Cate's 17th Birthday

Cate Cassidy groaned. The digital display on her alarm clock read 5:06. She didn't have to get up until 7:00 for school.

She was so tired. She just felt exhausted all the time. But she woke up early every morning feeling sick to her stomach. Morning sickness, Cate thought bitterly as she dashed to the bathroom.

Cate's eyes caught her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. She winced.

She was starting to show. It was getting more and more difficult to cover her growing stomach for school.

That was just what she needed. She'd never been popular. The hideous headgear she'd been forced to wear until junior year made sure of that. All she needed was for her classmates to realize she was pregnant. She'd be even more of an outcast.

"Cate?" Abby's hesitant voice came from outside the bathroom door.

Cate opened the door and stared at her little sister expectantly.

"Happy birthday," Abby said softly.

"Yeah, it's really happy," Cate said sarcastically.

Abby frowned. She and Cate had always been close, but when Cate got pregnant everything changed.

When Abby tried to be part of Cate's life, Cate always acted like Abby was too young and immature to possibly understand what Cate was going through.

Abby brightened. She was really excited to give Cate her birthday presents. She and Laverne had put a lot of time and thought into finding the perfect gifts. "Do you want to open your birthday presents?"

Unless they'd built her a time machine, Cate didn't imagine presents would help her mood. She nodded, though, not wanting to hurt Abby's feelings.

Abby grinned and led the way to the kitchen.

"Good morning," Laverne greeted her daughters. She'd woken up early to make breakfast for Cate's birthday. Or, at least, to try to make breakfast. Laverne glanced regretfully at the burnt French toast.

"Morning," Abby and Cate replied.

"Happy birthday," Laverne said to Cate.

"Thanks," Cate said dully.

"Here. Open this first." Abby handed Cate a pink envelope.

Cate obliged. She found a gift certificate for Barnes & Noble inside the birthday card.

"Thanks," Cate said politely.

"I know you can't do a lot this summer, so I thought you could get some books to read," Abby said nervously, trying to gauge whether Cate liked the gift or not.

"Thanks," Cate said again. She picked up another envelope and opened it. It contained a gym membership.

"We thought you would want to work out, you know, to lose the baby weight," Laverne said gently.

Cate knew Laverne meant well and she did want to lose the weight, but the gift felt more like a reminder that she was pregnant and putting on pounds than a birthday present.

Cate nodded.

Cate forced herself to eat Laverne's French toast even though it tasted like cardboard.

After breakfast, Cate rummaged through her closet for something, anything that would fit and cover her stomach. She studied herself in the full length mirror on the back of her bedroom door and sighed. She didn't look good, but you couldn't tell she was pregnant.

Cate sat down beside her best friend, Alice, in the front of their first class. Alice smiled brightly. "Happy birthday."

Cate returned the smile. "Thanks."

"One of the football players is having a party tonight. Do you want to go?" Alice asked.

"No," Cate replied quickly.

Alice gave her an odd look. "I know you're busy studying, but you have to take a break and do something fun for your birthday."

Cate could think of more appropriate words than fun to describe going to a party, but she wouldn't be able to explain her reluctance. Cate hadn't told anyone from school that she was pregnant. Not even Alice.

She couldn't exactly tell Alice that she didn't want to go because she couldn't wear anything cute, she couldn't drink and she didn't want to see Nate. Instead, she said, "My mom's taking me to dinner for my birthday."

Alice gave up. She didn't know why, but Cate never wanted to hang out anymore.

When the bell rang, Cate gathered her things and navigated the crowded hallway. She saw Nate Basille holding court by his locker. He locked eyes with her.

Cate's expression instantly iced over, but Nate missed the dirty look she shot him. He'd averted his eyes and his attention was now focused on a blonde cheerleader who was flirting with him shamelessly.

"Unbelievable," Cate muttered under her breath.

"What is?" Abby asked, falling into step beside her sister.

"Hmm?" Cate asked.

"You said unbelievable. What's unbelievable?" Abby asked. She blushed slightly as they passed her crush, the popular quarterback.

