This story is a sequel to my other story, Tragic Beginnings. You don't have
to read it to understand what's happening in this story but it's strongly
recommended. 8-) R&R!
"Emma I'm scared." Manny Santos paced her best friend's living room, wringing her hands trying to remember to breathe.
"Don't be. There's nothing to be scared of," Emma Nelson told her unconvincingly.
"Are you crazy?" Manny cried. "There's everything to be scared of!"
Emma's mother, Spike came into the room just then, with a tray of three steaming cups of tea and some cookies. Manny took a cup just to have something to hold and sat down on a chair.
"Manny, I know things look bad now, but it'll work out. Besides you're not even sure yet." Spike came to stand beside her.
Manny just took a sip of her tea. She stared intently at the timer that sat on the coffee table. After a while, everything else in the room disappeared and all she could see was the dial twitching and hear it ticking away.
After what seemed like an eternity, it rang. The sound jarred her back into the room and she looked up at Emma.
"I'll go get it," Spike volunteered seeing that Manny was frozen to the chair. She hurried into the bathroom and was gone for a few seconds before returning. Without even looking at the test, Manny could see what the results had been from the look on Spike's face.
"I'm pregnant," Manny whispered in disbelief.
"Oh, sweetie." Spike came over to hug the stunned girl. Emma came to stand beside the chair and put her arm around her friend.
Manny looked up at them both with tear-filled eyes. "What am I going to do? How can I tell my parents? And everyone at school? And.Craig."
"Don't worry about that right now," Emma said soothingly.
"Right," Spike agreed. "Right now the only one you have to worry about is yourself." She straightened. "I'm going to drive you to the clinic downtown, okay Manny? Just to make sure and so you can talk to someone about your options."
"My options?" Manny then realized what Spike meant. "You mean abortion?"
Spike looked stricken and quickly shook her head with a glance at Emma. "No, not at all. I mean your options about things in general. How to tell your parents and Craig, how the baby is..." She turned and hurried over to the door, grabbing her jacket. "Come on."
"Can you come?" Manny asked Emma. "Please?"
"Of course." Emma followed them out of the house to the car. She sat in the back next to Manny and they were silent for the first few minutes of the ride before Emma spoke.
"I wonder if Radditch thinks we're cutting."
Manny was confused as to why Emma was bringing this up but then realized that she was just trying to make conversation to take her mind off of everything. "I don't know. Probably. It would be weird for the both of us to be absent on the same day."
"I'll write both of you a note," Spike offered.
The car was silent again.
"When did it happen?" Emma asked.
"What?" Manny asked, startled by the sudden question.
"Do you know when it happened? How.far along you are?"
Manny nodded. "Yeah. It was about two months ago, I think." She didn't go into further detail and to her relief, Emma didn't press it.
Spike glanced at the girls through her rearview mirror. "It's odd that you haven't had any symptoms or any notion of it before then."
Manny shrugged. "Well I thought I wasn't getting my period because I was training so hard for the spirit squad. And I just thought I had some sort of stomach virus. It wasn't until this morning that they connected and I knew." She trailed off and looked out the window. It was a gorgeous day out. Fluffy white clouds hung in the sky like tuffs of cotton dropped on a baby blue blanket. The sun was high in the sky but Manny somehow couldn't feel its warmth. They sped by several homes and slowed to a stop at a red light. In front of a small but pleasant white and green house, two small girls were drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Their mothers sat in lawn chairs laughing and chatting as their children played. Manny watched the girls, with a strange fluttering feeling in her stomach.
"Hey," Emma said softly. Manny turned to her. "It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna be here for you, whatever you need." She patted her friend's hand.
Manny smiled gratefully then turned back to watch the children again. "Remember when we used to do that? After school we would just come home and play hopscotch for hours."
"Yeah, I remember," Emma replied. "Those were good times. We didn't have a care in the world."
