I am absolutely terrified to do a pregnancy test. My mom had brought me one the day after I explained to her. It's been a week since then. The investigation into the case is still on going and I am yet to go to the trial. Kylie and Sarah are being so supportive and are starting to persuade me to come to school. I can't. People will laugh, especially if they find out I am pregnant.
"Honey, please take the test." my mom says from outside my bedroom door.
"What if I am pregnant mom? Everyone is going to hate me! You and dad wouldn't want me as a teenage mom! I'm such a disgrace to the family!" I say.
"Ella Harris. You are not a disgrace to the family. You are an inspiration. So what if you are pregnant? There are options and I got pregnant at 15 so it's okay. It's okay to cry and feel scared. I was terrified, but when your brother was born, I thought to myself, I am so lucky and when you were born, I thought the exact same thing." my mom says.
"I don't want a baby mom. I don't want to walk around with a huge stomach and people giving me weird looks, but I don't want my child going off to some strangers!" I say.
"Well, then there is an abortion." My mom says with some shakiness in her voice.
"But you're against abortion, it would be wrong." I say.
"And you're my daughter. You and Terry come before what I believe in." She says.
"Okay." I say.
"So you'll do the test?" My mom says.
"Yeah. Bring it in." I say.
I sit up from my bed and my mom comes in. She hands me the box that says clear blue on it. I take out the contents and go into my en suite after reading how to use it. I stare at the white section of where the fate of my future will soon be lying. I really hope it's negative.
"Have you done it yet honey?" my mom shouts.
"Yeah." I say.
I flush the toilet and dry the stick with tissue. I wait three minutes as the instructions said and when I look at the results, my heart sinks. Positive.
"Mom." I say.
"Sweetheart." my mom says.
She comes into the bathroom and looks at the test. She hugs me and I cry heavily. My life is ruined. I have to get an abortion, but what if it doesn't work and the baby grows up and finds out and hates me.
"Baby, you need to calm down. Breathe. In and out." my mom says.
I stop hyperventilating and then run out the bathroom. I go downstairs and find my brother sitting on the couch with his girlfriend. I stand in the doorway, debating whether to speak up or go back upstairs. Speak up.
"Um, Terry, could you um, give me a um." I stutter.
"Ella, is everything okay?" Asks Terry as he turns his body to face me.
"Yeah. I was wondering if you could give me a lift to Mr Chimes' apartment, I have tuition." I lie.
"I thought tuition was tomorrow." says Terry.
"He had to change the date for a family emergency." I lie again.
"Okay. Let me get my shoes." says Terry.
I run upstairs and let my mom know where I'm going. I take my purse and put my phone inside. I throw the pregnancy test away, but then realize it could be used as evidence when I testify. I stare at it for a moment before taking it out and leaving it on the side with a note in case anyone comes in. I go downstairs and see an impatient Terry waiting.
"What the hell were you doing?" asks Terry.
"Something." I say.
We leave the house and then start driving towards Mr Chimes' apartment. I get into the front seat and the first 5 minutes of the car ride is silent. Should I tell Terry that I am soon about to abort his niece or nephew? I don't know.
"Terry." I say.
Here we go.
"Yeah?" he says.
"I'm pregnant." I say.
Terry looks at me quickly before setting his eyes on the road.
"And Carter is the dad?" says Terry.
"Yes." I say.
"Well, it's sort of good news and bad news." Says Terry.
"I know, bad because it's a reminder of what he did to me and good because it proves that he raped me and there's no denying it because of what the results of the rape kit were." I say.
"He is going down." says Terry.
We don't speak for the rest of the journey. When we arrive, I sit and stare at my feet. I then look at Terry and I think he has a tear in his eye. I then go back to looking at my feet.
"Are you gonna tell him?" Terry asks.
"What?" I say after being snapped out of my trance.
"Are you going to tell Mr Chimes that you're pregnant." Terry asks.
"There's no need. I'm getting an abortion anyway so he doesn't need to know." I say as i get out of the car.
I say goodbye to Terry and then walk up the stairwell. I get to Mr Chimes' door and I knock three times. There's no answer, so I knock again. Still, no answer. I knock one more time and the door finally opens. Mr Chimes. Looks like he just got out the shower.
