"Charlotte?"
Breathe, I thought to myself. You just need to breathe.
The air I needed seemed to be caught in my throat as I stared at the results in front of me. I knew what the outcome would have been, but it still caught me by surprise. I thought the first test at school was a fluke. I'd taken three more, and they all said the same thing. And it scared the shit out of me. Knowing that it was real. That this was really happening. That I was...
I couldn't think about it. I couldn't bring myself to say that word. This couldn't be happening. This didn't happen to girls like me. I only did it once, for Christ's sake!
"Charlotte?"
The voice on the other side of the bathroom door caught me off guard. I had heard my mother call my name the first time, but it hadn't registered in my head. I forced an excuse to form in my head. I couldn't tell her anything yet. I could hardly handle knowing myself.
"S-sorry, Mom! I was just looking for my earring."
I said the first plausible thing that came to my mind. Something that my mother would believe.
"Found it," I said breathlessly through the door, praying that she wouldn't see past my lie. She couldn't find out so soon. I was already about to fall apart.
"Well, good. Dinner's ready, honey."
"Okay," I answered, my voice still shaky. How would I get through dinner? I swallowed the lump in my throat, knowing she was still standing there. "I'll be down in a minute."
She didn't say anything, but I heard her walk away. I turned around, staring at the tests sitting on the counter. I put them at the bottom of my backpack, along with the wrappers and the box they came in. I had to throw them away at school tomorrow. I couldn't risk her finding them if she emptied my trash.
I threw my backpack in my closet and hurried downstairs.
"How was school today, Charlotte?" She asked as I slid into the seat across from her.
Great. I threw up my breakfast before second period.
"It was fine," I muttered, putting food onto my plate and avoiding eye contact. I offered more information, not wanting her to think something was wrong. "Less homework, y'know, since we only have this week and next week."
It was just her and I right now. My stepfather, Chris, was at work. I was almost relieved. It wasn't that we didn't like each other...We just never made an effort to get close, and it was awkward. I had a feeling that there was something about me he didn't like.
When dinner was done, I slipped back up to my room. I closed the door behind me and slid to the floor, consumed by the truth I knew I'd have to face.
I was pregnant.
YOU ARE READING
Dear Emmett
Teen FictionWhen most people look back on their lives, they see that one defining event. The moment that changes everything. And my moment was him.