through town and familiarize myself with my new surroundings. As much as I don’t want to I should really give Cassidy a call.
“Mom!” I yelled out the bedroom window “I’m going for a walk!”
“Okay, Kristen. Don’t get lost!” she replied ‘That’s my oldest daughter Kristen.,” she said to Lindsey “She’s going to be a sophomore at the high school.”
“She looks just like you,” Lindsey said as I walked out the front door with my cell phone in hand.
“Kristen, come say hello to our neighbor,” my mom said as I walked past. I walked up the path to Lindsey’s front door trying to avoid being sprayed by the cildrens’ sprinkler toy.
“Um hi,” I said searching through the numbers on my phone. “I’m Kristen.”
“Lindsey,” our neighbor said “That’s Kenzie and Levi running through the sprinkler over there. Is Patricia home?”
“I think she’s out with our dad looking for stuff for her bedroom,” I replied “That what they went to do, right mom?”
“Yeah, they should be back shortly. I’ll ask when she gets home if she wants to play with Kenzie and Levi.”
My mom handed me three singles. “By the way,” she said Lindsey told me about this really good ice cram place downtown. Here’s a few bucks. Go ahead and get yourself something.”
“Um, thanks mom,” I said putting the cash in my wallet.
I started walking and a few blocks down the road I saw a sign shaped like an ice cream cone. “Must be the place mom told me about.”
II walked in. There were four or five tables along the front window and a counter right behind. I went up to the counter to place my order. A man strolled up to the counter. He looked like he was in his late fifities or early sixties.
“What can I get for you young lady?” he asked
I thought for a moment. “A watermelon sherbet sounds good. I’ll get a large.”
“A little thing like you, eating all that ice cream?” the man asked.
I nodded and laughed, “I’ll have it done in a snap!” I told him.
“If you insist,” He said jokingly “Your total is $2.89.”
I handed him the three dollars I had in my wallet, and he handed me my change.
“Eleven cents,” he said “Enjoy.”
“I’m sure I will,” I replied as I walked out the door. There were a few tables outside of the store and I decided I would take a seat and call Cassidy.
When she picked of the phone the first thing I asked was “Hey, you remember that party last month?” I didn’t care about being polite, after all Cassidy Winters had no class what so ever.
“Which party?” she asked, “I went to eight of them last month.”
“You know,” I said to her “The one after eighth grade formal.”
“Ohhhh, that one,” she replied “Good times.”
“It may have been fun for you,” I snapped, “but not so much for me!”
“You were pretty smashed,” she replied “Had a bad hangover the next morning didn’t you?”
“Worse than that,” I replied to her “Try a whole month of morning sickness that still hasn’t passed!”
“You mean,” she said “ Damn. How’d that happen?”
“You’d know damn well yourself, Cassidy Winters.” I snapped again. The father and two kids biking past must’ve thought I was crazy.
“Know what?” she asked.
“You’re so stupid sometimes,” I replied “You know those blue pills that were on the night table in Jake’s room when I woke up that morning?”
“Oh, those must’ve been Jake’s.”
“That’s bull,” I said to her “My best friend Mandi went to school with your sister and she knows what kind of stuff you guys deal.”
“Just cause I deal it doesn’t mean I touch it!” Cassidy explained.
“That’s not the case with your sister,” I said. “But, getting back to why I called you, do you know who slept with me, cause I heard you and Kateena are going around telling everyone I’m a little slut.”
I could hear my plastic spoon squeaking against the bowl as I scooped up the last spoonful of sherbet. I split my spoon in half out of anger. Cassidy was causing me a lot of frustration.
“I don’t know, Kristen. Could you stop harassing me?” she asked, “They were all friends of Kateena’s brother. I didn’t know any of them.”
“Yeah right,” I said “You know Mario, your ex boyfriend was with me while you were messing with another guy on the couch, you worthless slut.”
Cassidy was about to say something, but I hung up before she could say a word.
Cassidy tired to call my again, but I did not answer. I was sick of listening to her lies, and I preferred not to deal with her any longer. Cassidy called me a slut. I heard it all. Alicia and I both witnessed her conversation in the dressing room at Kohls. Still, I am without a single answer. I’d call Kateena, but I doubt I’d get more out of her than I got from Cassidy, and I don’t have her brother’s number either. Besides, it would be a little awkward for me to call him since I only met him once.
After I hung up on Cassidy I walked back home and checked the mail. The usual bills and magazine subscriptions filled our mailbox, but there was also a blank white envelope addressed to me. I put the envelope in my shorts pocket and set the rest of the mail on the kitchen table. I started to tear the envelope open as I ran upstairs. The letter inside was folded three times. I unfolded it and sat on my bed. It read:
Kristen Thorne:
“You’ve tested negative for HIV, HPV, and other sexually transmitted diseases. You’re iron levels are normal and you have no signs of breast cancer. You’re pregnancy test was positive.”
“What a relief,” I thought as I folded the letter up and stuck it in the drawer on my night stand.
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