Hazel waited anxiously for her boyfriend, Frank, to come over. They've been dating a little bit over a year now and she loved every second with him.
Frank was very sweet and kind to her, even if there was a two year gap between them. He always treated her like a princess even when she didn't want it. It was a great gesture but sometimes Hazel had to do things on her own.
Just like she did twenty minutes ago. Her hands were sweaty and her body was trembling as she thought about what was going to happen when Frank walked through that door. The worst case scenario kept popping up in her head, but she tried to shake it off. Frank would never hurt her in that way.
Thankfully, no one was home. Her older half brother, Nico, was at work and her father wouldn't be home until dinner. Until then, Hazel had the whole place to herself which is exactly what she wanted.
She was lost in her thoughts as she tried to figure out the best way to present the situation, but ultimately it relied on Frank. Then the doorbell rang, causing her to jump.
She got up and went to the door, making sure it was him first, then answering it. Just seeing him caused her dread and happiness at the same time.
"Hey." Frank sounded concerned. "You sounded nervous on the phone. What's wrong?"
"Why don't you come inside first and then we can talk?" She opened the door wider for him to pass through.
He walked in, taking off his shoes at the door, before heading to the couch. Hazel walked behind him, trying to hide her worries.
"Hazel, what's wrong?" Frank stressed. "You don't look too good. Are you sick?"
She sat down on the couch and Frank followed suit. He took her hand. His eyes were full of concern as Hazel was trying her hardest not to cry and let the tears fall before they should.
She looked down at the floor, too scared to look him straight in the eyes when she whispered, "I'm pregnant."
They were both quiet. All they could hear was their breathing and the air conditioning turning on when the house temperature reached above seventy-two degrees.
Hazel looked up from the floor, tears clouding her vision as she looked at Frank to see how he was feeling about this. He had a puzzled expression on his face but his eyes showed his true emotions; confusion, fear, anger, nervousness.
"Frank?" Hazel croaked.
He looked at her, trying to figure out what to say. "P-Pregnant?"
Hazel nodded. "I was late and I haven't been feeling good for the past couple of days. I got worried and took two home pregnancy tests and they both read positive. I even doubled checked."
"But, we were so careful. I bought a brand new box!"
"Maybe there was a hole that we didn't notice." Hazel told him. "Or something we overlooked."
Frank gently pulled his hand away so he could run both of them over his short cropped hair. He looked a lot like how she felt; scared out of her mind.
"What are we going to do?" She asked. "Are we going to keep it? Put it up for adoption? Have an...you know?"
He looked at her right in the eyes and said the three words Hazel didn't want to hear, "I don't know."
She stared at him as she started to break. All the emotions she tried to keep pent up while she took the pregnancy tests by herself and waited for him to come finally showed. She cried into her hands, terrified that their lives were now ruined because of one mistake. One mistake that they made a couple of weeks ago on their one year anniversary.
Hazel felt the couch move as Frank moved to hug her. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around him. Her shirt was damp from their tears. They were two terrified teenagers who messed up.
They didn't know how long they stayed like that. All that Hazel knew is that when they finally pulled away, their eyes were bloodshot and their cheeks were stained with tears. Frank got up to get them water, but he didn't touch his cup.
"Maybe we should sleep on it." Frank told her, his voice thick from crying. "This is all too much right now to think straight."
She nodded, not trusting her voice. Even after taking a huge drink, she didn't want to risk crying again.
His phone went off and Hazel could see it pained him to look at who was calling. He took a deep breath and answered it.
"Yes grandma, I'll be home soon. Bye." He said with much confidence, like he wasn't crying a minute ago. But once he hung up, he was back to looking as terrible as he was before. "I got to go. My grandma wants me home."
"Do you have to? Now?" Hazel's voice cracked in different places. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay and hold her and tell her that things were going to be alright.
"I don't want to go, but I need to before I get an earful later. I'll text you later, okay. We can figure out what to do." He said. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too." She whispered.
Frank got up and went to the door. He slid on his shoes before heading to his car.