It was early, very early. I knew that from having gazed at my phone. It was three in the morning, dark as pitch, and I held Galaxy in my hands. His crimson eyes were on mine as I stared at him, feeling number than any time I had before. Tilting his head, he gave a quiet chirp, nudging my thumbs to ask if I was alright. I simply shook my head, tears still slipping down my cheeks even though I had received the news over eight hours ago. It was true, no hiding it now; I was carrying a living being inside of me and I had no idea who the father was.

I was seventeen. I was in high school, an aspiring foreign transfer student. And I would become a mother at the end of the school year.

The realization hit me again, and I pulled myself into a fetal position, careful not to squish Galaxy, and cried some more. The ache in my chest, the disappointment I felt towards myself as well as the horror I held at being pregnant, increased. If my father was still alive, what would he think of me? His perfect little daughter, getting knocked up at a party she had gotten drunk and high at. Yeah, definitely perfect. I was a little angel. Sobbing until my body hurt, I laid there, hating myself and whoever had put me into this situation.

Sniffling, I managed to reach over and grab my phone off of the nightstand, the glow of its broken screen permeating the darkness in my room. I looked through my contacts and picked my mother's phone number; I needed to talk to her, even though we'd had a bad goodbye a few weeks earlier.

She picked up almost immediately. "Kai? Are you alright?"

I cried as I began, my voice cracking on every other word. "Mama, something's happened and I don't want you to yell at me, please..."

"Of course, dear," she assured. Her voice was sweet, and I heard her shoo my little brother away in order to talk to me. "What happened?"

"Mom," I began, holding my breath for a few seconds as I put together a feeble response. "I...I'm pregnant."

Silence. For the next few minutes, all I could hear was her breathing, and then the muffled sound of a mattress being subjected to the weight of something. Then she said, "But, Kai... You're so young."

I lost it there, even more sobs wracking my body, tears flooding down my cheeks. Galaxy made his way out of my hands and under my chin, trying to comfort me in the best way he could. I heard my mother trying to calm me down, but I felt so horrible, like damaged goods. Shame weighed heavily on my shoulders and I felt the urge to just disappear. I wanted to be hidden from the world so I didn't have to show off the pregnancy belly that was sure to turn up within a few months.

"Kai, it's alright," my mom said with a sigh. "I'm disappointed but I'm not mad."

That lessened the guilt I felt, but I still felt like shit. "Mama, what am I going to do? The wedding is today and I can't tell Droite... I'll be too heartbroken to do so. And plus school. What will I do?"

I heard her sigh again, as if she wanted to come to me. But that was not going to happen, not with the situations that were bound to crop up from my binding to Droite later today. "Kai, I'm sorry, but with how our family is, I can't come to America to help you out, no matter how much I want to. The advice I can give you is: do not abort the pregnancy, and please for the love of our gods, take care of yourself, for the baby's sake."

I nodded, even though I was only talking to her through audio connection. "Thanks, mom. I'll try my hardest to not fall apart over this." I gave her a warm goodbye before shutting off my phone and letting it fall to the floor. Galaxy squawked as I shifted, gently nipping my chin with his beak and climbing onto my nose as I laid on my back. I stared past him, at the ceiling, and wondered just how I would tell Droite about it. I'd have one hell of a time trying to hide it from her, especially since she and I were beginning to understand each other's habits and schedules. With my nausea, general unease, and other symptoms, she was bound to pick up on what was going one with me eventually. I feared what her reaction was going to be, and just the mere thought of it made me want to vomit, on top of the already bad 'morning sickness' I'd read about on the internet.

Sitting up, I placed Galaxy down on my bed and ran to the bathroom in order to clear my stomach of what little remained inside of it. Nothing really came up, dry heaves killing my esophagus for a few good minutes before leaving me alone. My body was aching badly, and I winced in pain, trying to figure out how long I had been sitting here on the floor.

Galaxy flew inside and settled on my head, pecking at my bangs to make sure I was alright. I just sobbed quietly into my arm, self-loathing rising up and smacking me in the face. I was just hating everything right now, and I placed a hand over my stomach, wishing that the thing growing inside me was gone.

But I didn't believe in abortion, so I was not going to get rid of the filthy creature, even if I wanted it gone. I was going to stay true to my mother's word, and I was going to take care of myself as well as this damn parasite feasting off my body.

I went back into my room, searching out my phone and typing Droite's number into it. I needed to talk to her mother right away—but I wasn't going to let my future wife know about the baby, not yet. Droite picked up almost immediately, and I told her that I needed to speak to her mom. She asked why but regardless found her mother and gave the phone to her.

