Victoria faced the convenience store with sweaty palms that turned the 1L water bottle round and round in her hands. She looked through the windows of the store, from the man at the counter who was handing change back to a woman to the aisle she needed to go down. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open, her entrance announced with a loud ringing noise. The cash register looked up at her, and then turned back to the costumer in front of him.
Victoria came to this convenience store because she knew her dads hated this place. Something about the owner never giving back the right change. But whatever their reasons, she came here because she knew they would never enter this store.
She turned into the aisle she was looking for, grabbed what she needed without looking at it and went to pay. The cash register gave her a knowing look when she plunked it down in front of him. They were the only two in the store now.
"12.98," was all he said. Victoria reached into her back pocket and dug the cash out. She set it down and tried to look anywhere but this man's eyes.
He handed Victoria her change back and she mumbled a thanks, grabbing the small box. "Can I use the washroom here?" she asked.
"Sure," he said, handing her the key to the ladies room and pointing her in the right direction. She unlocked the door and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans. She opened the small box of pregnancy tests, pulling out the first one.
Throwing the wrapper and the empty water bottle in the trash, Victoria peed and waited. One minute; she was sweating. Two minutes; she prayed she wasn't pregnant. Three minutes; she wondered if her father would admit to killing her or get away with her murder. She stared intently at her watch, timing exactly three minutes. 45 seconds. 30 seconds. 20 seconds. 10 seconds. 5 seconds and oh my god she couldn't breathe…
When the small red hand on her watch passed by the twelve and her three minutes were up, Victoria picked the small plastic test of the counter and held her breathe. She peeked down through half closed eyes…
There was no plus sign. Victoria let out a breathy laugh of relief, her fear slowly dissipating. She tossed the box the test came in into the trash and was about to throw out of pregnancy test as well when she noticed. Slowly appearing on the screen appeared a faint, black plus sign. Victoria's stomach dropped while her heart leap into her mouth. Her breath stopped again. The pregnancy test slipped through her fingers and hit the cold floor of the cramped bathroom.
Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, Victoria though. What the fuck was I thinking? Why did I ever sleep with that guy? Oh god, my parents are going to kill me. I'm dead. I'm so fucking dead.
Shaking and trying not to cry, Victoria picked up the second test and took that one. Again, she was positive. Controlling her urge to scream, Victoria washed her hands at the sink. She exited the bathroom, nearly throwing the key back to the cash register.
"You okay Victoria?" he asked. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she remembered he knew who she was. Of course. Everyone knew her parents and everyone knew who she was.
"I'm fine," she said, a blatantly obvious lie. "If either of my dads happens to come in here… you won't tell them, right?"
The man sighed. "Yeah, I won't tell them."
"Promise?" Victoria knew she sounded childish, but she couldn't help it.
"I promise."
"Thank you," she said, heading out of the convenience store. When she exited into the fresh, cold London air she stopped, leaning against the brick walls of the restaurant next to the store. She tilted her head back, breathing in and out as deeply as if she had just ran four miles.
Shaking herself out of it, she picked up her bike that she had left leaning against the store and kicked a leg over it. She pedalled as fast as she could, as if all her problems were back at that convenience store and if she got as far away from it as she could, they would all just disappear.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
When she got home, both her dads were out and only Mrs Hudson was there. "Hey Mrs Hudson," Victoria said, kissing the old woman on the cheek.
"Hello dear," Mrs Hudson said. "Are you all right? You seem rather shaky."
"I'm fine. Hey uh, where are my dads?" she asked.
"Out on a case, I think. They left twenty minutes ago, so it'll probably be a while until they get home." Mrs Hudson put a kettle on her stove. "Would you like some tea dear?"
"No thanks Mrs Hudson," she said, backing out and moving to the flat upstairs. She ran to her room and hit her bed with a force that made the headboard shake. Grabbing the phone next to her bed, she dialled a number, twirling the cord in her fingers as it rang.
"Hey there honey bear," the voice on the other end said.
