Dilemma

Chapter One

"Mariah I know you said not to worry but I'm freaking out. I'm pregnant by my best friend's brother. We never told her we were even fooling around and now I have to tell them both about this. What if he doesn't believe me?!" Mariah hugs and rocks me while I freak out.

"Nina will not hate you and Ángel will most definitely believe you. Ya wiggin' out over nothin'. Now stop panicking and stressing 'fore you kill my cousin in there," she says, poking my stomach.

"I'm gonna tell them after I finish with classes for the day. I'll stop by your place if the news goes bad. Love ya, cuz." I hug her and hightail it to Professor Gorgon's class.

Classes ended too quick today. I get in my jeep and drive over to Southwest to see the Santos clan. When I pull up in the driveway, Mick runs to hug me as soon as I get out of my truck, his black curls flopping .

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! I never see you no more!" he whines when I let go. He's a little bit taller since the last time I saw him.

"I might be around more often, okay?"

"You promise?"

"I'll try."

Okay," he runs off into the house at that. I go inside to the kitchen to greet Mama and Papa Santos.

"Hola Lizzy. ¿Qué tal?" Papa Santos asks.

"Bien, ¿tú?" I ask.

"Muy bien. ¿Sacas buenas notas?"

"Sí."

"Bien."

"¿Dondé son Nina y Ángel?"

"En el cuarto de Nina."

"Gracias. ¡Hasta luego!"

"Y tú."

I go down the hall to Nina's room and knock. "Come in!" she yells and I go inside. Ángel is laying on Nina's couch doing homework.

"Nina I got something to say."

"What?"

"Ángel and I have been dating for the past year now. And I love him."

"Are you serious?" she asks and Ángel stands between us.

"Yes," I say, grabbing Ángel's hand. "And I'm two months pregnant," I announce, voice shaking. Both of them look shocked.

"You forreal?" Ángel asks.

"Yes. Tell me now if you don't believe me so I can speak to Nina alone and then leave."

"Just give me a minute," he says, leaving the room and me and Nina alone. I sit on her bed and wait for her to say something.

"Liz he's my brother."

"I know."

"My little brother. What happened to all that stuff you said about never dating down? He's two years younger than you."

"I know and we didn't mean for it to happen."

"How did it happen?"

"Well, a while after his eighteenth birthday you had left to go talk to your mom and we were in your room alone. He said he had something to tell me and he kissed me. I was shocked at first, but I started kissing him back. I asked him to explain what the kiss was about, but you came back, so we dropped it. On my way home he called me and we met up to talk. He confessed that he'd been attracted to me for years, but he never knew what to do since I was older and could face a charge. He said he waited till he was legal to do anything. The rest is history," I sigh, waiting for her response.

"Are you sure the baby is my brother's?" she asks and I glare at her.

"Of course! I love that man and I would never cheat on him. I'm hurt that you would ask me that." I storm out of her room to Ángel's and sit on his bed.

"How do you feel Ángel?" I ask.

"This is hard for me. I'm in my first year of college. I can't have a baby right now."

"I guess I should've never made love to you then, huh? I really forced that on you, right. You aren't responsible for this at all." I stand and walk to the door with tears in my eyes. "I'm sorry I ever gave you my virginity. Have a nice life," I say rushing to my car.

I break down as soon as I step foot in Mariah's apartment. I grab a carton of ice cream and lay on her couch.

Eventually Mariah shows up and cradles me as I cry myself to sleep...

"Nina thinks the baby's not his..." I confess as I drift to sleep.

I wake up in Mariah's bed and she's standing over me. "If you get up and take a shower then I'll have breakfast waiting for you when you get out and dressed."

I get up and go to the bathroom. I know I look like shit when I wake up, but I'm still startled by how horrible I look. My face is all puffy, my lips are crusty and ashy, I have raccoon eyes and I have tear stains on my cheeks. I groan and take my shower.

As promised, when I get out the shower and put on my clothes from my drawer, my breakfast is ready. I sit at the table and lose my appetite at the sight of a stack of sausage links. I push my plate away and grab my glass of orange juice. Mariah notices my plate sitting at the opposite side of the table. "You need to eat," she says, pushing the plate in front of me.

"Pregnant don't mean amnesia. I don't eat meat and you know it. I'm not hungry now, so I'll grab something on my way to class." I check my phone for the time and I have five missed calls from Nina and my parents. " Time for us to go to school. Bye Mariah, thanks for everything you've done to help me with the situation. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Alright, love ya girl. And when you see 'em tell Mama and Papa Valentino and your sissies I said hello," she says, hugging me.

"Ight girl, bye," I say, getting in my car and driving to school.