Three Weeks, Nine Months, A Lifetime

Chapter 5

A week later, I’d forgotten the whole incident at school. I wasn’t the first teenage pregnancy people had ever heard about, and I never made a big deal out of it with people who didn’t even know me, and Elaine and Melissa did a good sweeping job of telling people to shut up, so the gossip eventually dwindled to a point where it wasn’t even interesting anymore.

            Besides, Matt had just arrived, and he was on his way to me.

            He’d missed school today so that he could arrive this afternoon, and he’d promised to come to school and take me home, which seemed like especially special treatment, considering the fact that he was the one who had to do all this traveling just to please me.

            But then, just to even things out, he had been the one to leave in the first place.

            The school dismissal bell could not have come soon enough. As soon as I heard that shrill sound, I rushed to my locker to gather all my things and went outside. Matt had sent a text saying he would be in a red rent-a-car convertible, so I looked out for that.

            Melissa passed by and gave me a wave. “Have fun with Matt,” she said. “Tell him I say hi.”

            When the red convertible came into view, I was nearly jumping on my toes. Matt came out and embraced me before leaning his head down to plant a kiss on my lips. My face was red by the end of it, and only when he pulled back could I get a good look at him.

            He hadn’t changed, not that I’d thought three and a half weeks would change him that much anyway. His familiar wavy brown hair, his familiar vibrant blue eyes, his familiar gentle touch around me… He was just familiar, and I absolutely loved that.

            “Tell me everything,” I said, once we were in the car.

            “As me something,” he said.

            “Any girls caught your eye?” I asked. I didn’t like taking on the role of ‘jealous girlfriend’, but the question left my lips before I could even comprehend that I’d been thinking that, and I knew taking it back would be an idiotic move. So I waited for an answer.

            Matt chuckled. “Not at all. You know you don’t have to worry about that.”

            “I know,” I said. “It’s just, when you’re in a different place, I just can’t help but wonder… I mean…” I trailed off, suddenly uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. “Okay, tell me how you’re settling in. How are your parents?”

            “My parents are… my parents.” He cleared his throat. “But we’re settling in okay. I think they’re angry about this whole long distance thing, but I honestly don’t see the problem.”

            I nodded, mouth slightly open even though I had no idea what to say. So if Matt didn’t see the problem with the long distance thing, that meant he didn’t really mind being away from me. I knew I was jumping to conclusions, but I honestly could not help it.

            “Hopefully your parents will see it your way,” I said. “Maybe when you tell them about… you know.”

            “Yeah, I’m still thinking about how to do that.”

            We arrived at my house with dampened moods.

            I made sure to keep up a cheerful expression as I led him inside though. We headed to my bedroom, both saying nothing. I gave him a small smile as he looked at the picture of him I had on my desk.