Circles

Chapter Twenty Eight

             The next few days are uneventful. I stay in the extra bedroom where I can be undisturbed until I can get up and do things without being in unbearable pain. Liz is the only one who ever comes into the room, and I am grateful. I haven’t even seen Mike since I got home. After a week, things return to normal and I go back to my room. It is exactly two weeks from my injury when we’re all sitting in the backyard eating lasagna. Liz is the only one not outside with us, and I haven’t seen her all day.

            “So are you feeling better, Alex?” Jess asks.

            “Yeah, I guess,” I say. “Still kind of hurts.”

            Liz comes outside and sits next to me.

            “Hey! I haven’t seen you in forever,” I say, turning to her and smiling. She has a grave expression on her face, causing my smile to fade. “Is something wrong?”

            “I, um, need to talk to you,” she says quietly.

            “Okay, do you want to go inside?”

            She nods her head and we get up to go inside. We go into her room and sit on the beds across from each other.

            “What’s going on?” I ask.

            Liz tries to smile, but tears start slowly falling down her face. I walk over to her bed and sit next to her. She takes a deep breath.

            “What’s wrong?” I ask.

            She turns to face me and takes another deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”

            “What?”

            She starts crying harder. “What am I going to do, Alex?”

            “When did this, um, happen?” I ask.

            “The night you were in the hospital,” she sniffs. “I just found out today. I don’t know what I’m going to do. My life is ruined. I’m only sixteen, Alex!” she says, sounding more and more frantic.

            “Okay, okay, calm down,” I say. “Everything is going to be fine. Does Cody know?”

            “No, I haven’t told him yet,” she says.

            “When were you planning on telling him?”

            “I haven’t exactly thought that far ahead!” she yells.

            “Calm down,” I say. “You have to tell him tonight.”

            She nods, still crying. “I know, I know.”

            “It’s going to be okay, Liz. Maybe it’s a false alarm.”

            “It’s definitely not. I’ve taken the test, like, ten times.”

            “Well, still, it’s going to be okay. Everything will work out,” I say.

            She sniffs and wipes the tears off her cheeks. “How do you know?”

            “Because I know,” I say. “It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be okay.”

            She nods. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. It’s going to be fine. I’m having a baby, and it’s going to be fine."