Cecilia coughed before she said, "Kai, what's the matter? It's really early in the morning, you know."

I didn't beat around the bush, but I made her swear not to say anything to either Heartland or Droite before I replied. "The test was positive, and I need to see a doctor right away," I carefully explained, ignoring the quiet gasp she gave, "So the wedding—can it be postponed until tomorrow?"

Cecilia heaved a loud sigh, and I heard her shifting around. "I'll have to make many calls, but I guess we can postpone it. Although there will be questions as to why."

"I'll let you figure out the reason." Feeling nauseated again, I bit my lower lip hard, trying to keep the bile down. "Cecilia, I don't know how or why this happened... but I'm sorry."

"No, no sweetie, it's not your fault." Cecilia cleared her throat. "Do you want me to come with you to the doctor's after I get done with my business?"

I nearly broke down in tears again. At least I was on my bed, to prevent myself from whacking into anything as I fell over onto the mattress. "Yes, please... I've got nobody to go with me."

"Alright. Does around noon suit you?"

"Yes."

"Then I will come over and take you to the family obstetrician, alright?" After I agreed, she bid me goodbye and hung up. I dropped my phone, once more, to the floor. Galaxy, who I had just realized was sitting on the outside of his cage, glanced down at me as if in concern. I just gazed up at him, the emotional agony I was in flashing in my eyes.

…

Around 11:30, I managed to somehow drag myself out of my bedroom and downstairs. I had gotten dressed, but my hair was in a mess, so I put a beanie on my head in order to hide how badly tangled the blonde locks had gotten. I probably looked about as alive as I felt, having put no makeup on or having showered. I didn't care; my brain was still to fucked over from the news of me being pregnant. I collected my wallet, seeing that I only had about twenty dollars left. Would that be enough for the appointment?

I sat on the couch, wondering if I had put my bird into his cage or not. Nausea was still playing around with my appetite, so I hadn't eaten anything. Not like I wanted to, anyways. My breasts hurt, my legs were a little sore, and if I didn't know better I'd say that time of the month was coming around. But I knew it wouldn't be, at least for another year or so. All in all, I felt like shit and I wanted to just die already.

There was a knock on the door and it took a few moments for my fogged mind to register it. I stood up off the couch, grabbing my keys from the mini table beside the door, and opened it. A tough-looking guy, probably a butler, held out his hand for me to take, and a limo was sitting outside on the curb. Feeling like I was going to fall over, I let the man guide me to the car. I knew I wasn't dressed to impress, in simple shorts and a hoodie, but did I care? Not in the least.

Droite's mother was wearing a simple outfit as I slid inside, and upon looking over my condition, a worried look overtook her face. I simply gazed at her, pale as ever and shaking like a leaf. The man shut my door and went to the front, and soon we were moving.

"Oh my gosh, Kai," Cecilia began, leaning forward and taking my face into her hands. "I'm glad we postponed the wedding until tomorrow. You're not looking so great."

"I'm well aware." I was exhausted, more so than I've ever been in my life. She just rubbed my cheeks, knowing that I wasn't meaning to be rude to her; the flux of hormones (I think) was affecting me full force now and I honestly wanted to cry and scratch everything in sight all at the same time.

She let go of my face, sitting back against the seat. It was then when I took in her full appearance. It never occurred to me how much she looked like Droite; they had the same black hair, although Cecilia's did not have the violet streaks in it. Their eye shape was the same, too. But Cecilia looked too young to be Droite's actual mother. Although... I wouldn't doubt that there was some actual DNA shared between the two of them.

Y'know what, I'm going to ask. "Hey Cecilia?"

"Yes?" she inquired, taking her eyes off of the scenery passing by us to gaze at me.

"Are you really related to Droite?" I asked, making her raise an eyebrow. "By blood, I mean."

She sighed. "She's my second child," the woman replied. "I gave birth to her when I was fifteen and I left her in Spartan City in order to please my parents." She left my eyes to look away in shame. "When I saw her in the adoption services, bruises on her arms, I couldn't help but adopt her. She was only six at the time so I doubt she remembers, but... I love her, even though I can never tell her that I'm her true mother. She'd hate me forever."

I wasn't entirely shocked, but I felt sympathy for the poor lady. She'd been through so much just because she'd given birth to Droite at a young age. Reaching out, I patted her arm, and she just smiled at me.

We pulled up to the private clinic a few minutes later. It was a simple building, not too flashy and having the appearance of an office building, but it was obvious that the people inside weren't just ordinary doctors. Cecilia and I had help from the butler guy getting out of the car, and from then on we were left to our own devices as the man retreated back to the car.