"Nothing," Cate lied. She hadn't told either Abby or her mother who the father was. They'd just assumed it was the school mascot who Cate had dated off-and-on again.

Abby sighed, annoyed that Cate wouldn't even talk to her. They walked the rest of the way home in silence.

Cate settled down at the kitchen table to do homework, but couldn't concentrate. You have to keep your grades up, Cate reminded herself. Graduating at the top of her class was her key to a new life. She'd been working toward the goal of getting a scholarship to an out-of-state college since freshmen year.

She wanted to leave everything behind. The alcoholic mother. The classmates who made fun of her behind her back. The father of her child who'd denied sleeping with her. She couldn't wait to walk away and never look back.

Cate forced herself to study. She was still at the table with her books spread out a few hours later when Laverne got home from work.

Cate looked up. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi," Laverne said as she poured herself a glass of wine.

Laverne sipped her wine as she hurried upstairs to her bedroom. She changed into a slutty dress designed for someone a decade younger than herself and freshened her make-up before returning to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Cate asked when she saw her mother.

"Jimmy's taking me out to dinner," Laverne replied as she refilled her glass.

Cate frowned. Her mother was constantly on the hunt for her next husband. It was kind of depressing that her mother was going out and she was staying in.

Laverne drained her second wine glass when the doorbell rang. "Don't wait up," she told Cate as she hurried to the door.

"Where's Mom?" Abby asked when she woke up from her nap an hour later.

"Out with Jimmy," Cate replied without looking up.

"You think she'll marry him?" Abby asked conversationally.

"If he asks her," Cate said.

Abby smirked. She began moving around the kitchen, preparing dinner for herself. "Have you eaten?" She asked Cate, knowing Cate had inherited Laverne's cooking skills, or lack thereof.

"No," Cate replied.

"Want some pasta?" Abby offered.

"Yeah," Cate said gratefully.

Abby finished cooking and served them both.

"Mmm," Cate said as she took a bite. If it weren't for Abby, she knew she'd go hungry.

Abby grinned. "Are you going to Mike's party?" She asked.

"No," Cate said.

"Jenny and I are going. I like one of the football players and they'll all be there," Abby offered.

Cate frowned. "Which one do you like?"

"Baze," Abby said, smiling.

Cate's frown deepened at the mention of her baby's father. "Abby, Baze isn't a good guy."

Abby rolled her eyes. "How would you know?"

Cate swallowed. "I just know. He's in my class, not yours. I know him better than you."

"I doubt that," Abby said haughtily. She loved her sister, but Cate wasn't exactly popular.

"Stay away from Baze," Cate said firmly.

"You can't tell me what to do," Abby snapped.

Cate grabbed Abby's shoulders and gave her a hard look. "I mean it, Abby. Stay away from him!"

Abby shot Cate a dirty look before leaving for the party.

The doorbell rang. Assuming Abby forgot something, Cate opened the door.

"Hi!" Alice said, walking past Cate.

"I didn't know you were coming over," Cate said.

"I know you said your mom was taking you out to dinner, but I thought we could go to the party after. I'll wait for you to get ready," Alice explained as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Alice, wait!" Cate said, but it was too late.

Alice saw the plates on the kitchen table and stopped dead in her tracks. "Your mom didn't take you out to dinner at all, did she?"

Cate sighed. "No," she admitted.

"So it was just an excuse to avoid going out with me?" Alice demanded.

Cate bit her lip, unsure what to say.

"I don't know what your problem is, Cate. You never want to do anything anymore. Don't worry. You won't have to make up excuses anymore. I won't ask you to do anything again," Alice said angrily before storming out.

Cate felt tears welling up in her eyes. She knew she was overreacting because of the hormones, but she couldn't imagine a worse 17th birthday.

Cate was pregnant in high school. Her sister was at a party flirting with her baby's father. Her best friend would probably never speak to her again. Cate lay down on her bed and wondered how her life had come to this.

She replayed the night of Winter Formal in her head. She didn't know how she could have been so stupid as to sleep with Baze. She remembered Baze denying he'd slept with her and making fun of her at school and fresh tears stung her eyes. Cate cried herself to sleep.