Church service had just come to an end, and Azariah couldn't be anymore grateful. She loved church, but today was different, she had exciting plans. After church, she was going to visit her cousins, whom she hadn't seen in years.
Her cousins on her fathers side of the family were from Allegheny West, so Azariah's grandparents never allowed her to visit them. However, now that Azariah had her own car, she was able to go wherever she wanted.
"Ugh, I can't wait to go home. I feel sick," Brianna groaned, holding her hand over her stomach. She was constantly nauseous, a common symptom of pregnancy, and she hated it. Besides the nausea, Brianna felt exhausted and experienced various types of pain she never felt before. She wanted it all to be over.
"Bri, did you ever go to the doctor to check how many months you are?" Azariah glanced over at her friend as they walked into the church's cafeteria.
Azariah spotted Elijah over by the snack table with his mother. Unlike usual, the two weren't sitting beside each other at service today. She wasn't the type to hold grudges, and didn't really have anything against him.
"Um no, I didn't," Brianna sighed, taking a seat at one of the tables alongside Azariah. "It's just.. I don't know, I feel like if I go to the doctor, all of this is gonna become so real. And I'll really have to tell my parents!"
Like Azariah's grandparents, Brianna's parents were devout Christians. Brianna knew exactly how they would react if they found out their daughter was pregnant out of wedlock.
"I mean not even just my parents— I'd be shunned by the whole church!" Brianna explained, and Azariah nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, just like Imani," Azariah said, shaking her head. The entire church knew Imani. She was a member who became pregnant three years ago at the age of 16. Since then, Imani refused to return to church after the treatment she received, and her parents went from going to church every Sunday, to just a few times per year.
"Mhm. I mean I told you how Jordan reacted when I told him. Imagine how my parents would react," Brianna placed a hand over her forehead in distress. "Honestly, I don't even want to go home. I don't want to see my parents and think about how I have to tell them."
"Well, you wanna come with me? I'm going to my cousins house," Azariah offered. Brianna looked over at her with a confused face.
"Cousins? I thought your mom was an only child?" Brianna questioned.
"She is. I'm visiting my cousins on my dad's side, I haven't seen them in a while," Azariah explained with a smile. She used to visit her cousins often when she was younger, with her dad, before their relationship started becoming rocky. Since then, she hadn't seen them, but she was excited.
