Something Unexpected

"Dinner's ready honey," Mom said knocking on my door as she usually did when it was time to eat.

"Okay." As usual, she didn't linger. having to get back to the kitchen to set the table. I had at least five minutes before she came looking for me again.

Quickly I ran to the door and cracked it just enough to make sure she was really gone, and walked across the hall to the bathroom, clothing the slender white, plastic stick between my hands.

I felt nauseous even as I walked. I wanted to believe it was my nerves, but I'd been sick for days now.

I closed the bathroom door and went to the toilet.

Three minutes might not have seemed like a long time to some people, but to me, it felt like an eternity. I looked at my phone for the third time already, only to see one minute has passed. Maybe when your fate hangs in the balance, time slows down like a turtle crossing a street.

I sat there hoping and praying to god that what I already suspected wasn't true. How could I have been so stupid? How could I let this happen? I was smarter than this. Though, I guess given the circumstance, what happened wasn't anyone 's fault.

The condom broke. No one could have foreseen that.

Like I always did when I thought about the possibility of a growing fetus inside me, I thought back to the night that started it all.

I had the biggest crush on Asher Coleman. He was hot, funny and quite possibly charming when he wanted to be. He was mister popular and always in the student body eyes.

Asher and his girlfriend had just broken up, and he was finally single. He was having an end of school year party, and a lot of the girls around him are dying for his attention. He didn't seem all that interested to my surprised. I wanted so badly to talk to him, to have the courage that all the other girls did, but that just wasn't who I was. I was the shy, quiet girl, who waited for opportunities to come to her. I was never one to seize the moment. so I never approached him. I had planned on leaving that night without speaking a word to him.

Then, the strangest thing happens, I was tired and ready to leave the party with my best friends Emma and Katy. We were spending the night at her house because she lived just three down from where Asher lived. Before we left I decided to find the bathroom, I felt like my bladder was about to burst. After I gone to the bathroom, he was there, standing there, leaning against the wall, staring at the picture on the other side of the wall.

It took me a minute to reel in from the shock, but once I did, I smiled at him. Or I smiled at the wall beside his head because it was hard to look directly at him. I was afraid he could see the schoolgirl crush on my face.

"Oh," he said a little surprised. "I didn't know anyone was up here."

I looked back at the empty bathroom and the quite second story and blushed. I guess I wasn't supposed to be up here. No wonder there wasn't a line for the bathroom.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't realize-" I trailed off. He was looking at me. "you see, the bathroom downstairs was full and well-"

"Don't worry about it," he said and sighed at the wall.

"I was just getting ready to go"

He rolled his head to the side and looked at me. "I would too, except I live here, so...I'm kinda stuck here."

I started at him with wide eyes. Asher usually liked parties. He never seemed to mind them before. It was unlike him to want to bail out so early, especially his own party.

We stood there silently until it started to feel awkward so I said, "It is kinda loud down there."

He said nothing, only stared at the frame picture, seemingly lost in his own thought. "Don't you ever just stop and look around and think, what's the point of all this."

Again, I was stunned into silence. Asher was talking to me. Actually talking to me. Not flirting or saying hey in the hallway, he was actually trying to have a conversation with me.

"Um. I don't- I don't think so."

He let out an airy laugh and pulled himself out of his faraway thoughts and finally looked at me. Really looked at me. He smiled. "You want the tour? I mean since you're already up here and everything."

It seemed like the surprises would never stop coming tonight. Without thinking about my two friends, I nodded my head and follow him through the upstairs part of the house. It was pretty nice, way better than my house. There's enough room for like 2 family. I believe his dad is a lawyer or something.

There were four bedrooms and two-three bathroom, one of which belonged only to him. The only entrance was through his room. That's where the tour ended, in the middle of his room. I stood there blushing. I never imagined that I would've ever been standing in Asher Coleman's room. Ever. It was like I was in some sort of dream I couldn't pinch myself awake from. Not that I wanted to.

He sat down on his bed and pulled off his shoes and got that faraway look in his eyes again. There was something bothering him, I just didn't know what it might be. Plus it wasn't even my business to be nosing around his personal life. At least it shouldn't have been.

I sat down next to him on the bed and put my hand on his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

He looked surprised at my sitting so close, causing me to blush again and back up a little.

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry your pretty little head over." He smiled his million-dollar smile at me.

I had to look away to hide my pink cheeks from him. He shifted closer to me. "Has anyone told you how beautiful you look?"

I glanced at him. "Not tonight."

I brushed a strand of hair behind my shoulder. "you always are, Little Blue."

I frowned, confused. "Little Blue?"

He grinned, "eyes as blue as the bluest ocean."

I smiled. He had a nickname for me.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly. He might have been back to his old self with all the flirty comments, but there was still something bothering him I can see it in his eyes. I reach over and squeezed his hand letting him know I was there.

"My grandma is sick. Really sick. The doctor told my parents that they're giving her one month."

"I'm so sorry," I said, "Are you close with her?"

"Very. She's like my second mom. She practically raised me." His voice was soft and low. He was staring at our hands. "Do you know," he started, "that you are the first person that asked me if I'm okay? No else seems to notice anything different with me."

"You haven't told anyone yet?"

He shook his head. "I only found out a few hours ago. By then it was too late to cancel the party."

"No wonder you wanted to leave," I said. "I think you should tell everyone to go."

He smiled sadly. "Then you'll have to go, and I don't want you to leave."

My heart pounded, sending the pin pricking of happiness through my body. "You don't?"

"Is that okay?"

"yes."

And that's when he leaned in and kissed me. My first ever kiss. It was soft, warm, gentle and nothing at all like how I would've to Imagine my first kiss to be especially from Asher. I didn't know he could be so tender, my stomach was doing all sort of crazy flips.

