Miranda opened her eyes to find herself wrapped in Gordo's arms.
"You okay now Miranda?" Gordo asked, concerned.
Miranda sighed and brushed the hair out of her eyes.
"Yeah...for now..."
"So...I hate to ask this...you don't have to answer if you don't want to...but...what made you do it with Larry Tudgeman?" Gordo asked curiously.
"Well...I really appreciated him helping me with my books so I invited him inside for a soda...He started telling me some ridiculous story about how he went to see "The Lord of the Rings" in costume. It was kind of cute...Then...he kissed me. It was unexpected and sweet. That's when I began to think that he wasn't as big of a dork as people make him out to be...So...I kissed him back. It was all totally innocent until he pushed me down on the couch...That's when I came to my senses...I...I told him to stop..."
Miranda looked up at Gordo, afraid to go on. She didn't want the flood of tears to begin again.
"Are you saying...that he raped you?" Gordo asked, scrunching his eyebrows together.
"No...I mean...I didn't pull away when he kissed me...I let him touch me..."
Gordo closed his eyes trying to get the image of Miranda and Larry out of his head.
"Did you want to have sex with him?" Gordo asked.
"No..." Miranda whispered.
"Did you say no?" Gordo asked raising his eyebrows.
"Yes..." Miranda said, not lifting her eyes.
"Well...Miranda...that's rape..."
Miranda felt the burning sensation begging her eyes to release tears but the tears wouldn't come...she was all cried out.
Miranda walked home slowly, letting her purse drag the ground. When she arrived at her house she stood in front of the door, afraid of what she would experience inside. Miranda took a deep breath and opened the door. She found her parents at the kitchen table, drinking coffee.
"Miranda!" Her father exclaimed when he noticed her standing at the door.
"Honey...please...come sit with us."
Miranda sat next to her father but avoided his gaze. They all sat in silence for a minute that seemed to be an eternity. The awkwardness could be cut with a knife.
"Mom..Dad? I'm SO sorry...I know you're both angry. I'm angry at myself --I know I screwed up big time. All I ask is that you don't send me away...I have so many friends here. I don't want to leave!" Miranda exclaimed.
"Miranda! We would never dream of sending you away! And we're not angry--just dissapointed. Your mother and I have been discussing it and we've decided to let you make the decision of what to do with your baby."
"Me? I don't know what to do! I don't want to have a baby...but I don't want to kill it. I don't want to give it away to someone else and have to live the rest of my life knowing that I have a kid out there somewhere...Every part of this sucks..."
Miranda's mother got up from her seat and put her arm around her 14 year old daughter.
"Well sweetie...whatever you decide--we're behind you one hundred percent ."