With Time

Chapter 17

Miranda and Brielle sat across from each other in silence. Miranda was processing the information she was just told.

Joey and Brielle had sex and Brielle feared she was pregnant. The negative test that sat in front of her caused her both relief and anxiety.

"Brielle, you're fifteen...What made you think sex, especially unprotected sex, was a responsible decision for you, of all people, to make? A child of two doctors, a very smart girl who knows very well how children are conceived, how diseases are passed around, and how much something like that could change your life?" Miranda said into the tense room.

Brielle sat cowardly, afraid to speak. At this moment, she regretted her decision to be so impulsive with Joey.

"It was a mistake. I wasn't thinking past that moment. I felt something I had never felt before and didn't understand what I was doing. I just went with the flow of what was happening." She muttered out to her mother.

"No, you understand. You ignored everything you knew and what you were taught. Brielle, I understand being a teenager is hard and you're learning as you go. But this is something that I prepared you for. I prepared you for temptation and impulsivity. I'm not trying to de-validate your feelings for Joey, but I want you to want more for yourself, for your body. Make a decision for yourself that sex won't be something without meaning, especially at this age. Sex can lead to so many things you're not ready for, things that affect us all. Make sure you're thinking about the future and not the present moment." Miranda said, looking at her daughter.

Initially, she was mad as hell, but she remembered the conception of the very child she was mad at. Unprotected, teenage, irresponsible sex... She'd be a hypocrite if she scolded her. She was trying to break that cycle in her parenting.

"I don't condone you and Joey having sex at all. Not here, not anyway. You will respect people's homes. So that stops now, but if you want to date him, fine. I can't stop you from growing up, but I can guide you as best as possible. Get to know him, learn him, make a connection other than the one you've already made. Baby, trust me, intimacy will come when the time is right. Don't force something so precious." Miranda said sitting by her daughter on the couch and embraced her.

She was a woman, raising a woman. She had no choice but to understand the situation.

"Don't think I'm mad or I'm gonna break you and Joey apart, but living in the same house isn't gonna work anymore. It's just not a choice I can make as a parent knowing I have two hormonal teenagers in the same house and I'm never home, I'll be a grandparent by this time next year. " She chuckled out

Her daughter nodded and soaked in the love she was receiving from her mother. In the midst of that love, her mother spoke.

"I have to tell your dad." She said

Brielle's eyes almost fell out the sockets they bulged so hard.

"Mom I-" She started before being silenced.

"This is where adult decisions get you, in adult situations. It's not just you and me anymore, your dad is a factor in all equations necessary. " Miranda voiced

Deciding there was no reason to fight it, Brielle sat In silence preparing herself for her fathers' reaction.

Hearing the garage door open, she almost stopped breathing.

"After dinner, the three of us are having a conversation," Miranda said, releasing her child to go about her business.

Eventually, the Warren dinner commenced and ended. Clearing dishes, Brielle stood as shaky as a leaf in a heavy wind.