Part II

~Three Years Later~

"Are you sure Angie?" Lucy asked with wide eyes.

We were in my bathroom and I held on to a pregnancy test. The instructions said one line means negative and two lines are positive. I blinked and stared at the two lines. This was the fourth test too that had the same results.

"Yeah," I choked and let Lucy see the test.

"Oh shit..." Was all she could say.

I let myself fall onto the floor and sat pressing my back against the sink cabinet. Lucy sat down next to me and held me.

"I thought you used protection," she whispered.

I felt tears rolling down my face. I wasn't supposed to be pregnant. I was just about to finish high school and had plans to go on to college and study to be a writer. This was going to ruin everything, all of my hopes and dreams.

"Well we usually did ... but that one night ... Chase wanted to go bare and promised he would pull out. Well ... he didn't obviously," I began to sob.

Chase and I had gotten together junior year of high school. I had finally given in to his advances. He had kept pursuing me since junior high by giving me carnations on Valentines days, chocolates on my birthday and cute bracelets for Christmas. Finally I gave in and said yes to dating him. We'd dated about six months until we decided to have sex.

All this time I had managed to keep a steady boyfriend while my brother Abel went from Tania Luna to Casey James, to Laurie Bernal to Sara Gomez and someone else who I can't remember and his now girlfriend Heidi Lowe.

"You know that pull out method never works Angie," Lucy said to me.

"Well ... I know that now," I scoffed and began to cry hysterically.

"It's ok ... you do have options ... you know that right?" Lucy said as she held me and stroked my hair.

I looked up at my friend. "Options?"

"Yeah ... you know abortion is an option," and she cleared her throat, "or adoption," she quickly added.

I nodded. "I can't abort. I just can't."

"Well then ... adoption?"

I felt my bottom lip tremble. "You know how easily I get attached to people."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "Yeah I know. Sorry. I just don't know what else to advice."

I sighed and kept thinking how stupid I'd been. I had let a night of passion get the best of me. I kept wondering how in the world I was going to tell Chase, or even worse my parents! Yes, I was an adult but I was still in high school. I still lived with my parents. I knew Chase would be leaving to college on a football scholarship and all of this would ruin him too. I was sure Chase would take care of me and our baby.

"When are you going to tell Chase?" Lucy asked curiously.

I shrugged. "The sooner the better I guess."

"I'll be here for you," Lucy said sweetly and squeezed my hand.

I walked around school the next day in a trance. I had hardly slept the night before. I had kept rubbing my tummy thinking there was a life growing inside of me. Part of me was happy and part of me was miserable.

I found Chase by his locker after school. He was talking to one of his football buddies Marc. As I approached I heard Chase say something about college and how great college life would be and I felt sick.

"Hey you," Chase said as he saw me approaching him.

"Well, I'll talk to you later bro," Marc said and waved to me.

I waited until Marc was far away to finally talk to Chase.

"Hey you look down babe. You ok?" He asked as his green eyes searched my face.

I nodded. "I'm not ok. I'm pregnant."

His face went blank. "You're what?" He asked as if he hadn't heard me right.

"I'm pregnant," I repeated clearly.

"Pregnant?" His voice rose.

"Shhh!" I warned him and grabbed his hand. I pulled him into an empty classroom near his locker.

"Wait a minute Angie ... we were careful..."

"No we were not! I told you that pulling out bullshit wasn't going to work and now look at the results! I'm knocked up!" I yelled in a whisper.

"Are you sure? I mean what if you're mistaken and you're just sick or something."

I laughed sarcastically. "Yeah and that would indicate why four pregnancy tests show me positive and the fact that I've been feeling sick every morning for the past two weeks."

He frowned. "So what do you want from me? I guess you want me to screw up my college career to stay in this fucking boring ass town and take care of you and that brat huh?"

I was taken back by his words. "You asshole!" I said and punched his muscled arm. "How can you say that to me? You think this is all MY fault?"

"I had told you to get on birth control but you didn't listen to me!" He growled at me.

I was stunned. Chase had never talked to me that way before. "Ok so I get on birth control just so your lazy ass doesn't have to wear a rubber ... yeah that's real compromise."

"Well? What do you want ME to do? Just tell me! I can get you some money to get rid of it."

I gasped. "Are you serious? You want me to just get "rid" of it?"

He shrugged as if he didn't give a damn. I saw my boyfriend's true colors right then and there.

I felt tears welling in my eyes. I didn't want this jerk to see me cry but I couldn't help it. I was feeling so hurt. "You know what Chase? I don't need you and neither does the baby. Hope you have a great college career life." I walked out the room with tears running down my face.

Later that night, after forcing myself to eat some of my mom's pot roast, I went to my room and cried some more. I usually loved pot roast, especially my mom's but today, nothing tasted good to me.

