Safety First

Chapter 3

Anna stared at the pregnancy test in her hands. The disbelief running throughout her body; how could she have been so dumb and let this happen? She should have taken the pill just as Taylor suggested at the start of her relationship. She groaned in frustration, feeling tears burn in her eyes and wanting to run down her cheeks.

She grabbed the pregnancy tests, throwing them away in the garbage can, not wanting anything to do with them. She walked out the bathroom; she needed some fresh air to release her mind. She grabbed her coat and purse, wrapping herself in her North Face jacket and resting her Coach bag on her shoulder. She walked out the front door, contemplating on whether she should just walk around the park or head over to Ashley's place.

She decided to head over to Ashley's place, she would be able to help her with the situation. Ashley had been in a similar situation to Anna's, when Ashley discovered that she was pregnant. Ashley did not know who the father was as well because she was sleeping with Harry, but had had drunken sex with Niall that night at the club, when she and Taylor made up. She was about six weeks into the pregnancy, but had lost the baby because of her lifting heavy boxes when she was moving in with Harry. However, in her situation, she did not have to mention to Harry that there was a possibility that Niall was the father - instead she chose to tell Harry that he was the father. Yet of course, after she lost the child, Harry still remained with her and they're actually considering making another baby. Hopefully, she does not end up in that situation again.

Anna reached Ashley's house that she shared with Harry, ringing the doorbell. She stood in front of the door, waiting for a response, until she heard the sound of the metal doorknob, turning behind the door. She looked up to see Ashley standing at the door, wearing Harry's plaid, blue flannel. "Anna, hey, what's up?" She smiled, opening the door wider for her to enter the house. She stepped into the house, smelling the scent of Frebeze. She headed over to the living room, taking a seat on the sofa. A few minutes later, Ashley walked into the living room, wearing black leggings underneath the flannel. "What are you doing here, Anna?" She asked, taking a seat opposite of her on the couch.

She hesitated on her first word, finding the right way to mention this to her. It was difficult processing the fact that she was pregnant - even though she had not gone to the doctor yet - let alone speak about it. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes and contemplating once again whether she should mention it to her. She opened her eyes to find Ashley staring down at her with one eyebrow raised. "I need someone to talk to..." She began to whisper some words. "I don't know who else to go to..." Her words pausing between each short sentence. She saw Ashley's hand wave, motioning her to go on with what she need to say. "I discovered something today... But I don't know if it's completely true or not."

Ashley examined she face, looking for any signs of what exactly this "something" could be. Her face had worry and fear written all over it, was it possible that Taylor had physically harmed her again? After she and Taylor got back together, she had shared with everyone what had occurred between her and Taylor before the break up. Of course everyone was upset with her for not leaving Taylor after the first physical contact, but everyone knew the love and devotion she had for him. Taylor had also explained his mistakes in the relationship and his progress in the anger management center after she left him. However, Ashley's thoughts were processing over the belief that he possibly hit her again even though he swore to never lay another hand on her wrongly. "Please Anna... tell me he didn't hit you... please..." Ashley's words were softly spoken, the worry that her best friend was being abused once again by her lover.

She shook head quickly at that thought, but it was possible that Taylor may just lay a hand on her again once he finds out about the affair that she had been hiding from him. The affair would possibly not only tear her and Taylor apart, but also probably leave her as a single mother to raise her child. There was no way that her boss would want to help her raise this child. She glanced back at Ashley, who wanted to know what the "something" still was. "I...I'm p-pregnant..." She spoke out, her voice breaking at the last word. She felt two arms wrap around her, embracing her into a warm hug. She looked up at Ashley, to find her smiling down at her.

"Congratulations Anna!"

Her eyes widened slightly, pushing her away and shaking her head violently. "No! Not congratulations! I don't know who the fucking father is!" She screamed out, the tears ready to escape from her eyes, as one tear slowly fell down her cheek. She tried to hold back from crying, but she couldn't. She cried at the fact that she was a slut, a slut that was going to lose the one man she loved and end up being a single mother.

Ashley's eyes widened when she heard those words. She didn't know who the father was? How was that even possible? She was not the type of woman to sleep around with just random men, not like Ashley, herself. "Anna, what do you mean you don't know?" She questioned her, watching the tears run down her cheeks. "Who else would you be sleeping with other than Taylor?"

Her boss.

Who else would she be sleeping with? Who else? None other than the man that she sees for eight or plus hours a day. The man that asks her every day to stay late. The man that cannot stay away from her. The man that wants to pleasure her every day. The man that has ruined her life. She had been so stupid to fall into his trap because she was scared to deny him, but now she was stuck in this situation. "Mr. Bomer..." She whispered, burying her face in her hands, ashamed to show her face.

"Bomer? The guy, that Lauren turned over to girls?" Ashley asked her, her eyes watching her every move. She looked up at Ashley, nodding softly. Her eyes appeared to be a bit surprised, remembering that Lauren had a thing for her boss. Her eyes widened at the realization that Lauren had a huge crush on her boss. How could she do such a thing to her friend? She had been sleeping with the man that Lauren had wanted to date for months. "It is, isn't it?" Ashley questioned she and she just nodded her head in response. "What the fuck, Anna? You know Lauren's being trying to get with him! No wonder he wouldn't ask her out, because he had a slut to fuck with!" Ashley exclaimed at her, anger written all over her face.

Anna's eyes widened at the words that Ashley screamed at her. She was a horrible friend and a slut for stealing the man that her friend wanted. There was no way to make up for this, especially if the child was possibly Matt's. The tears began to pour down her face faster, as her heart broke at how she fucked up everything in her life. She heard the doorbell ring and her head turned to see Ashley getting up to go open the door. She wiped away some of her tears that were falling down her face. She sat up straight, attempting to look as if she never broke down. "Come in." She heard Ashley's voice from the hallway, as the footsteps of someone else entered the house. The footsteps began to come closer, as her eyes were glued to the entrance of the living room. Before her eyes was Lauren.

"Hi Lauren..." Anna spoke softly to Lauren, as she smiled at her. Lauren took a seat beside Anna, her smile disappearing from Lauren's face and realizing that Anna had been crying.

Lauren embraced her in a warm hug, rubbing the side of Anna's arm. "Have she been crying, Anna?" Lauren stared at her, waiting for a response.

"Yeah, Anna... why don't she tell her?" Ashley questioned harshly. She was surely upset that Anna had betrayed her friend. Lauren promised to kick Taylor in the throat if he ever touched Anna physically again.

Anna gulped a little, worried to share her information with Lauren. She stared at Lauren, catching some air before speaking. "Lauren... you know I'd never hurt you right." She said, as the thoughts of how to word it ran through her mind.

Lauren stared at Anna, nodding slowly and confusion appearing over her face. "Why do I feel like this is bad news?" Lauren said, before laughing a little, hoping to lighten the mood slightly.

Anna sighed, feeling the pit of stomach turn a little. Anna looked down at her hands and turned head back up at Lauren. She had to tell her the truth or Ashley might. Maybe Lauren won't be as upset as Anna is imagining; Lauren may feel sorry for her.

But Ashley did get mad at her for betraying Lauren. Her mind was spinning around and she had no clue what to do. She wanted to tell Lauren the truth but at the same time she didn't want to tell her. "Tell her the fucking truth, Anna." Anna heard Ashley hiss at her loudly. Ashley's face had annoyance, anger, and disappointment written all over it. Anna looked at Ashley with pleading eyes, silently asking Ashley to not tell Lauren. Ashley shook her head at her, scowling her eyebrows at her. "I'll say it then."