"Ella. I didn't think you were coming till later when you sent your text." Mr Chimes says.
"Look. I have spent nearly every day with you for the past week and I can't ignore this sort of attraction to you." I admit.
"Ella, I'm flattered, but I'm your teacher and it would be illegal." Mr Chimes says.
"I can see it in your eyes that you have feelings for me." I say.
"Ella." Says Mr Chimes.
"Look. If you don't want anything to do with me, then fine, but I just want you to know, that me being here, your apartment is my safe place." I say.
I begin to walk away until I feel two arms grab me and turn me around. I start crying and then Mr Chimes cups my face.
"I want to love you. I really, really do, but if I do, I could go to prison and you wouldn't see me for a long time. I really want to be with you, just the law is tearing us apart." Mr Chimes confesses.
"Fuck the law. If I love you and you love me, then who says we shouldn't be together?" I say.
"Ella. You need to stop worrying about me and you and concentrate on Carter's trial. It's coming up soon and you need to focus on that. I will wait until you are 18, but what if you were to find a boy who is your age and fall in love with him. Get married. Have kids!" says Mr Chimes.
"I want to marry you, I want to have your children, but I'm having Carter's!" I say.
"What?" says Mr Chimes.
"That wasn't supposed to come out." I say.
"So you weren't gonna tell me?" Mr Chimes exclaims.
"I'm sorry." I say.
"What are you going to do?" asks Mr Chimes.
"I'm having an abortion. Period." I say.
"Are you sure?" asks Mr Chimes.
"Yes. Period." I say.
We go back into his apartment. He closes the door and we sit on the couch. I sit in silence whilst Mr Chimes makes 2 teas. I have barley known this guy a week, but I know I can trust him with my life. If only he were a few years younger, things could be different. I can't drop the l-bomb yet, and I don't know whether to go in for a kiss again. Should I wait until our relationship is deemed legal? Like he said, I need to concentrate on the trial. It's in 4 days and I'm scared as hell.
"Thanks." I say as Mr chimes hands me a cup of tea.
"Ella, did you only-" says Mr Chimes.
I put my cup of ea on the table in front of us and bring our lips together. We break apart and then Mr chimes looks quite taken back. I start crying again, but then my lips are soon touching another soft material. His lips. Things start to go a bit too far, before I pull away.
"We can't do that again. I mean, a kiss is okay, still illegal, but we can't go to the next stage." says Mr Chimes.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you in the first place." I say.
I stand up and grab my purse. I leave the apartment before Mr chimes can say anything. I start walking until I hear some sniffling and crying. I turn into the alley and see someone from History class.
"Bethany!" I say.
I bend down next to her and she has red puffy eyes. She looks up at me and starts to cry even more.
"Bethany, what's wrong?" I ask.
"Why are you being nice to me, I've always been horrible to you!" Bethany exclaims.
"That doesn't matter right now. I need you to tell me what's wrong!" I say.
"Promise you won't tell anyone." Bethany says.
I gulp.
"I promise." I say.
"The day before Carter's party, he'd invited me round. We started to make out, but then he took it further. I said no. I swear, but he raped me. Before the party started, he forced me to come round and help set up and he raped me again." Bethany says.
She bursts into tears and I stand up. If I convince her to testify, Carter will go down for good. I bend down again so My head is level with Bethany's.
"Stay here. I'll be two minutes." I say.
I walk out of the alley and get my phone out. She made me promise not to tell anyone, but this is serious and the police have to know.
"911, what is your emergency?" asks the operator.
"Hi, my name is Ella Harris. I am part of the Carter Reynolds case. I um, have something, two things actually that could be used against him." I say.
"Just one second ma'am, I'll pass you over to the person in charge of the case." says the woman.
The line changes and I soon find myself talk to a kind feminine voice.
"Ella, hi, what can I do for you?" asks Danielle.
"Danielle, I have two things to tell you, but it's probably better to tell you t the station. It's things that could be used against Carter." I say.
"Okay. Where are you and are you with anyone?" Asks Danielle.
"I'm in an alley just off Curie Street. I am with a girl from my history class, she is one of the things." I say.
"Okay, what's her name?" asks Danielle.
"Bethany Allen." I say.
