Player

Four - Problems

"L- last month, me a-and Chuck had sex. We used a condom and everything!" She startles me with the big news. "B- but it broke and n-now I'm p-p-pregnant!"

She breaks into another fit of chest heaving sobs, her shoulder moving up and down with each breath. I try to hold back my surprise, not knowing how to react. Pregnant, as in fetus growing inside of your womb? No. She would've told me as soon as she lost her virginity! Ana would never in a million years lie to me like this... We're best friends.

"No way." I want to laugh, to believe that she's lying. I want to believe that this is a joke, but by the way she's crying I can't. I can't believe this at all. "Ana, no."

She just looks at me and nods, a dribble of snot drooling down her lip. She continues to sob, hiccuping every now and then. I hold her again my ribs, pulling Ana tight to my chest. She cries and drools and hiccups, but I don't move.

"I didn't mean to, Manny." She whines. I just hush her, pitying her. She never asked for this. "I went to the doctor today during my study, that's where you hear the woman from the ER."

I remember the blood-curdling scream from the phone call earlier. She was in the hospital clinic getting tested.

"And the baby?" I ask. Ana looks at me for a second, wiping her face and looking surprised. "Are you keeping it?"

"What the hell, Manny!" She gasps. "Yes, I'm keeping it!"

She looks absolutely outraged for a minute, staring at me surprised. I should've known that she would keep the baby, she would never be able to go through an abortion. She couldn't even hurt a mouse, why would I think that she'd kill a baby?

"I'm sorry," I say, giving her time to collapse into more sobbing hiccups. We sit like this on my bed, not moving, for hours. Ana's snot and drool eventually stained my white tee, but I didn't bother to change. She needed me so much right now.

Ana's head finally dropped to her chest, her cries of pain and fear subsiding into oblivion. I lay her down on my bed, smoothing her tear soaked hair down and letting her fall asleep. I didn't move from my perch next to her. I was tempted to check my phone and see if Willow had messaged me, but I refused to move. I was terrified that Ana would wake up and I wouldn't be there. She'd start crying again and I can't handle that.

So I lay next to her, listening to her quiet and calm breathing. Her chest moves up and down and I imagine her with a baby bump. Her stomach will expand until it hurts to stand and her back will ache and I won't be there 24/7 to make sure she's safe.

I wonder if her parents know yet. What about Chuck? Does the father know that he's a father? Eventually, all of Hanna High School will know that Ana is pregnant and she'll be teased and mocked. I can't handle all of that. I have enough to deal with as it is with Jake's agreement and Willow being gone, I can't handle another issue. I'm not trying to be selfish, but I'm going to get stressed big time.

I hate this so much. Ana is a lucky person, she'd never have broken a condom. I know it. She's responsible, even more than me. She's never lied to her parents or skipped class before, so this is such a shock.

I close my eyes, wishing for sleep, but it never comes. I'm stuck watching Ana restlessly sleep next to me, dreaming something horrible. I want to pull her bad thoughts from her head and let her sleep.

~

"Manny?" Ana pokes me in the cheek, waking me up. I look around, the sun is pouring in through the windows and Ana's face is caked with dried snot. "I'm going to go take a shower and then we're going to school, so get ready."

She slaps my thigh and I sit up. She seems so much better from last night. Either she doesn't remember, or she's all cried out. I watch as she disappears into my private bathroom, her shirt tear stained and covered in mucus. I climb out of my sweatpants and the white tee that has been dirtied by Ana's bodily fluids and into a simple outfit. I slide into a pair of blue jeans and a gray tee. I decide not to do anything with my hair, so I just comb it out with my fingers and leave it laying down by my face.