Harper & Lee Plus Three

Oh F***

I looked down at the test, holding it up with my hands that were still dripping wet. I stuffed it into my purse and said, "I gotta go."

    "Huh? You're leaving?" Hazel asked.

    "I don't feel good. I'm calling Sophia to come get me," I said, taking out my phone and selecting her from my contacts. "Tell Lee and Amita that I'm not feeling good and had to leave."

    "But—"

    "Shut up Hazel! This was your bullshit idea and now my prom is ruined! I'm done!"

    I ran out of the bathroom and down the hallway towards the front door. I used the wall for support because I legit felt like I was going to fall. I was so dizzy. I called Sophia. She answered right away.

    "Harper? Honey? Are you okay?" Sophia asked.

    "Sophia, I need you to come get me. I feel too sick. I'm sorry."

    "Aww, don't be! I'll throw on my shoes and come right over. Just sit down. You don't sound good. Are you having a panic attack?" My chest felt tight. It was getting hard to breathe. Shit. Not again. Not now. "It's okay, Harper. You're going to be fine. Just sit down and try to relax, okay? I'll be right there."

    She hung up because she knew I couldn't answer when I felt like this. I found my way to a bench outside the banquet hall. My thoughts were racing. Pregnant? Pregnant? How could this happen when I was just starting to get my life together?

I had a perfect boyfriend with a good head on his shoulders, a nice house to live in, and foster parents who said they were interested in adopting me before I aged out of the system in a year and a half. Why. Is. This. Happening. To. Me?

    I saw a pair of headlights quickly zooming into the parking lot. Sophia saw me and stopped right before the curb. She rolled down the window.

    "Do you need some help up, honey?"

    "N-no. I'm okay," I said.

    I staggered over to the SUV and sprawled out on the third row of leather seats. The five of us kids each had our assigned spots in the car.

    "Hey, this isn't a family outing. Do you want to come sit up front with me?" Sophia asked.

    "I really, really just need to lay down."

    "Harper, we've been over this. You need to sit up with your seatbelt on. Period. God forbid we ever got into an accident. Just come up here with me."

    I groaned and got into the passenger's seat. Sophia tried to give me a side hug, but as soon as I moved away she knew I wasn't interested. She put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot.

    "I feel like something's wrong," Sophia said.

    "Not really. Just not feeling good."

    "I'm sorry this happened while you were at prom. If it makes you feel any better, my school actually didn't have a prom. We had a banquet because we weren't allowed to dance."

    "That's such bullshit."

    "I know. I thought the same thing at the time."

    I quickly finished texting Lee. He asked me if I was still good for the movies tomorrow. I told him we should go have coffee instead. We were pulling into our driveway. I put my phone away.

    I ran upstairs, took a shower to get all the hairspray out of my hair, and tried to sleep. I didn't. My thoughts were still racing. I took the test out of my purse and just stared at it. Sophia and John couldn't conceive. Blake was born via surrogate. Good people like them couldn't bear their own children and yet here was someone like me: sixteen and technically without a family.