Baby Wolfe

An outcast. That's what I was. Everywhere I went; people would stare at me, and then quickly look away. They knew. It wasn't that hard to figure out. The whole town knew about it, it wasn't a big town. They knew me, Abigail Wolfe, and they knew about my little baby. Yes, my little baby. Well, my little unborn baby. Yes, I'm pregnant. That's not something to be proud of when you're me. Not only was I the outcast of the town, but I was 17 years old, had no job, and I was homeless. That's right, my parents kicked me out. They wanted me to get rid of my baby, as in an abortion. They thought it wasn't an actual baby because it's father wasn't an actual person, but a monster.

In truth, the father was human. He was as human as everyone else; I even had a thing for him. My baby's father, his name was Ian and he's my ex-boyfriend. He took it really hard when we broke up. So hard in fact that on my way home from a friend's house one day he suddenly appeared. He didn't look too happy. I'll just spare you the gory details and say that that was how I was knocked up.

Well, I didn't tell my parents right away, I didn't have the heart. They liked Ian too much and were already upset with me for breaking up with him. Besides, I didn't know whether it was worth telling, even though my virginity was gone, I was too traumatized to notice any other changes.

That's when it hit me. Protection, there was none. I wasn't taking birth control, because I was abstinent and he didn't use a condom. Also, I had skipped my period for the month, and it's never done that before. I needed one of those stick thingy's and I needed one now. So I snuck out to get a pregnancy tester (apparently that's what those stick thingy's are called) and when I got home, locked my bathroom door and proceeded to go through with the testing. When the results were in, I fainted. I didn't even look at the results, I just fainted. Thank God no one heard me; it was the middle of the night. When I woke up again, no one had noticed that I had fainted, I'm pretty light. I didn't need the stick to tell me what I already knew, but I looked at it anyway. That confirmed what my gut was telling me and my greatest fears. I wasn't alone.

I fainted again. This time, I had been able to make it to my bed before I passed out cold, that way it looked like I was sleeping. The shock of everything just overwhelmed me and I passed out cold.

That next morning, I decided I needed to go to doctors. I figured if anyone knew, it would be a doctor. So I went to see the doctor. Dr. Sanders, oh he was a family friend. I knew him very well and we were very close. He would let me know what I thought I knew without my parents knowing. When I went into his office, he greeted me with his usual hello and asked how things were going at home. I answered him politely and then he started with the awkward part.

"So, Abigail, why are you here? Well, what's wrong?"

"Well Matt," Yes, I could call him by his first name. I continued, "First of all, call me Abbey. Like Abbey Road, as in a Beatles album. I really like Abbey better. And well...I think I'm...I think I'm...well...pregnant."

That floored him. No one could ever expect that from me, not even myself.

"Okay Abbey," he put an emphasis on my nickname and then continued, "Are you sure?"

"Well, I did one of those pee-on-a-stick tests and it came back positive. I was hoping you could give me a more definite answer."

"I sure can. But your parents...do they...?"

"No they do not know. I would hope that you could keep this a secret, as a family friend. I will tell them if I need too, if I have too."

"Very well then. Let's get you tested."

And so the testing began. And when Dr. Sanders finished, he went to review the results. It would take a while for the results to come out, so I went to grab a bite to eat. Well, not a bite. It was more like inhaling food. I was really craving chicken.

When I went back to see Dr. Sanders, he said the results were ready. He started talking and he looked very grim.

"Abigail. The results are in. Your suspicions were right. You are pregnant."

That's when the world started spinning. I couldn't believe it. I was hoping that that pregnancy test was lying. It wasn't. And now I had something inside me. I was too young to have this responsibility. It was all happening too fast. I fainted again.

When I woke up, I was still in the doctor's office, only I was on a bed. Dr. Sanders was in the room when I woke up. He started, "You're awake! You had me scared there. Try not to do that again, it's not good for the baby if you keep falling like that."

"Matt, are you going to tell my parents?"

There was silence then. I could tell he was pondering the question. I really didn't want him to answer yes. They would surely kill me if they found out. After a couple of minutes he answered, "I don't think so. It's not my secret to tell."

"Thank you Matt. How far am I along?"

"5 weeks."

We continued our conversation about the child and then he escorted me out. As I was walking home, I thought about the sudden growth in speed of my life and how everything changed with three words. And most importantly, what was I going to tell my parents?