Never Met a Girl Like Her | ✔️

(36)

My jaw clenched and I was glad that Heath had his arm around my waist. However, I could feel him becoming tense beside me as well.

"I'm not an idiot Amy. I work with kids. Sick ones. I love children. I want to be a pre school teacher. It's no—"

"Teaching for six hours a day and having children of your own that require 24/7 care is not the same thing."

"I'm sure it's not. But lots of women seem to manage just fine. And don't bring up the past again. I'm not that person anymore. So shut it! I can learn. I am in a good financial position. Heath loves me. He's supportive. All things considered, I'm in a better position than a lot of other teen moms."

Her laugh was sarcastic. "Yeah they're all supportive and want to stick around until the baby arrives and they actually see what the real deal is."

"I'm not leaving," Heath said, low. His deep dangerous voice made me wet.

Amy ignored him and shrugged her shoulders. "I just think that it's ridiculous. It's a lifelong commitment. Not one that you make just because you're happy and in love and think it's all perfect from here on out. The smartest thing to do would be to get rid of it. Go to school. Get a career. Establish yourself in a stable relationship and then think about having kids."

"Yeah that whole plan sounds great, Amy. Smart even. But that's not happening because I'm pregnant now and I'm staying that way because this is the course that my life has taken and you don't have the fucking right to tell me to get rid of my baby!"

The room crackled with tension. It was quiet but I knew my friends well enough to know that they would have been itching to jump in on the argument. But they knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't want that. Not that we'd really given anyone the chance to get a word in.

Amy stood up with her book and her brown leather shoulder bag. "Fine then Leonie. Congratulations on your baby and the end of your opportunities," she turned to leave but stopped and looked at us again. "Ethan and I broke up last night. But we thought we'd keep it to ourselves until after Sarah's wedding. You know, so that we weren't making shit about ourselves. Guess we didn't need to worry about that after all."

Ethan stared at the floor. I thought that he might have told her that she didn't have to leave. I certainly wasn't going to be asking her to hang around though. Not after she'd put me on blast like that. I understood her point. Her concerns. But there were better ways that she could have tried to get them across.

She walked out of the room and a moment later, the front door slammed shut. We were all quiet. Not sure what to do next. Heath leaned down beside my ear. "You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," I smiled and squeezed his hand. It'd take a lot more than Amy being opinionated to upset me. Opinions were fine. It was all in how you argued them that decided whether I'd respect it or not. "Don't stress. I'm not going to listen to her."

He gave me a quick kiss.

"You good bro?" Bray asked Ethan who was vigorously rubbing his face with exhaustion. Ethan nodded.

Sarah gave him a small smile. "You didn't have to worry about keeping it a secret. Alex and I are getting married but that doesn't mean that what others are going through is less important."

Ethan nodded with appreciation and while he did seem fine, I could see that the break up had effected him. How could it not? They'd been together for two years. Whether it was what they both wanted or not, there had to be a grieving process.

I could see Jade on the sofa beside Bray. Attempting not to look too pleased about the fact that Ethan was back on the market. "So," she looked at me just in time to see the warning glare that I was giving her. She stuck out her tongue and grinned. "What'd your mom say about the baby? And Heath. Jazz must have been less than pleased."