I heard a knock on the door and quickly dried my tears. I turned on the TV to the Lifetime Channel just in case if it was my mom I would tell her I was crying over some movie that was sad.

"Come in," I choked.

It wasn't my mom. It was my twin brother. Abel narrowed his eyes at me and closed the door. "Hey you ok?" He asked as he walked towards me.

"Y-yeah," I said in a shaky voice. "I was just crying over this movie on Lifetime."

He crossed his arms and shook his head. "You aren't a good liar sis. I can tell something's wrong."

I grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. "How do you know?" I asked him.

"I'm you're twin. Remember when you're feeling down I feel it too. It's weird."

I blinked. He was right. It didn't happen all the time; only when something big was going on. Like when our grandmother passed away and Abel was told first, I was in class and didn't know about it but suddenly I started feeling sad. There was a time when Abel got in a car accident when he went joyriding with his friend Joe and Joe crashed the car against a telephone pole. I was in my room that night and suddenly felt a sense of panic. It was things like that, that made us feel each others emotions.

"I'm in deep shit bro," I blurted out.

Abel sat down on the bed next to me. "What's up?"

"I'm pregnant," I said it fast.

Abel looked shocked. "Preggers? No way."

"Yes way."

He sighed. "Are you sure?"

"I took four pregnancy tests."

Abel looked uncomfortable. "Hmmm I guess that would explain the dreams I've been having."

I glared at my brother. "Dreams?"

"Yeah I've been dreaming about baby clothes," he laughed nervously. "At first I thought maybe I'd knocked Heidi up but I guess I'd been dreaming about it because you were the one that was knocked up."

"Yeah ... I guess so," I felt myself trying to stop myself from crying."

Abel hugged me and held me tight. "Did you tell Chase?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"What does he think about all of this?"

"He wants nothing to do with me or the "brat" as he referred to it."

Abel pulled back. "What? He said that? That asshole!"

"Yeah," I began to sob.

"I should go right now and kick his muscled head ass!"

"No, don't. Please. I told him to just go on and do his own thing. He obviously wants nothing to do with me or the baby."

"So that's it? He knocks you up and goes on his merry way? C'mon sis you're smarter than that. I hope you at least get him for child support."

"What child support? He's going off to college on a football scholarship and he's going to be partying almost every night. He doesn't even have a job! What child support?" I felt myself getting angry.

"Calm down sis ... it'll be ok," Abel assured. He put his hand over mine.

"I have to tell mom and dad," I sobbed.

"Yeah I know. But I'll be there with you ok? So you don't feel alone."

I smiled weakly at my twin. He reached over and wiped my tears off my face.

Tell my parents had been no picnic. I explained to them carefully that I was indeed pregnant. My parents freaked of course. Maybe they didn't freak as much as they would have had I been sixteen years old. I was an adult but still ... I had so much going for me and now it would be put on hold.

My father went ballistic when I told him Chase wanted nothing to do with me or the baby. He wanted to do the same thing Abel had said and go beat his ass but I thought there really was no point in doing that.

My brother was with me the entire time just like he said he would. He was by my side holding my hand and protecting me from my really pissed off parents.

My mother took me to the doctor to get a real examination. I kept hoping that maybe the doctor would laugh and say "Oh Angie, those home pregnancy tests are never accurate. You are not pregnant. You are just getting the flu. Here take these antibiotics and you'll feel better in no time." If only he had said that. Instead he confirmed that I was in deed with child.

Graduation was approaching. Everyone in school was making plans to go to parties, dances, and barbeques. Abel, Heidi, Joe and Joe's girlfriend Melissa, were planning to go to Las Vegas! Yes, Vegas! Joe's parents are rich and offered to get them all plane tickets and hotel stay as sort of a Graduation gift.

I was going to be stuck at home not doing anything. Lucy had told me to stop punishing myself and wanted me to go to parties with her. I refused. I didn't feel the need to be out partying. Actually I was in no mood to be around people and loud music.

"You're lucky you're going to Vegas," I said to my brother.

It was after school and we were lounging around watching TV in the living room.

"Yeah it should be fun. Sorry you can't come along sis." His eyes stayed on the TV.

"I bet you are all going to have fun. Too bad you all can't gamble but there are tons of things to do in Vegas. I hear they have nice clubs."

He shrugged. "Yeah I heard that too. Heidi can't wait to go partying."

I rolled my eyes. Heidi was definitely a party girl. With her long brown hair and big blue eyes, she would always get guys drooling over her. She was never much into conversation, at least not with me. I once was stuck alone with her because she'd come to pick Abel up to go out and Abel was still in the shower. I tried talking to her but she just kind of gave me short answers and that was it. I decided to not pursue trying to get her to talk.