Chapter Five

Alex

"No!" Haddie shouted out, trying to drown out her mother. "I'm NOT pregnant! No, I am not pregnant."

"How do you know? Did you use anything?"

"Then was kind of tests were they?" Adam spoke up, interrupting Kristina's questioning. "You tell us, and you tell us right now. We're tired of all this dancing around the truth."

"Because – because I thought the burning might be... I thought I might have caught – something – from Alex."

"Something like a – a venereal disease?" Kristina could barely get the words out.

"Yes! Something like that."

"So you and Alex had sex," Adam said, his voice was low and menacing. "You had unprotected sex with him!"

"I – we, didn't intend to do anything. I just wanted to see his apartment. I wanted to see what it looked like; how he lived."

"You don't think you can be pregnant, even though went to a man's apartment, someone you have feelings for, and who has feelings for you, and you had unprotected sex with? Didn't you think? Didn't you even consider this might have sent him a message?" Kristina said.

"It's not like that."

"What are you talking about?" Adam stepped in again. "What did you think he was going to think? To a man there is no other reason to believe a woman, or a teenage girl, would want to go to his apartment except to have sex."

"God!" Haddie spat out. "I can't believe I'm hearing something like that from my own father! Is your mind that far down in the gutter?"

"Haddie!" Kristina exclaimed. "You will not speak to your father like that! And for the record, he is 100% correct. That is the very thing men expect when women come on to them. And this is the exact reason why we told you over and over that at sixteen you are too young to have a relationship with someone that much older, and that much more experienced than you are."

Biting her lip, Haddie tried to think of a suitable comeback, but nothing came to her; nothing that wouldn't set them off again. And she had heard enough.

"Can I go to my room now?"

"In a minute," her father said. "But first I want Alex's address."

"Why?" Haddie now was worried. Worried he would go to Alex's apartment and do who knows what.

"So I can tell the police where to find the sexual predator who raped my daughter."

"What? No! He didn't rape me. It just happened. We were talking, and then we kissed, and then – it was an accident."

"An accident?" Kristina was floored.

"Yes, an accident. And it only happened once … or maybe twice."

"Twice? You did it twice? And you called that an accident?" Kristina was now verging on hysteria.

"It doesn't matter how it happened," Adam said, trying to give Kristina time to catch her breath. "You are sixteen and a minor. He is nineteen and an adult. That makes it statutory rape. And he is going to jail for a long, long time."

"No, you can't do that to him. He's trying so hard, if you do that it will ruin his life forever."

"Then he should have thought about that before he raped my daughter."

"Will you stop saying that! It wasn't rape. It was consensual."

"Yes, it was." Kristina said more calmly. "According to the laws of California, you are under 18, so it was rape."

"What is his address," Adam repeated.

"I don't know."

"Then where is his apartment?"

"I'm not telling you. I am not going to let you ruin his life over something I did."

"We'll see about that. I'm sure my mother knows where to find him."

But as soon as Adam reached for his cell phone, it rang. It was Camille.

"I was just going to call you to get Alex's address."

"That's why I called. I went over to his apartment to find out what exactly was going on, but he wasn't home. So I talked to his landlord, and he said Alex told him he had an out of town emergency and had to leave for a few days. But he took everything with him. So I think he left for good."

"I'm not surprised. Thanks for calling."

"What was that?" Kristina asked.

"It was Mom. She went to see Alex, but he packed up and left town."

"He wouldn't do that!" Haddie exclaimed.

"So you think your grandmother lied?"

Before Haddie could answer, her cell phone rang. But just as she was about to answer it, Adam took it from her and looked at the screen.

"SK. Who is SK?"

"Just – just a girl at school, that's all."

"Really? So it wouldn't be Soup Kitchen would it? Code for Alex?"

And again, before Haddie could answer, Adam swiped the green ''answer'' icon.

"Sorry, but Haddie can't come to the phone right now. We're just about to call the police … Well, what do you know? He hung up."

Not knowing what else to say, Haddie asked, "Can I go to my room now?"

"Yes you may," Kristina said. "But you understand you are grounded for a month. And no cell phone, and you can only use your computer when you are in the dining room or kitchen, with one of us here, not in your bedroom."

"Fine!" she answered, "Whatever."

She started down the hallway, then asked, "Is the door back up?"

"Not yet. I'll do that tomorrow."

"Fine! Whatever."

As she threw herself down on her bed, Haddie was trying to think of some way to talk to Amber, hoping she would help her get in touch with Alex.

The End