A Taste Of Life

Chp. 22 P.2- The Unexpected

*Taylor*

"Baby?" I repeated in shock. "Sarah.. What's going on?"

Sarah wide eyes looked from me to her mom. She was just as surprised as I am. My heart pounded against my chest and my mind raced with questions. Please don't let it be what I think it is. The silence in the room broke when the shriel cry of a phone ring filled the air. Mrs. Hart excused herself from the table to pick up the phone while Sarah, her dad, and I sat there in the thick suffocating tension.

"Hello? Sarah? No, she's not here. What? That's not a good idea. Please don't. She's not here! Owen, please listen to me. She doesn't want to see you, can't you-" Mrs. Hart's words were cut off with silence. She rushed into the dining room with frantic eyes that darted straight to Sarah. "He's coming. He's on his way here now."

Sarah's dad sat in his chair, his face remaining emotionless as he ate his food. He wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin before standing up. "Grab your coat, Diana. We're leaving."

"What!" Sarah shrieked. "You're just going to leave!"

"This is your mess. Not ours. I refuse to let your sinful behavior affect our lives. Just make sure all of you are out of this house before I get back." He snapped. "Grab your coat, Diana. I won't tell you again."

Mrs. Hart looked from Sarah to her husband. She hung her head in defeat and obeyed his orders. As soon as we heard the sound of the front door close, Sarah snatched the plate off the table and threw it against the wall. "Fuck!" She shouted as the porcelain shattered. Tears willfully prickled at Sarah's eyes as she tugged at the roots of her hair.

I stood there, paralyzed and in shock as Sarah paced throughout the room. "What the fuck am I going to do? He's gonna be here any time." She cried. "God-fucking-dammit Taylor will you say something!"

I snapped out of my daze and looked at her. "Let's just leave." I replied.

"It's no use, he'll come looking for me no matter where I am." She buried her face in her palms. "I'm so stupid."

I wrapped my arms around her as she sobbed. I on the other hand, stood there in utter disbelief.

Sarah is too young to have a child. She's too pure. She's too- the sickening feeling in my stomach began to rise as I remembered her words.

"Behind every name is a story. And a lot of people around here have many different stories to tell about me."

"I fucked up my sophmore year.. bad.. and they haven't forgiven me since."

"I don't want you to think any less of me."

"My parents kicked me out when I needed them the most."

That's it. I can't fucking take this amymore. I pulled away from Sarah and looked her straight in the eye. "Sarah. I need answers. Now."

I listened intently as Sarah spoke.

Sarah has been homeschooled for as long as she can remember. She was taught and raised under strict, religious parents who pressured her to be the best of everything. Once she turned 16, she asked her parents if she can enroll her parents into public school. Sarah dreamed of going to a normal school with normal people and have normal friends. Little did she know, she made a big mistake.

"All the guys I knew were absolute sickos." She explained. "All except him."

She told me about the mystery boy from her diary. How happy he made her and how utterly in love she was with him. Unfortunately, one thing kept them from being the couple Sarah hoped to be: Owen was Sarah's biology teacher. Then everything clicked. The secret relationship from everybody. They say age is but a number. Laws on dating a minor begs to differ.