The First

Chapter 18

Too tired to crawl under the covers, Teagan curled into a fetal position on the floor next to her bed. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." This shit ain't happening. No way. Her hand shook as she tapped the call button on the cell. She wasn't excited to hear the response waiting for her on the other end.

The cell rang. If you don't answer, Ellie, I'll hunt you down and kill you myself.

Her silent threat worked. Ellie answered after the fourth ring.

"What's up, babe?"

Relieved to hear her best friend's voice, Teagan lost it and sobbed. The kind of sobbing you get as a child and can't stop no matter what you do.

"What's wrong?" Teagan knew Ellie's counseling voice better than anyone.

The words wouldn't come out, only blubbers and gibberish.

"Simmer down. Take a deep breath and talk to me girl. What the fuck's wrong?"

Teagan still couldn't catch her breath. "I ... I ..."

"C'mon, you can tell me anything. Ya know?"

"I might ..." Sob. "... be ... preg ... preg ..."

"PREGNANT!" So much for the counselor, the mother hen in her had shown up and kicked the counselor's ass out the door.

Teagan pulled the phone away from her ear. "I think so. I'm late. And I'm never late."

"Fuck! Really? Didn't you guys use a ..."

"No! Dipshit. I told you we didn't."

"Well, duh. Shoulda kept your dick in your pants."

"I know, right?" Teagan felt better already. "Now what?" Ellie seemed to always have the answers

"You have to tell your mom."

Wrong answer. "No way."

"You have to. She's supposed to fix this shit, isn't she? Isn't that what she does for a living? "

"I don't give a rat's ass, there's no way I'm telling her."

"Teag? At least she's trying. She'll take care of you. By the time the baby comes, everything will be better. You'll see. I can't believe I just said that. You're gonna have a baby. A little, shit-dealing Tea Bags rolling around the house. Or eating everyone in sight."

"No! No! I'm not having this ...this fucking thing. They already said all pregnancies are being terminated by law. So there you have it. No baby. Not ever."

"First. Let's figure out if you're preggo. Then we'll deal with it. How late are you?"

"Couple weeks."

"Shit. Strike one. You need to get tested."

"Quit, El. They're monitoring the stores. We can't go buy a pregnancy test and we sure as hell can't go to a doctor."

"Never fear. Your El is here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're lucky my mom's a whore."

"She's married."

"Well. She's a whore with my dad. Why do you think I have six siblings? Those two are like bunnies."

"Gross."

"And they keep a healthy supply of pregnancy tests in the garage. I can swipe a couple and get them up to my room."

"No shit?"

"No shit! Now get your preggo ass over here."

"Okay. I'm out the door." Teagan tossed her phone across the room where it landed with a soft bounce in her laundry basket. After she finished buttoning her jeans and before she pulled her gray hoodie over her head, she checked her tummy in the mirror, patting the tiny lump several times.

Un-fucking-believable.

She retrieved her phone and jogged down the stairs. In the kitchen she found her keys hanging on the rack mounted by the front door, swiped them and locked the door on her way out.

It's all in my head. It's all in my head. You're not pregnant. You're not pregnant. She clicked the car door's unlock button and auto started it from her key-chain. The tires left little black streaks as she tore out of the driveway. Mom's gonna to kill me for that one. Doesn't matter, I'm fucked anyway.

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