Natalie Doyle stepped in to the store, it was late, most likely past her curfew, but she had to do it. She was curious, very curious. She had all the symptoms, well all the ones they had taught her in her schools crappy sexual education classes and on Lifetime movies she had watched while sick.

First it wasn’t that bad, a of couple missed periods and she had thought nothing of it, nothing at all, but than the nausea hit and she knew there was something. She was never big with vomiting, she had fevers, stuffy noses, sore throats, aches and pains, but she couldn’t remember the last time she vomited and it all came hit her at once, all at once and now she was scared, she was scared that it would all get screwed up.

She was a lucky one, popular, a cheerleader; little miss perfect without the gang of minions. Though she was a loner type, not full fledged, but she preferred small groups rather than big ones. But when football season came around, everyone knew her name, she was in the spotlight and that was when she made the mistake, the one that might be affecting her right now. She didn’t mean to do it, but for the first fourteen years of her life she had been no one, when she was fifteen she was some one and by the time she was sixteen it all got to her head.

He told her he loved her that he wanted her, and now she felt like an idiot. Like some sort of gratuitous whore, giving it up to the first guy who showed her the first bit of relation bound interest. She felt used afterwards, she felt as though nothing else mattered, she fucked up, she made a horrible mistake and there was no taking it back.

She looked at the long row, passed the “feminine products” as they were labeled, there was a long wall of pregnancy tests, ‘Oh your mocking me know, that is so great, unbelievable,’ she thought to herself and much to her dismay, she realized she said it aloud when another women in the row looked at her. She waved slightly in an annoyed sort of way and looked at all her choices. They ranged in price from eight to eighteen dollars. She picked up two packs of Clearblue Easy Digital tests.

She stood for a second holding the boxes in her palms, she was more scared now, what if it was positive, what if she was going to give birth in a number of months, what if she, barley seventeen year old Natalie Doyle was going to have a child, some one who would refer to her as mom, some one who was going to count on her for the rest of her life. But above all one thing swept her mind, what would her parents think?

Her mom was twenty-three when she was born, six years older than the age she would become a mom if she was in fact pregnant, and still she heard stories of there struggle, her dad was twenty-six at the time and she knew that he, despite his normally calm attitude he would most likely snap.

What if they kicked her out? She doubted they would, doubted they’d be that cruel, but she had heard stories and she didn’t want to be a statistic. What if they could never look at her again? Never make out full sentences, never except her mistake? What if they forgot how to love her?

She shook her head trying to get rid of the thoughts; she shouldn’t think of such things especially when she wasn’t even sure she had to worry about them.

She put on a fake smile nodded as if happy and walked towards the entrance of the store, she went to the register without looking at the cashier; she kept her eyes peeled ahead of her. Even when she paid she looked ahead of herself not wanting the cashier, who ever they might be to see her now sad, monotone face. “Have a good day,” the male cashier yelled to her as she exited the store.

“There’s nothing good about it,” she snapped in reply walking into the parking lot and getting into her convertible parked out front, it was a classic car and she loved it, she couldn’t bare the thought of getting rid of it, she couldn’t bare the thought of losing it all.

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She walked in the house and leaned against the door, she was home, she could get it all over with, though the more she thought about it, the more she realized she should have done it someone else, maybe at the store, maybe anywhere, anywhere but here, a place where some one couldn’t walk in on her. Where she’d be free, she sighed slightly, but lost her somewhat calm face when she saw her father seated on the stairs. “Daddy!” She exclaimed shocked.

“You're late,” he told her, showing off his Irish accent, it strong in the two words.

“I know,” she told him softly, “and I am sorry.”

“Why?” He asked her hoping to find the answer was not a lie, she looked nervous, like she was conjuring some sort of story in her head.

“I went to the store,” she told him in reply.

“Is that what you got?” He asked pointing to the plastic bag she held and she nodded in reply to him. “What is it?” He asked and she paused for a minute. “Natalie,” he told her sternly.

What, does he think I am a druggie? She asked herself.

“Girly stuff,” she replied, not lying to the fullest.

“Okay,” he said in a deep breath not wishing to press the matter further, when she took a step forward he stopped her. “Nat, your mom was looking for you; maybe you want to go talk to her, she’s still awake.”

“Actually dad, I am kinda tired I was going to hit the bricks if that’s okay with you?” She asked, once again making her way towards the stairs that lay in front of her.

“Promise me you’ll talk to her tomorrow,” he demanded light-heartedly.

“Promise,” she said softly, ‘There will definitely be some talking,’ she thought to herself.

“Okay go,” he said watching her run up the stairs and down the hall in a blur, he shook his head slightly, “There is definitely something going on with that kid of mine,” he muttered under his breath.

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She was a wreck sprawled out on the bathroom floor, waiting for the six tests (three from each box); to provide her with the answers she was looking for. She an atheist by trade let out a silent pray looking above her eyes closed and slowly her mind went blank. She began counting, one, two, three…one, two, three, over and over again the numbers came out of her mouth, her head going crazy as if spinning round and round millions of times, her back going numb, her body felt as if it was going to go into spasms. Her thoughts drifted as she held the small kitchen egg timer in her hand.

“I just want to say that if you get me out of this one, I’ll believe in you, I might even start going to church,” she muttered to herself and heard thunder rumble outside, a few seconds after she spoke the words. “Okay, okay, I’ll definitely start going to church… sometimes,” she summed up and for a second she was calm, but all hell broke lose the minute the timer chirped and turned its self off.

“Remember, church and faith, it’s a two for one, once in a lifetime offer, what do you say?” She asked nervously, standing up and looking at the pregnancy tests scattered on the counter, she closed her eyes, before looking at them. Each test said the same thing ‘Pregnant’ and it was at this time she decided it would have been a lot easier on her if she didn’t get the digital tests and they were blue lines instead of a word that explained everything.

“I knew there was a reason I didn’t believe in you,” She said angrily, tears began to fall from her eyes and she fell to the hard tiled floor in a fast swift motion, she sat quietly for a while her mind blurring between truth and reality. She felt sick to her stomach and with in a minute she threw up in the sat behind. “This can’t be happening!” She screamed; quiet enough that she knew her parents would not barge in on her.

She placed her hand on her stomach and laid back on the floor, after placing the other on her stomach, she hit it slightly a couple of times. There can’t be a person in there, there’s organs nothing else, nothing else, she slowly assured herself in her head, before putting her legs in a slight ball and rocking back and forward, “Nothing else,” she began as she looked to the ceiling. “Nothing else, you hear me!” And once again thunder slowly rumbled outside.

- What do you think? I would really enjoy reviews, if you send me reviews I will post the new chapter even faster. And much thanks to Gigi 13 who helped me get passed five words. I hope that is a good thing, once again reviews much appreciated. -