"Elizabeth, can you come over?" Victoria asked.
Victoria could hear the girl sit up. "Is everything okay V?"
"Fine, I just… I need you to come over."
"I'll be there in five minutes," Elizabeth promised before hanging up.
Victoria set her phone down, twiddling her thumbs nervously and pacing her room. She stepped in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom. She was all curly blonde hair, baggy jeans, oversized sweater and skinny body. Why the hell did that guy sleep with her anyway? Appearance wise, she was nothing special. She cursed that stupid asshole with all the worst swear words she knew (and she knew many), even though she knew that at least half the blame rested with her.
"Stupid prick," she said out loud. She reached for her wrist, grabbing the ponytail that hung on it and tied her hair up. Sighing at her reflection, she went into the kitchen to wait for Elizabeth's arrival.
Like she had promised, Elizabeth arrived within five minutes. She let herself in, climbing up the stairs and greeting Victoria in the kitchen.
"Okay, just spit it out: what's wrong?" Elizabeth asked the second she sat down.
Just spit it out, Victoria repeated in her head. "I'm pregnant."
A look of shock settled on Elizabeth's face. "Holy shit V! For real? Like are you one hundred per cent sure?"
"I'm completely positive. I took two pregnancy tests."
Elizabeth whistled. "Your dads are going to kill you."
"I know," Victoria said.
"And then your dad is going to hide your body so well and leave no clues behind and they'll never even know it was him," Elizabeth went on.
"I know." Victoria slumped forward onto the kitchen table. "I'm so fucking dead."
"Who's the baby-daddy?" Elizabeth asked. She moved to the chair beside Victoria, rubbing her back.
"You're such a fucking gossip," Victoria said without looking up at her friend.
"V, seriously! Who the hell did you do the dirty with and why didn't you tell me about it already?" Elizabeth asked, poking Victoria playfully in the side.
"Ugh, can we not talk about this? The last thing I want to think about is… him," Victoria said.
"You're going to have to tell me eventually V," Elizabeth said.
Victoria sighed. "I know. And I will, just… not right now, okay?"
"Okay," Elizabeth said. She continued to rub Victoria's back consolingly. "What are you going to do about this V?"
"I don't know. What would you do?" Victoria asked, looking up at her best friend. Elizabeth had always been more popular with the boys than her and was always the first person she went to for advice. She just always seemed so much more knowledgeable and cooler than Victoria. While Victoria looked frumpy and tired, Elizabeth look great, even though she was only wearing boot cut jeans, a pink tank-top and blue converse.
Anyway, not the point. The point was that whatever Elizabeth said would matter to here.
Elizabeth shrugged. "Abortion, probably. I mean, we're sixteen years old. We're not old enough to be mothers, right? Plus, my parents would totally throw me into the Thames River if I got knocked up."
"Preach," Victoria said.
"Which is why I use condoms and birth control," Elizabeth continued. "Please tell me you at least used protection V."
"Yes, we did… sort of," Victoria said. "I don't think it was super reliable. They were pretty cheap."
"Well, the deed is done and there's nothing for it," Elizabeth said, standing up. "You just have to decide where to go from here."
Victoria thought for a moment. "Can I get an abortion at 16 without my dads having to know about it?"
"Yeah, there's an abortion clinic near here that will do it for anyone sixteen or over without parental consent," Elizabeth said. "You sure abortion is what you want to do?"
"Yeah, I guess," Victoria said. "I mean, I don't want to have this thing and I definitely don't want to tell my dads."
"Alright," Elizabeth said. "You good then?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Victoria said. "Just nervous, I hope my dad doesn't figure it out."
"Just stay out of the house as much as possible for the next month or so," Elizabeth advised. "Don't give him time to work it out."
"Will you drive me when I have to go get it done?" Victoria asked.
"Of course V! I wouldn't let you go alone."
"Thanks," Victoria said. It was easier to breathe now, the air was actually reaching her lungs. It felt like everything could actually turn out okay, if she played her cards right.