"I'm sending a car now. Call your mom and tell her to meet us at the station." Says Danielle.
The line goes dead and I go back to Bethany. I explain to her what is going to happen and she agrees to everything. Thank god. I help her up and we walk to the side of the road so the car can see us more clearly. We get picked up and then I call my mom on the way.
"Mom, you need to come to the police station." I say.
"Is everything okay?" my mom asks.
"Yeah, just come. I promise everything is fine." I say.
I end the phone call and spend the rest of the time with my arms around a silently sobbing Bethany. We arrive at the station and my mom is already there. Danielle is waiting outside. She helps me bring Bethany in and we are automatically guided to an interview room. Me and Bethany sit down with my mom on one side of the desk and Danielle sits on the other side.
"Bethany, my name is Danielle. Would you like to call your mom?" asks Danielle.
Bethany shakes her head.
"Okay. I need to ask you a few questions, is that okay?" asks Danielle.
"Yeah." Bethany croaks out.
"Okay. Can you tell me what happened?" asks Danielle.
"Carter Reynolds raped me twice. The first time was on the first day of school after the school day had ended and the second time it happened was before the party, the day after the first time." Bethany says.
"Okay. Can you tell me what happened prior to the rape?" asks Danielle.
"We were at Carter's house. We were on the couch and we started to make out. He wanted to go further, but I said no. I tried pushing him off me, but he wouldn't move." Says Bethany.
"You're doing really well Bethany. Can you tell me what happened prior to the second rape?" asks Danielle.
"He forced me to come round to help set up for the party and he raped me. Then a few hours later, he raped Ella." Bethany says.
I feel a single tear escape the corner of my eye. I wipe it and then Danielle continues.
"Okay. I will need your consent for this, but can we perform a rape kit on you?" asks Danielle.
"Yes." says Bethany.
Bethany gives me her mom's number and I go outside and use the phone. Her mom gets down to the station within minutes. She and Bethany get taken to where the rape kit will be done, however, Danielle takes me and my mom back into the room.
"Ella, you said on the phone that there were two things you needed to speak about. Bethany wa the first thing, what was the second?" asks Danielle.
"I'm pregnant." I say.
"And Carter's the father?" says Danielle.
"Yes. It is his baby, but I'm getting an abortion." I say.
"Okay. We will need to do a paternity test and I will take note. If the dury see that Carter impregnated you, then there is a very small chance Carter is walking out that court room a free man." says Danielle
"Wait, won't you need Carter's DNA?" I ask.
"There are two options. The first one is that we get some of his DNA, for example a swab from the mouth or a strand of hair, and the second one is that we can use DNA from his immediate family, such as his mom, dad, or siblings. I personally think that using a swab from his mouth is the best option." Says Danielle.
"Okay." I say.
"And we will be re-interviewing him because of Bethany coming forward. If both of you testify in court, he will go to prison for a minimum of 5 years." says Danielle.
"Okay. Thank you Danielle. Would you be able to keep me posted on this please?" I ask.
"Yes. Do you want to wait for Bethany or do you have to go?" asks Danielle.
"We're gonna go. Can you tell her to call me or message me on Face Book please?" I ask.
"Sure." says Danielle.
We leave and my mom drives us home. We get home and before my dad or brother can greet me, I run straight up to my room. I take y phone from my purse and get a number up. Should I call him or should I text or should I do nothing?
"Hello?" says Mr Chimes.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for walking out earlier. I would have come back, but something sort of serious happened." I say.
"Is something wrong?" Asks Mr Chimes.
"Everything is okay now, I just wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have ran out without letting you talk." I say.
"Ella. Stop thinking and worrying about me. I don't care what you do. You have a trial in 4 days and I hate that I can't be there to support you." Says Mr chimes.
"You don't have to be there to support me. You have helped me so much through this whole experience. You've been kind. You've listened. You've cared and that's more than I could ask for." I say.
"I just wanna repeat something. I want to love you, I really want to love you." Says Mr Chimes.
There's a silence and then the line goes dead. Huh, it was just like a movie sort of thing. I put my phone on my bed and then go downstairs. Danielle contacted my mom saying that they will be getting a swab from Carter as late as tomorrow. That means, we have to meet them at the hospital and they take a swab from me. It is his baby!