Chapter Two

They stare at me shocked, they have never had a bomb dropped on them like this and it's taking them a couple minutes to recover. I want to cry, I want to curl up with them on the bed and bawl my eyes out like I used to when I was little, but logic tells me that crying isn't going to help the situation. "I'm sorry," I offer, knowing that it won't help anything but I have to say it to break the silence.
My mom and dad look stare at each other and I know that after 30 years of marriage they are communicating without words, finally my mother breaks the silence, "you're 16-years-old."
"I know." I whisper.
"I thought you said you'd come to us if you were even considering having sex." I can hear how heartbroken my mother is by the tone of her voice.
"I didn't know how," I respond, "it just sort of happened. I mean we didn't mean...well we did but we didn't..." I have to stop myself from babbling out of nervousness, if only my parents would say more to keep me from rambling.
"Kim, we don't know what to say." My dad finally speaks.
"This is so irresponsible," apparently Dad didn't know what to say but Mom had plenty to say. "I can't believe you, of all of our children, I thought you would have more sense than to get pregnant."
"It was a mistake, an accident, we used protection but..." I let my sentence trail every word coming out of my mouth just sounds dumb, there's no defending what I did.
"Have you told Steve yet?" Mom asks.
I shake my head, "I haven't told anyone but you guys. Jessica doesn't even know." I sniff, so much for not crying, "I don't know what to do."
My Mom's hard expression breaks then and she wraps her arms around me and holds me close as I cry. She smooths my hair and I pull away as I control my sobs, "you're going to have to tell Steve and his parents, right away."
"I don't know how." I state with a shuddering breath.
"We'll you're going to have to figure out how." My father snaps, taking me by surprise.
My mother shoots a glare in my father's direction, "we'll be there too Kim, don't worry. Your father and I are going to be here for you."
"Promise?" I ask, sounding more like a small child than I want to.
My mother nods, "I promise. Now what you need to do is get some sleep."
"Can I sleep here?" It is a request I haven't made in years.
My mother nods anyway, pulling down the covers she says, "of course."
"I'll sleep on the couch." My father states.
My mother glares at my father, "you do that."
Once my father has left the room I sigh, "I'm so sorry Mom."
She gently kisses my forehead, "we're going to figure this out." With the reassurance that I at least have my mother behind me I fall into a sleep plagued with the cries of a small child hidden from my sight by a thick, choking smoke.

"You gonna go to church today?" My mother's words wake me up the next morning.
Groaning I roll over and open my eyes in little slits at her, "do you want me too?"
She shakes her head, "you don't have too. You can stay home and rest today, but your Dad and I talked and we are going to talk to Steve's parents at church and have them come over after dinner. We'll give Mike money to take everyone out for ice cream and that will give us some private time with Steve and his parents." I turn over again and my mother takes this as what it is, acknowledgment that this is something I have to do but something I don't want to talk about right now, so she states, "I'll bring you up some soup when we get home from church."

The phone ringing three and a half hours later wakes me, "hello?" I mumble into the phone.
"Kim, what's going on?"
Steve, I sigh, "what do you mean?"
"Well you're not in church today, your Dad's all angry at me and then your Mom tells my parents that they need to come over after dinner so that we can all talk. So what's going on?"
Knowing that Steve should now before his parents I take a deep breath and say, "I'm pregnant."
"You mean you think you're pregnant." Steve responds.
I bite my lip, hard, "no, I'm pregnant."
I don't know what to expect from Steve's reaction but the dial tone I get in response isn't what I had been expecting.

When Steve and his parents Yelena, Lena, and Rafael Santiago finally get to the house my suspicious siblings are gone and it's obvious Steve had filled his family in on my why they are here.
Rafael's voice holds a strong Spanish accent despite the fact that he had lived in America for nearly 28 years, "our son has filled us in on why we are here. And we have come to a conclusion on what is to be done, it is the only right thing."
I take a deep breath almost afraid of what is coming, and glancing at Steve I know he already knows by the way he avoids my eyes contact. My mother breaks in before Rafael can go any further, "we thought we could discuss it together."
Rafael holds up his hand, "no, no discussion. There is only one thing to be done, they get married."
"Married?" The words are barely out of my mouth before the world fades out.