Dare To Live , Dare To Love

Chapter Sixteen

I tried to leave the house early the next morning to avoid my Mother and Mischa. I didn't want to tell them that Alan and I broke up. Especially with a baby on the way.

I was kind of excited to go to school today, though, because I wanted to show Mrs. Warren my sonogram.

"Oh, That's your little one!" She says excitedly.

"I know" I say and smile at her.

"Are you excited?" She asks.

"Well, I wasn't at first, but after I saw it on the screen, I was in love" I say.

"Is Alan excited?" She asks. My smile fades away quickly.

"Uh, We-We broke...up" I say.

"What?!".

"I went to tell him that I was pregnant and he freaked out and said I had to get an abortion or we were over, and I chose my baby" I say.

"Wow" She replies. "That's...".

"How could he do that?" I ask. "How can he look at that picture and my test, knowing that that's his child just as much as it is mine, and say that he wants me to kill it? How can he ask me to kill my baby?".

"Kinley, Boys say and do stupid things. I mean, Having a baby at eighteen might not be ideal, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know the reasoning behind you being pregnant and your relationship ending, but I know there is a reason it happend".

"I know. You're right, but I just didn't see my life going this way" I say. "I didn't see all my friends ditching me, and I didn't see myself quitting dance".

"Life never works out they way you intended" She says. "But, Your life will be complete when that little baby comes into the world".

"I hope so" I say. "I hope everything is better by then".

"It will be" She says. In that moment, Alan walked through her classroom door.

"Oh. I didn't know you'd be in here" He says when he spots me.

"I was just leaving" I say and push last him.

***Alan's POV***

"I guess she told you" I say to Mrs. Warren as I watch Makinley almost run down the hallway.

"Yeah, She did" She replies.

"Did I make a mistake?" I ask.

"Only you can decide that" She says looking directly in my eyes. "Do you think that you made a mistake?".

"Well, No. I meant what I said" I say. "But-".

"No! There are no 'buts', Alan, You made your choice and She made hers. Now you have to live with it".

"She left me" I say.

"Honey, If there is only one thing that you remember me telling you this year, I hope it's that you can never come between a mother and her child" She says.

"She hasn't even seen the damn thing" I practically yell. "How can she love it already?".

"Because-".

"Don't say because she's a mother, she's not".

"Oh, but she is" She replies. "The question is: are you going to step up enough to be a father?". I stayed silent for a second.

"I-".

"Alan, You and Makinley made a decision whenever you all decided to have unprotected
sex, that you all were mature enough to handle it. Now, You're facing the consequences. If you thought you were mature enough to have sex, you're mature enough to be a father" She says. That hit home for me.