The woman lead me inside the lavish office, and together we walked up to the front desk. I nervously looked around the waiting room, seeing women of various ages sitting on the uncomfortable chairs. Some were pregnant, while others were probably just there for a checkup or something. Cecilia tapped my shoulder and I turned my attention to her and the nurse who was sitting at the desk.

"I need you to sign these documents," the nurse said, handing me a digital clipboard and stylus. I nodded and went with Cecilia to sit down. After we found a place, I went on to sign everything, which was really confusing because I'm not native to this country and their terms are different. Cecilia helped me out with the documents, and I got through them in about a half hour.

After handing back the clipboard the nurse told me to wait for a few more minutes. I obeyed, going back to sit next to the woman who'd brought me here. The older woman squeezed my knee, giving me a comforting smile even though I was about to collapse from exhaustion and my heartbeat hitting the ceiling.

It seemed like forever, but eventually a girl looking no older than twenty came in and called out my full name. I perked up and stood immediately. Cecilia came along with me as I followed the girl to a small examination room, where she sat me down on the bed/counter thing and shut us in with her.

"I'm Furo," the girl said, holding out her hand. I shook her hand and she gave me a small smile. "You're Kaito Tenjo, right? Well, I'm going to be your obstetrician throughout your pregnancy."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "But you're so young," I commented without really meaning to.

Furo laughed. "Nah, nah, I know I do." She patted my shoulder, gazing over at Cecilia, who was sitting in one of the chairs across from the examination table I was on. "So Cecilia brought you here because you're marrying her daughter... Good, good. This state needs to get over its homophobia, you know." The girl then turned to the computer located on the counter next to the chairs. She typed information on to it while chatting with me nonchalantly. I gave her simplistic answers, not feeling comfortable yet around her. It took a little while, but eventually she was finished with her basic stuff and it was down to business.

"According to the measurements listed in the last checkup you had," Furo began, "You're about four-foot ten, which combined with your young age will make this pregnancy very difficult on your body. Before I go on, are you completely and totally sure about continuing this pregnancy?"

I thought for a moment. Cecilia didn't interfere with my thought process, but I wish I had someone else to talk to other than these people. After a few moments I sighed and said, "I may not want this child, but I'll continue the pregnancy."

Furo nodded. She came over and began her examination of me, just the physical stuff. And then it got real personal, with questions about my family history and other things. A pelvic exam, pap smear, and drawn blood later I was wanting to get out of there and rethinking my decision of going through with this.

I sent Cecilia out earlier, before the pelvic exam, for coffee and donuts. I was craving sugar badly and I needed some ASAP. She did so, and a half hour later had come back holding a bag and cup. I smiled at her, gratefully taking the food items offered. She had gotten me two chocolate doughnuts, three sugar ones and a single glazed one. I took the glazed doughnut out and shoved half of it in my mouth, resisting the urge to moan at the taste. Cecilia smirked at me and went back to sitting down in a chair, playing around on the tablet she'd brought along.

Furo, who had left after the examination, came back in as I was finishing off the last of the doughnuts and coffee. She held her clipboard in one hand while giving me a look of confusion. She came over to me, her eyes on mine. "Kai, you're nearly six weeks along, did you know that?"

"Eh?" But the party had been a few weeks ago, not a month and a half ago. "But I've only been with a woman until the party I went to four weeks ago."

"Well, you're HCG levels suggest that you were impregnated six or seven weeks ago." Furo handed me a couple pamphlets. I took them, gazing at the titles; these things were going to give me information on teen pregnancy. "Anyways, after a few more things we'll let you go home. I hope you have a good day, Kai."

…

It was almost six when I got home. Cecilia gave me a warm goodbye, hugging me and kissing my cheeks before leaving me in my house, alone. I sat on the couch, pamphlets in hand, and sighed to myself, ignoring the calls from Galaxy. My stomach was rolling, but I told it to calm its shit and went to reading the first pamphlet. It focused on the process of the pregnancy, from trimester one to the last few weeks of pregnancy. I found it interesting, a subject I'd never really touched up on even though I had watched my mother go through the process with my little brother.

The second one, as I had predicted, was about the risks of teenage pregnancy. I didn't realize how many problems could occur in someone of my stature and age until this simple guide showed me the truth. I placed a hand over my stomach, smiling to myself.

You know what, this isn't so bad. Although the parts about getting the size of a hippo and the birthing process was scaring me a little bit. But now... I knew that I was going to take care of this kid. I wasn't going to be like my father, abandoning this child. No, I was going to be a parent, even though I was so not ready for it.

Next step: telling Droite about it...

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