Daphne sits next to Bay who wears a pair of navy blue pajamas. She reaches over, and squeezes her hand. They stare in silence at the plastic stick lying between them on the floor. It lies face down. Daphne's phone lies on her lap. It begins to vibrate. She looks over at Bay.
"Time is up," she reveals.
"Will you look? I can't."
"Okay," Daphne agrees.
Bay looks away, and Daphne flips the plastic stick over. She feels her pulse quicken as she looks at the digital read out. Damn technological advances! There is no way to misread a test that simply says pregnant, or not pregnant. She swallows hard, and feels as if she might cry. She takes a deep breath, and puts on a brave face.
"Bay."
Bay turns towards her. Daphne holds the stick in her hand.
"What does it say?"
"I'm so sorry," she apologizes as she holds out the pregnancy test.
Bay stares at the test in disbelief. She knows that it isn't an error. The nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach has been telling her this would be the result, for weeks now.
"What am I supposed to do? I can't do this. I don't want this. I just want things to go back to the way that they were before all of this happened. I want my life back."
"I know."
"I can't have a baby," she begins to cry.
"You don't have to. No one has to know about this, okay? I am not going to tell anyone, and you don't have to either. It never has to leave this room. If you don't want this then you can put an end to it. I will call and make you an appointment. You can put all of this behind you. Okay? Bay nobody ever has to know."
She swallows hard, "But I will know."
"Talk to me," Daphne begs.
"I didn't want this. I didn't ask for this. I was stupid. I drank too much, and put myself in a terrible situation."
"You did not consent. You never said yes."
"What kind of person am I if…"
Daphne shakes her head, and cuts her off, "What kind of person would you be if you knowingly had a child that you never wanted? What kind of life would that be for them, knowing that you never wanted them? That wouldn't be fair to it, or to you. You can't martyr yourself for this. You never asked for this. You never wanted this. You are eighteen years old, and you never considered having to raise a child before you've even decided what you wanted for your life."
"I know all of that, but it doesn't make it any easier."
"None of it is ever going to be easy. No matter what choices you make, it will never be easy. You can only do what is best for you."
"I don't want this baby. I don't want to be a parent. I can't do this."
"That's okay. You don't have to."
That night she climbs into her bed feeling completely numb. She sleeps through breakfast. After breakfast she drags herself into the shower, and pulls on some clothes. She heads off to community service knowing that she won't be able to keep her mind from wondering to the situation at hand.
Kathryn grabs a trash bag out from underneath the kitchen sink. She heads through the first level of the house emptying the trashcans in the bathrooms since the next day is trash day. She heads upstairs and empties the can in her bathroom, and the guest bathroom. She heads into Bay's room, and tosses the pile of tissues on the floor into her bag. She heads into the bathroom, and lifts the trashcan off the floor. She freezes before she can dump the contents into the trash bag. She takes a deep breath as she lays eyes on the opened box. Her heart skips a beat as she stares at the pregnancy test box. She grabs a piece of toilet paper off the roll, and reaches inside the box.
She drops the can on the floor, next to the trash bag. She leans against the door frame for support as she stares at the positive test. She hears footsteps, and turns around to find Bay staring at her.
"Mom what are you doing in here?"
She can't find any words to answer.
"Mom!"
She swallows hard, "I came to empty your trash can. Tomorrow is trash day."
"So you decided to dig through my trash?"
"No. Bay that wasn't my intention. I just…"
"Please just go," Bay begs.
Kathryn tosses the plastic stick back into the garbage. She shakes her head.
"No."
"Mom, please," she insists.
"I want to talk about this."
"Talk about what? There is nothing to talk about. I am not going to have this conversation with you. I already know what you're going to say, and…"
"You have absolutely no idea what I am about to say," Kathryn corrects her.
"You think that…"
Kathryn cuts her off, "I want you to know that I will support any decision that you make."
"You say that now, but…"
"I mean it."
"I am not going to go through with it. I can't have a baby. I am not ready for something like this. I have an appointment tomorrow to…" she swallows hard, and lowers her voice, "terminate."
Kathryn steps out of the bathroom, and hugs her daughter tightly. Bay eventually wriggles free.
"I know that you don't agree…"
"I think that you're doing what is best for you. It is the right decision."
"You do?"
"You shouldn't have to go through any of this."