Always Be My Baby

Mind Blowing Decisions

Miranda Bailey sat as far away from the pregnancy test as she could. Outside her room door, her roommates moved about. She wished they'd hush. Every sound felt like nails on a chalkboard. At 19, she figured she would have been smarter than the girls that had unprotected sex and ended up with kids in college. But even as a sophomore on the premed track, she'd screwed up—big time! The test sat on her desk mocking her. She hadn't used it yet. Hadn't even opened it. A minute part of her actually thought that if she didn't, it would keep her from knowing the truth. Going over the calendar again, she concluded that though her period was never exactly normal; going six weeks without it was not right. And there was the incident of throwing up a few mornings ago. It had happened so suddenly and took so much time to clean up that she was almost late for class. Afterwards, she'd calculated and recalculated and couldn't think of any explanation aside from—A knock on the door made her jump. She rushed to grab the box, stuffing it beneath her comforter. "C-come in," she sputtered. 

"Hey, Mandy, your Adonis is on the phone," Evie said peeking her head into the room.

Miranda shook her head. "Tell him I'm asleep or studying please."

Evie stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "This is the third time this week you're having me lie to Ben."

"That's what friends do. Like me telling Anna that it wasn't you smoking weed," Miranda told her with a tiny smile. Their RA had been furious and Miranda had covered for Evie.

"Fine. Fine." Evie pushed her short hair out of her face. "Are you two fighting?"

"Yes," Miranda lied. "But don't try getting in the middle of it."

Evie opened the door. "I don't get between lovers." She moved her head back and forth. "Unless they want me to," she said with a wink.

When she was gone, Miranda lay back on her bed, landing on the hard box. "Jesus," she said out loud.

...

Ben tried to call Miranda again and was pissed when she didn't answer. He knew he was dating a nerd—her words, not his, but damn, he couldn't even get her on the phone now. It was the weirdest thing. They used to talk every day if they could and every other day of if they couldn't. His entire week had been thrown by not speaking to his girlfriend. Her roommate kept feeding him lines about her being at the library or asleep, but he knew better. Something was up and he was a little worried. But, hopefully, he'd see her soon. They were both supposed to be going back home for the weekend to attend his parents' 20th Wedding Anniversary. She hadn't confirmed with him and he wasn't sure she'd even be there, but maybe... He threw on his jacket and went for a walk. On his way back to his dorm, he passed by a small group of people standing in front of his dorm. His roommate, Jeff, was in the mix and left the pack when he saw Ben. "Hey, B, uh, Miranda called about," he looked at his watch and made a face, "twenty minutes ago."

Ben's eyes flew open. "Did she say anything? What did she say? Did she leave a message?"

"Bruh," the taller, dark-skinned man said. "Calm down. The message is on your desk." Jeff patted him on the back and pulled a cigarette from behind his ear, offering it to him. Usually, he'd take a pull or two, but maybe he could finally get Miranda on the phone. He shook his head and headed into his building.

The note was propped against a stack of books: "Miranda called. Pick up from the station on Friday. Train comes at 5PM. Everything is cool. Hadn't been feeling well. Didn't want you to worry. Is much better.

Ben breathed a sigh of relief. She was fine and he'd see her in two days. He read the note a third time and called her room number.

...