"Where are your parents?" Elizabeth asked.
"Out working on a case," Victoria answered. She got up from the kitchen and fell onto the couch, where Elizabeth dropped down next to her. "They shouldn't be home for a while I think, which is good, I can't face them right now."
"Hm," Elizabeth said. "Are you sure because I just heard a cab pulling up outside."
Victoria froze and sure enough, the front door was pushed open. They two men downstairs didn't bother to be quiet.
"I can't believe we lost him," Sherlock complained, his voice floating up into the living room. "We were so close too!"
"I know," John said, sympathetic. "We'll get him eventually though!"
"Oh my god, I can't do this Elizabeth!" Victoria whispered frantically to her friend.
"Don't worry," Elizabeth whispered back. "I got this. Get up."
Victoria stood and Elizabeth stood with her. In a few seconds, she nearly completely erased evidence of them being there: she pushed the chairs in the kitchen back to their original position, she flipped over the couch seats that they were sitting on and she picked her sweater up from a chair.
"C'mon, out the window," Elizabeth said, looking back over her shoulder. Sherlock and John were still standing in the entrance, debating something about the case.
"What?" Victoria said.
"Out the window V," Elizabeth replied impatiently, dragging her friend by the arm to the open window. "It's only a twelve foot drop and there's grass, so move it sister."
Victoria fidgeted for a second. "You first," she said.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and pulled her sweater on. Quick as a flash, she swung on leg over and then the other. Without hesitation, Elizabeth dropped down, landing easily on her feet and waving frantically to Victoria.
She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. With no time to make a decision, Victoria threw both legs over at the same time and jumped.
She rushed through the air for a moment, the wind whipping in her ears before she made a less-than-graceful descent next to Elizabeth.
"Shit!" Victoria swore as quietly as she could. "I landed weird on my ankle!"
"Shh!" Elizabeth said, pulling her onto the wall of the flat. The two girls listened to the conversation going on.
"Where's Victoria?" they heard Sherlock ask.
Victoria held her breath for a moment. She seemed to be doing a lot of that today.
"She said this morning she might call Elizabeth," John replied. "She probably went out with her."
"Let's go," Elizabeth said quietly, walking around to the front of the flat and motioning for Victoria to follow.
"That was close," Victoria said once they were a good distance away from the flat. "That was like, really close. Thanks Elizabeth. I'd be so dead without you."
"Yeah, you would," Elizabeth said, flipping her shiny black hair over her shoulder. "Luckily, you've got a great best friend."
"Yeah, I suppose I do," Victoria said, linking her arm through Elizabeth's.
The two girls sat outside a grocery store, eating their way through a bag of chocolate covered pretzels. They people watched as they ate, watching the regular citizens of London pass by during their daily life. Whenever a cute boy happened by, Elizabeth would nudge Victoria in the stomach and recount the number of attractive boys that had passed by so far. Victoria would laugh and shake her head at her friend.
Other than that, they were mostly quiet. Victoria thought about the fetus that had taken residence in her body and Elizabeth sat there and worried for Victoria. When the had neared the end of their pretzel bag and the count of attractive male persons was at thirteen, Elizabeth spoke.
"D'you want to go to my place?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sure." Victoria stood up and stretched, then checked the time. "Let's go."
On the way to her house, Elizabeth became animated again. She started talking with great passion about this book she was reading called Waterfalls.
"It is the most beautiful piece of work I have ever read Victoria Marie," Elizabeth promised. "When I'm done with it, you must read it."
"I will," Victoria said. They neared Elizabeth's house and Victoria swept her eyes over it quickly. Her parents' car wasn't in the driveway, but there was a light on upstairs, which meant Elizabeth's older brother was probably home.
As usual, the door was left unlocked and Elizabeth and Victoria just walked in. Her house was always clean, just extremely cluttered with things. Elizabeth hung up her sweater and led Victoria into the kitchen.
"If you want something to drink, you know where the fridge is," Elizabeth said, pulling a water bottle out of the fridge and dropping into an armchair.
