Fingerprints ( #1 BOOK IN THE SERIES )

December (Part Two)

The next couple of weeks go by rather quickly and before I know it, the dreaded parents evening approaches, a few days before we are due to break up before Christmas. It wouldn't be that bad if it was just my mum going but I know that my dad will be making an appearance. That is what turns my stomach sick, that and the morning sickness.

It is also pretty safe to say that my father does not know about the situation I am in. I am not even sure how he would react but my guess is that it will be a bad reaction. I certainly don't plan on telling him any time soon though. Just the thought of telling him scares me a little bit. I try not to dwell on it though.

Instead, I focus on the parents evening tradition that my friends and I have. Every year, we meet at one of our houses and watch a film while our parents are out. I did think about cancelling, especially as it is happening at my house but then I realised that my friends would start to guess that something is wrong so here I am, putting some bowls of snacks out.

Cory arrives first, just after my mum had left to go to school, then not long after, so do Adam and Laura. Recently, they have decided to start dating, or at least exclusively. We all know that they have had a thing for each other for a while now; the most surprising thing is that they are actually here on time. That almost never happens. Maddie then arrives only five minutes later.

"What do we feel like watching?" I ask, crouching down, looking in the draw where I keep all my DVD's.

"Something to do with Christmas, I can't believe how close it is." Maddie replies very enthusiastically.

"Okay..." I say to her, picking one the Christmas DVD's that I have.

I put it into the DVD player and let it play, sitting back on the sofa. I let my head rest against Cory's chest, keeping my focus on the film which is playing. Laura and Adam are wrapped up in each other's arms while Maddie is just sat watching the film. I feel Cory run his fingers up and down my arm and my eyes begin to close.

I must have dozed off at some point because I only wake up again when I hear a car pull up into the driveway. Groggily, I sit up, rubbing my eyes, ready to greet my mum and hopefully not my dad. The film is still playing so I can't have been asleep for that long. I get up and unlock the front door so my mum can come straight in. However, while I'm walking away from the door, I hear it slam open with a voice booming after it.

"KRISTEN MASON, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? PREGNANT AT SIXTEEN, HOW THE HELL DID YOU MAKE THAT MISTAKE?" I feel the colour fade from cheeks as my father charges down the hallway into the living room.

"Darren, you need to leave now." I hear my mum yell at him but I have frozen on the spot, unable to move.

"I think you are forgetting that she is my daughter too Cheryl, even if the two of you do shut me out."

"You shut yourself out, you have never wanted to be in my life, you were never there for me." I tell him, not realising that the words have left my mouth.

I look around the room at everyone's faces. Both of my parents have puffed up red faces but my father's anger is directed at me and my mum's is directed at him. Cory looks petrified on the spot and I can't say that I blame him. Then I look around at my friends who all look very confused and shocked. I don't think they believe what is happening.

"How did you find out?" I ask my dad, my voice barely above a whisper and from the corner of my eye, I see Maddie's eyes wide in shock.

"I'll tell you what happened." My mum says to me so I turn my attention towards her. "I met your dad outside of school like we had planned and for the majority of the night, he kept his mouth shut. Your teachers, on the other hand, kept mentioning the fact that you seem distracted and I tried to brush it off but by the end of the night, your father didn't believe it. When we saw your last teacher, Mr Reynolds I think it was, he said the same thing and your dad just lost his head. He started yelling in the middle of the school hall but I managed to get him out before I told him.'