Chapter 8:
Hazel
After a few minutes, Isaac comes back and joins me and my mother.
"Who was that?" I ask him.
"Um…It was Kate." His voice is sad, distressed, I can tell my mom noticed too.
"Mom, can you give us a minute alone please?" I ask tilting my head towards Isaac. She nods and heads towards the door.
"Are you ok? What's going on." He sighs and puts his head in his hands.
"Kate…She's…Pregnant." I just stare at him and eventually he takes his head out of his hands.
"Say something, please." He says.
"You didn't tell me you…"
"I didn't think I needed to."
"Well…What are you going to do?" I ask him while fiddling with the nubbins in my nose. "Kate is going to tell her parents today, but honestly I have no idea."
"How far along is she?" I ask taking his hand.
"About three weeks I think." For a while we sit there in silence. I wonder if I could survive nine months and meet Isaac's baby. Probably not at this rate. Some tears find their way out of my eyes and down my face.
"I'm going to miss so much. You growing up, my parents growing old, and now meeting and knowing your child. There is just so much I'm going to miss because of my stupid cancer." I just start crying and Isaac finds his way onto my bed next to me and hugs me.
"It's going to be ok Hazel, it all is. We just have to be strong and not give up." I nod, and my mom comes back in looking concerned. I give her thumbs up and she takes back her seat next to me, slowly stroking circles along the back of my hand.
Kate
I take my computer out into the kitchen and wait for my parents to get home from work. I have no idea how I'm going to tell them, but Isaac is right. They will find out sooner than later, and it will be better if they hear it from me.
I hear the faint sound of the car pulling in, and a few seconds later, my mom comes in, followed by my dad. She looks up at me.
"Oh, honey. Have you been crying? What's wrong?" She sits down in the chair opposite me and my dad takes the one in between us. I start crying all over again.
"I need to tell you something, but it's really hard and I don't know what to say."
"You know you can always tell us anything right?" My mom says, reaching for my hand. I grasp her and wipe my face with my other hand.
"You're going to hate me; you're going to be really mad." I say between sobs.
"Honey, we could never hate you, just tell us what's going on." I take a deep breath. I've just got to tell them. Like ripping off a band aid.
"Well…I'm pregnant." I break down into more sobs and I feel my hand mom slowly retract from mine. I look up and I see she had her face in her hand. My dad had his arm around her.
"How did this happen?" My dad asks trying to keep his voice calm.
"It was that Isaac kid wasn't it? The blind one?" I nod slowly. I can tell he's doing everything he can not to lose it on me.
"Sweetie, what were you thinking?" My mom asks me. She's crying now too.
"I wasn't! I wasn't thinking mom! You think I want this? I can't be a mom, I'm only seventeen!" My mom comes around and pulls me into her arms.
"Were not happy with you Kate, but there's nothing we can do to change this now, so we might as well accept it and deal with it. Have you told Isaac?" I nod
"Ok, so we've got to get together. Us and him and his parents. Okay? Now go wash your face, we can talk more later. I can tell it's been a long day; I'm going to make dinner." I get up and go down the hall to the bathroom. I can hear the faint murmurs of my parents voices.
Back in my room I check my phone. There are two text messages from Isaac:
How did it go?
Are you okay?
I type back that it went better than I expected, and that my parents want to meet with him and his parents. Then I just lie in my bed until I hear my mom call for dinner.