"Thanks Elizabeth," Victoria said sarcastically. "You're always such a wonderful host."
"V, you practically live here, you don't count as a guest anymore," Elizabeth said. "I mean, you even know where we keep our extra rolls of baking sheets for god's sake."
Victoria smiled. "You know where my dad's keep their condoms," she said.
Elizabeth laughed. "Your face when we came across those was so fucking priceless."
Victoria faked a shiver. "The memory still haunts me!"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad. Like, did you expect your dads to not be shagging? Everyone has sex V."
"I suppose," she shrugged. "Hey, so how do I go about getting an abortion?"
"Um, you have to call them and set up an appointment I think. Then you go in, fill out some forms and viola! You're baby free," Elizabeth said.
"Do you know what the number is?" Victoria asked.
"As I've never had reason to get an abortion, no, I do not. Come on, let's go search it," Elizabeth got up and went up to her room, Victoria following. They passed by Elizabeth's brother Carson's, bedroom on the way. Elizabeth and Carson were super close, but they got on each other's nerves all the time.
"Hey Carson," Elizabeth said, poking her head into the door. Carson looked up and pushed his headphones down onto his neck.
"Hey Lizzie. What's up Victoria?" he asked.
"Nothing dude, we're just going to Elizabeth's room to smoke some weed and listen to some weird Indie rock music," Victoria said.
"Cool. Can I join?" he joked.
"Definitely not bro," Elizabeth said. "You'll cramp my style. See you later."
They stepped out and then into Elizabeth's room. Three of the walls in her room were blue, the fourth was a black chalkboard wall. It was covered in drawings (Elizabeth was a fantastic artist), quotes and the odd completely inappropriate comment or sketch courtesy Carson.
Elizabeth pulled her computer out from under her bed, pressing the on button and waiting while it loaded. Victoria lay down on her bed sideways, her head hanging off the edge. They sat there, quiet, while they waited for the computer to finish loading. Elizabeth hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them.
"Did I ever tell you that my parents were originally going to name me Chastity?" Elizabeth said.
Victoria snorted. "That would have been ironic."
"I know, right?" Elizabeth said. She didn't continue, apparently that was the end to her story.
Eventually, the computer was done loading and Elizabeth typed in her twenty-four letter password and logged in. The second it was done loading, she opened Google Chrome and typed in the name of the abortion clinic.
"The number is right here," Elizabeth said. "But you can only call between 8am and 4pm and it's 4:30."
Victoria sighed. "Oh well. I'll do it tomorrow then. I just wanted to get it over with though and there is no way that I'm doing it at home."
"You could sleep over and call in the morning," Elizabeth offered.
"Will your parents be cool with that?" Victoria asked, even though she already knew they would be.
"V, my parents don't give a fuck about what I do."
"True," Victoria said. "Can I use your phone?"
Elizabeth reached behind her and held out the phone to her. Victoria got up and sat leaning against the wall because the wire wouldn't reach to where she was previously sitting. She punched in her home number and held it to her ear as it hang.
"Hello?"
Victoria felt relief when John picked up, not Sherlock. Her father always knew when something was wrong, and although her dad did too, he had less practice in figuring out what it was.
"Hey dad," Victoria said.
"Hey Vic!" John said brightly. "What's up kiddo?"
"Nothing, I'm over at Elizabeth's house," she said, twirling the cord in her fingers. "Is it okay if I stay the night?"
"Uh, sure, if her parents are okay with it. Do you need me to bring you anything?" he asked.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure I have an extra pair of clothes here and I'll just borrow a spare tooth brush," Victoria said.
"Okay, kiddo. I'll come get you tomorrow."
"Bye dad. Love you," Victoria said.
"I love you too," John said.
Victoria hung up and placed the phone back done. Elizabeth had shut her computer back off and replaced it under her bed. Victoria sighed and fell down next to Elizabeth, where they both stretched out on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Tomorrow," Victoria said. "We will call."