"Yeah," Manny agreed as Spike drove on and the two girls disappeared from sight. "Not a care in the world."
"Emma I'm scared." Manny Santos paced her best friend's living room, wringing her hands trying to remember to breathe.
"Don't be. There's nothing to be scared of," Emma Nelson told her unconvincingly.
"Are you crazy?" Manny cried. "There's everything to be scared of!"
Emma's mother, Spike came into the room just then, with a tray of three steaming cups of tea and some cookies. Manny took a cup just to have something to hold and sat down on a chair.
"Manny, I know things look bad now, but it'll work out. Besides you're not even sure yet." Spike came to stand beside her.
Manny just took a sip of her tea. She stared intently at the timer that sat on the coffee table. After a while, everything else in the room disappeared and all she could see was the dial twitching and hear it ticking away.
After what seemed like an eternity, it rang. The sound jarred her back into the room and she looked up at Emma.
"I'll go get it," Spike volunteered seeing that Manny was frozen to the chair. She hurried into the bathroom and was gone for a few seconds before returning. Without even looking at the test, Manny could see what the results had been from the look on Spike's face.
"I'm pregnant," Manny whispered in disbelief.
"Oh, sweetie." Spike came over to hug the stunned girl. Emma came to stand beside the chair and put her arm around her friend.
Manny looked up at them both with tear-filled eyes. "What am I going to do? How can I tell my parents? And everyone at school? And.Craig."
"Don't worry about that right now," Emma said soothingly.
"Right," Spike agreed. "Right now the only one you have to worry about is yourself." She straightened. "I'm going to drive you to the clinic downtown, okay Manny? Just to make sure and so you can talk to someone about your options."
"My options?" Manny then realized what Spike meant. "You mean abortion?"
Spike looked stricken and quickly shook her head with a glance at Emma. "No, not at all. I mean your options about things in general. How to tell your parents and Craig, how the baby is..." She turned and hurried over to the door, grabbing her jacket. "Come on."
"Can you come?" Manny asked Emma. "Please?"
"Of course." Emma followed them out of the house to the car. She sat in the back next to Manny and they were silent for the first few minutes of the ride before Emma spoke.
"I wonder if Radditch thinks we're cutting."
Manny was confused as to why Emma was bringing this up but then realized that she was just trying to make conversation to take her mind off of everything. "I don't know. Probably. It would be weird for the both of us to be absent on the same day."
"I'll write both of you a note," Spike offered.
The car was silent again.
"When did it happen?" Emma asked.
"What?" Manny asked, startled by the sudden question.
"Do you know when it happened? How.far along you are?"
Manny nodded. "Yeah. It was about two months ago, I think." She didn't go into further detail and to her relief, Emma didn't press it.
Spike glanced at the girls through her rearview mirror. "It's odd that you haven't had any symptoms or any notion of it before then."
Manny shrugged. "Well I thought I wasn't getting my period because I was training so hard for the spirit squad. And I just thought I had some sort of stomach virus. It wasn't until this morning that they connected and I knew." She trailed off and looked out the window. It was a gorgeous day out. Fluffy white clouds hung in the sky like tuffs of cotton dropped on a baby blue blanket. The sun was high in the sky but Manny somehow couldn't feel its warmth. They sped by several homes and slowed to a stop at a red light. In front of a small but pleasant white and green house, two small girls were drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Their mothers sat in lawn chairs laughing and chatting as their children played. Manny watched the girls, with a strange fluttering feeling in her stomach.
"Hey," Emma said softly. Manny turned to her. "It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna be here for you, whatever you need." She patted her friend's hand.
Manny smiled gratefully then turned back to watch the children again. "Remember when we used to do that? After school we would just come home and play hopscotch for hours."
"Yeah, I remember," Emma replied. "Those were good times. We didn't have a care in the world."
"Yeah," Manny agreed as Spike drove on and the two girls disappeared from sight. "Not a care in the world."