She enters the garage, and finds her brother sitting on his couch writing in a notebook. He looks up at her.
"You need something?"
"A favor," she admits.
"Sure, what can I do?"
Daphne holds out a CD, "Can you edit this?"
"What is it?"
"It is for an experiment for school. We each have to listen to different sounds, and write an essay on them. We have to write what we think it is, and how it makes us feel."
"How are you supposed to do that if you can't hear it?"
"It is also an experiment in adapting."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Can you make it play in a lower tone?"
"Yeah," he nods.
He inserts the CD into his laptop. He adjusts the sound, and then plays the recording. He watches her as she listens.
"Could you hear it?" he questions.
She looks at him, and nods, "Yeah."
"It sounded like a heartbeat to me," he comments.
"Yeah."
"But most heartbeats aren't over a hundred beats per minute."
"True."
"Daphne what is going on?"
"I told you."
He decides not to pry. He removes the CD from the drive, and hands it back to her. She takes it, and leaves the garage.
Bay looks over at Daphne as they head to the parking lot. They stop in front of Daphne's car. Daphne turns to Bay.
"Are you ok?"
Daphne doesn't say anything, she just hands Bay the car keys.
"You want me to drive?" Bay furrows her brow.
"I am too distracted," she admits.
"Ok."
They toss their backpacks into the back seat. Bay turns on the car, and looks over at Daphne, as she puts her seat belt on.
"You want to talk about it?"
Daphne reaches into the glove box. She pulls out a CD, and puts it in the player. Bay backs out of the parking spot, and heads out of the lot. Daphne presses play. At the stop sign Bay turns and looks at Daphne.
"Why are we listening to this?"
"Because it is all I can think about."
"Daphne you're obsessing. You have to make a decision."
Daphne points to a parking spot on the street ahead, "Pull over," she instructs.
Bay pulls into the parking spot. Daphne hands her a pair of earplugs. Bay furrows her brow.
"One why do you have earplugs, and two why are you giving them to me?"
"I got them for the prom to give to Wilke, but he didn't wear them."
"And you are giving them to me, because?"
"Just put them in," Daphne instructs.
"Ok," Bay agrees.
She sticks the earplugs in her ears. Daphne hits play on the stereo. After a few moments Bay removes the ear plugs. She turns and looks at Daphne.
"Did you feel it?" she questions.
"Yeah," Bay confirms.
"How am I supposed to choose to stop it?"
"Stop what?"
"That heartbeat?"
Bay shrugs, "I don't know."
"I keep asking myself what I am supposed to do. I don't know how I am supposed to take care of a baby, when I can't hear it. I don't know what is going to happen if I decide that I want to."
"But?"
"All I can think about is that heartbeat. How am I going to feel knowing that I am the one who..." she trails off.
A light bulb goes off in Bay's head, "You've already decided?"
Tears fill Daphne's eyes. She doesn't say anything.
"You want to keep it?"
"I keep telling myself that it's the wrong thing to do. I am going to have to give up the idea of going to college. I am going to have to give up everything I wanted. This isn't the way I had planned my senior year going. I never anticipated that I would have to deal with this."
"But you are."
"And I realize that I have absolutely no clue what I am doing."
"Did you tell John and Kathryn?"
"I told Kathryn, and she remained incredibly calm."
"That isn't a good thing."
"Why not?"
"She's like a hurricane. It's the calm before she storm."
"She will have to get over it."
"Have to?"
"I can't do it."
"Do what?"
Daphne looks at the stereo. Bay taps her arm.
"Are you sure that you want to do this? I mean we're talking about forever."
"I know."
She stands in front of a recently placed headstone. She stares at the patch of ground in front of her. The grass doesn't even completely cover the patch of earth that has been recently disturbed. Less than two weeks ago she never would have considered coming here. Until then she didn't have a reason. She never would have conceived the idea that this would be her fate. She stares at the headstone in silence.
It's amazing how one decision can change everything. It's hard to believe that one person can come into your life, and leave a path of destruction wider than a hurricane. This is something no one would ever expect from her. She's always been the model student who is well behaved, and makes good decisions, for the most part. She stares at the headstone, and contemplates how her life is going to change in order to deal with one night of poor choices.