When we don't know who to turn to, sometimes we turn to the ones we least expect.
Luke Salazar is a senior at Bay High School, and he's been pushed, shoved, and shut out for most of his life. Miles Jefferson has been the ringleader of a lot of that...
This would be the first adult I'd admitted this to – but my dad always told me that you should never lie to your lawyer or your doctor – so I told the truth. "Yes. Since March."
She nodded, writing on my chart. "Is he your first sexual partner?"
"Yes. And I'm his."
"Very good. And do you use protection every time?"
"All except twice... that's kind of what brought me here today."
"Ah," she said simply. "All right. I assume you aren't on birth control."
I shook my head. "I was hoping you could help with that."
"Absolutely. When was your last menstrual period?"
"About six weeks ago... I'm about two weeks late," I murmured, feeling sick to my stomach.
"Oh, well, then. I guess the first thing we need to do is a pregnancy test. We'll do a urine test with immediate results and a blood test to be sure. Then we'll do a pelvic exam, and I'll give you a prescription for the pill. Sound good?" she asked warmly, and I felt myself relax a little.
"Yes. Sounds good."
"Very well." She handed me a foil package. "Pee on this stick," she said, and I almost laughed at the blunt instruction. "Bring it back and we'll wait for the results.
A minute or so later, I returned, holding the stick out carefully. She took it and placed it on the counter, setting a three-minute timer.
In those three minutes, so many thoughts ran through my mind: what if it's positive? What will we do? Where will we live? Will we still go to Florida State? What will my parents say?"
Finally, after what really seemed like an eternity, the timer sounded. I sat up straight, watching as she inspected it.
When she looked up at me, I knew.
"It's negative, Rachel."
I fell back against the examination table. "Thank God," I breathed, feeling the weight of the last few days leave my shoulders.
"Yes. We will still do the blood test just to be sure, but I'm confident in these results. Have you been under stress lately?"
I almost laughed out loud. "You could say that."
"That's probably why your period is late. It should show soon. Now, let's do the pelvic exam."
***
After the exam – which has to be one of the worst things a woman has to go through, by the way – I got my prescription and made my way back to the waiting room.
Miles stood up as soon as he saw me, his blue eyes dark with apprehension. I ran toward him and threw my arms around his neck. "I'm not pregnant," I whispered in his ear.
He echoed my words from earlier. "Oh, thank God." He put his hands on my cheeks and looked into my eyes. "I want you to know, though, Rachel... one day, a long time from now, you're the only woman I want to mother my children."
I melted then and there, and he kissed me deeply, right there in the waiting room.
Luke
"Luke!" my dad yelled frantically from the living room. I jumped up and rushed downstairs.
"What is it, Dad?" I asked. But when I walked through the door and saw his face, I knew it was bad.
He was gripping his cell phone in his hand, his face white.
"I – uh," he stammered.
"What, Dad? Are you okay? Is Mom okay?"
"I – uh, that was our attorney... something's happened to William."
"What happened to William?" I asked, my voice dry and crackly.
"He's dead."
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