He pulled back and stared at me. "I'm sorry if that was out of line, your just so kind and beautiful, Blue."

"No. Don't apologize. I-I liked it." I couldn't believe I was even talking after my first kissed.

He then leaned in and did it again and this time I responded. This kiss didn't stop, I didn't stop him. I let him have me. All of me.

I pulled out of my thoughts and shook them away. reliving the memory that would change everything.

I hadn't spoken to Asher since that night. I left scared and worried about what I had done. What we had done. we never expected it to go this far. At least I didn't. If I hadn't been in that bathroom, or if he hadn't been standing there in the hall, If I hadn't gone to his room...If that stupid condom hadn't broken...I wouldn't be here now.

I let a few tears slid down my face before wiping them away. I didn't deserve to pity myself. I did this. No one was to blame but myself. I shouldn't have let things go this far.

I sighed. I had to stop this and stop with all the what ifs. I need to focus. I need to read the test and figure out what to do next. I looked at the clock on my phone. Eight minutes had passed. It's now or never.

I leaned over to the sick next to me, forcing myself to be strong. Whatever happened now, I can handle this. I have to handle this.

"The moment of truth" I whispered and hovered the corner where the test lay on the sink.

One little pink line and one plus sign appeared on the test. I started to cry. In one instant my entire life changed forever. All because of one stupid mistake.

This was it. No escaping this now.

I started down at the positive mark on the test through my tears. I had always been so responsible. How were my parents going to handle this? I'm only 15 years old, my parents are going to kill me.

I had to tell them. I had to tell Asher.

No. I couldn't tell Asher. Not now. Not after everything I told him that it was a mistake, that we needed to pretend like it never happened. He didn't even fight me on it nor did he try to stop me from walking out that door, alone and scared.

Not to mention he got back together with his ex-girlfriend three days later.

I sobbed even harder. I had made a mess of everything. I sat there trying to figure out how I'm going to tell my parents that their, innocent, sweet little girl was pregnant. I know there was no way they could fully comprehend how this could have happened to me. This is not me. I don't do things like this.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Aleera, are you okay in there? Are you sick? Why are you crying?" mom said.

I knew I had to face here sooner or later, so I forced myself up, looked in the mirror, nodded and opened the door. Mom was standing in front of me with a worried expression.

"There you are. We were beginning to get worried, now come ea-Aleera, what's going on?" My mom asked and reached for my shoulders.

I shook my head as if that would make all this disappear. It didn't matter how hard I wanted them to. I knew I had to get this out. I just hope they would still love me.

"Mom." My voice broke. "I need to talk to you and dad."

"Well, he's in the kitchen waiting for you." She pulled me along beside her, fear in her eyes. "Come on."

When we got to the kitchen dad was already eating, obviously tired of waiting for us. He stilled when he saw my face.

"What's wrong," he asked

I swallowed, hoping to make myself sound stronger when I spoke, but it didn't help. My voice still cracked when I open my mouth and told them. "I'm pregnant."

The only noise I heard after that was the sound of my dad's fork hit the plate. I looked down in shame. Nobody was saying anything and I knew that wasn't good. Then just when I was going to have to break the heavy silence, my dad spoke up.

"What?"

"it was the party I went to three weeks ago. I said I was going to a friend's house which wasn't a lie. I did go, but I also went to a party a guy at my school was having."

At that, my mom borrows out in tears. "I can't believe this. What are we going to do Jim?" My mom sobbed.

My dad just sat there with his head in his hands not knowing what to do or say. I can't believe I had hurt my family so much. I am such a terrible person.

"Well," my dad finally said. "What are you going to do? I hope you're not aborting this baby. It's not its fault it was conceived."

I shook my head quickly. "No. Never. I don't want to do that. I want to have this baby."

My mom's eyes widened in shock. "You want to keep the baby?"

"No," I said quietly. "I want to give someone else the chance to become a parent."

"Adoption," she said. "you're talking about adoption."

"Yes."

They both looked relieved. My mom was still crying in but looked calmer, and dad said nothing, looking at my mother.

Finally, he said, "Have you thought this out? You know what it means, don't you?"

I nodded. "I've considered all my options if this happened. I want to put him or her for adoption, but I want an open one. I've looked into it, I can still see my baby. I can watch them grow up.

"I think you're making the right choice, it will be better for the baby." My mom a said. "But what about the father?"

"He doesn't know. I don't want him to know." I said. He had enough going on just to add this on top of the pile.

"Aleera," mom started

"It's my choice, mom. This way is for the best."

Thankfully she didn't argue, even if she didn't approve.

"Can I ask one thing from you?" I asked them both.

"What is it?" dad asked warily.

"I want to go live with Aunt Sara in Florida and have the baby there. I will work with social worker while I'm there and when it's all over I will come back. I don't want my whole school to see me as the girl who got knocked up in high school, even if its true, Please?" I begged

My mom and dad looked at each other as if they were having a conversation with their eyes and then they turned back to me.

"Okay. If that's what you want. I'll cake her tonight." mom said.

"Thank you so much," I said with tears falling again. "Do you guys hate me now?" I asked

"Honey we could never hate you, you are our daughter. We love you no matter what. We may be disappointed sometimes, but we could never hate you." Mom said then stood up to hug me.

I started to cry even harder now. I truly didn't deserve the parents I had. I put them through something as hard as this and they still stand by me. That is what love is. Dad stood up shortly after and came to hug us.

"I love you both so much and I promise from now on no more surprises coming from me. I just want to rebuild your trust in me again." I sobbed

"You will," dad said gently and kissed the top of my head.