Change My Mind || Sam Pauly || ✔️

Nine

Continued

A light breeze flew through Sam's hair as she watched her dog run around the backyard. Was Regina right? How could she have a kid and not be emotionally attached to it? Was that going to make her a bad mom? Should she get an abortion? Was it worth it again?

then

20-year-old, Samantha Pauly, sat on the rickety couch of her first apartment waiting for her boyfriend to get back with takeout. She'd been feeling sick for two weeks, but with her last few projects and performances coming up, she was sure that it was her nerves and stress taking over. That was until she finished all of her end of semester projects and still felt like shit. Her boyfriend was sure it was the flu and that she was being dramatic. But, Sam knew that the virus growing inside her was only going to get worse if not removed soon.

So, she took a test to confirm. And there she was on the couch, that would thankfully be thrown out months later, staring at two pink lines. "Shit," Sam whispered. She couldn't have a baby. She was not finished with school, and her boyfriend was trash. She was in love with an abuser, who got off on seeing her in pain.

Sam hopped off the couch hearing the door unlock and ran to the bathroom, throwing the test away, before he could spot it. While coming back she made a mental note to make an appointment with planned parenthood in the morning.

now

Sam laid her head on her knee, watching Dale run as she took a few deep breaths. "Dale!" Sam called, finishing her coffee and getting up.  "Let's go inside, so mommy can go pee!" she said, opening the sliding door.

"Sam! Where are your tampons?" Regina asked, holding an empty box. Sam rose an eyebrow.

"Oh, let me ask my fetus where we keep them!" Samantha grumbled, making her way to the bathroom. "I haven't bought any," she replied. Gene grumbled, throwing the box away and following her sister.

"Why not?" Gene whined.

"I didn't need to!" Sam said, shutting the door in her sister's face. "Haven't had a period in two months, going on three. You act like you can't go buy your own!" Sam heard her sister mutter something before leaving her to pee in peace.

-

Meanwhile, Nick and Matt drove around the country in silence when Matt decided to finally speak up. "Why'd you do it?" Matt asked, tapping his fingers along the steering wheel. Nick looked over from the passenger's side window with a shrug.

"I don't know. I just... I thought that if we "accidentally" got pregnant she wouldn't be so opposed to getting married," Nick answered. Matt shook his head.

"Dude, come on. A baby is not a good way to get or keep a marriage. I should know. One wrong move and I could lose my kid and my wife," Matt paused, "you gotta talk her. These sisters are all about that. They do better if we talk before we act. You've been with Gene long enough to know that. These women are knowledge-driven. They want the information to make the best decision possible," Matt said. Nick nodded and bit at his fingers.

"I'm not even sure what to say to her, at this point. I feel bad for what I did,"

-

"No, you feel bad because you got caught!" Regina yelled at her boyfriend in the backyard of her sister's house.

"Regina, listen to me!" Nick yelled, grabbing her arms. "The last thing I want is to lose you! I want to marry you!" He said. Regina took a few deep breaths, never having seen Nick this aggressive.

"You should have got down on one knee instead of both for that," Regina mumbled, pushing him away and going back inside. Sam and Matt looked away as they stood in the kitchen, drinking, and cooking.