I couldn't believe it. My baby brother had only been born less than two hours ago and I was already being ignored.

My name is Annabel Johnson and I'm 17 years old. My mom and her boyfriend had just broken up recently and I was sure she would have gotten the abortion as she had planned, and, even though she wasn't very good at it, she was my mother. Still, I was fearful of the decision she made.

It had only been the two of us for the past 7 months. Once my moms boyfriend Derek had found out she was pregnant he ran at the first chance he got. He had seen my mother for what she was beautiful and didn't care that she happened to be a drunk. Her mothers name is Rosie Johnson and she was almost never seen without a drink or bottle in her hand. I still remember the first time she got drunk, she had come home screaming out my name and any other name that came to her mind. She terrified me but I still loved her.

When she got her boyfriend, Derek, everything changed for the worse. She was getting high every other night and going clubbing almost every night. When she wasn't clubbing she'd stay home and sleep. Derek was a security guard at one of her more frequent clubs. He had driven her home one night and from there on out he had lived with us and my mother was always defending him and loving him as though he was blood. When they first broke up I was getting used to it just being me and her for the first month after Derek had left, she wasn't getting drunk or high every night like usual and she tried really hard to be loving towards me, so I just accepted her.

A month after Derek had left she had taken me out for dinner one night. There was nothing odd or unusual about us going out for dinner because she hardly ever wanted to cook anything. While we were at the table talking she became very silent.

"What's wrong?" I kept asking her.

"Oh nothing..." She replied.

I knew there was something wrong but I didn't want to anger her. When we were done eating our dinner, she took a long deep breath and began to speak.

Just as she had began the first word the waitress came and asked if we were alright, and my mother replied,

"Fine, thank you!" With a great deal of anger in her voice. When the waitress had left she began again,

"Annabel, I want you to know something that could drastically change everything, but I need you to understand. Ok?"

"Of course" I said.

"Annabel..." She hesitated to speak, "I'm pregnant."

"What?! How!? When?! Who?!"

I was freaking out, going ballistic. My emotions bubbled inside of me with a hatred and anger that was almost impossible to describe. I had always been an only child. And at the age 17 I was sure that it would remain that way. My thoughts were scattered all around. How were we going to supply the correct things for this baby? How are we going to survive with another person to feed and only one income? My mother must have seen it in my eyes that I was confused and angry.

"I don't want you I be upset or mad at me. But please just let me explain- I cut her off-

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND, HOW COULD YOU BE SO IGNORANT AS TO GET PREGNANT?!"

"Annabel please just let me-"

''NO YOU HAVE TO GO GET AN ABORTION!"

She seemed hurt, and I was a little bit guilty of what I had said. But I just couldn't stay in the restaurant any longer. I felt the a lot of eyes digging into me. I ran out of the restaurant and began walking home. I would have a little bit of time till the waitress would come back with the bill. As I was walking home I walked past a house that inside was the only other person I could trust besides myself.

At age 18 he already had a house and a car. His name was Dakota Bradford and he had dropped out of high school in 11th grade and had gotten a decent job with decent pay at a car dealership. He knew all about a lot of different cars. He had just recently been suspended from work for not having a high school diploma, he was told that if he went back to school and finished that when he returned he would be promised a secure job at the dealership. He was never a fan of people. Especially people that bossed him around. As I was walking it had begun to snow. It wasn't unusual for it to snow in Maine in December especially. I shivered as I walked. My teeth chattered more and more with every step I took. I was so close to home that I began to think about my mom and how her pregnancy effected everything.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of somebody's feet in the snow. I turned around and was nailed in the face with a snowball. I fell down and just laid there waiting for whoever my assailant was to come over. It was none other than Dakota. He was laughing hysterically so when a snowball nailed him in the face he fell over too.

I walked over and tried to helped him up in between laughter but he just pulled me on top if him. Which made us laugh even more.

"What're you doing out here Anna? It's like -30 degrees out here!" he said.

I looked at him for a moment with tears welling up in my eyes when he began to hold me closer to him. I told him about my moms pregnancy and he just sat there with a look that told me I was being ridiculous. I may trust him a lot but he doesn't understand sometimes. I began to walk away and he grabbed my hand.

"No don't go! I'm sorry, but this could be a good thing." he said.

"How could this possibly be good?" I questioned.

"Well if she is pregnant then that means she can't get drunk or high. Oh, and she'll be home for a while! What are you worried about?"

"...I don't know..."

"Come on, I'll walk you home"

While we walked he held my hand. Sometimes I think I like him as more than a friend but whenever I think I'm sure of my feelings he goes and does something else stupid and I'm back into my confusion. His sister and I have always been best friends, but about a year ago she had just gotten her license and decided to go to her grandmothers and got caught in the middle of a snowstorm and wasn't experienced enough to be able to drive in the conditions and lost control.

She wasn't found until the next morning in the side of the road crashed into a tree. It had been so cold that night that by morning her skin had turned a nasty dark blue. Dakota was the one who found her. It hit him the hardest. His parents had split up and both had passed away in tragic accidents. He was the only one there for her and the only one to be able to identify the body. We didn't speak for months until he was emotionally stable. I always worried about what his sister would think if I dated her brother. Sometimes I would think I could trust her to understand but then she'd prove me wrong.

When we reached my house my stomach turned inside of me and my heart was beating violently. The car in the driveway was not my mothers. It was my fathers.