Can This Be Real?

Chapter 24: Opening Day of the New York Spring Spectacular

Bethany POV

There are a million things running through my mind as I board this plane to fly to New York for Derek’s opening night of the New York Spring Spectacular. I always planned on going just to support him, regardless if we were together or not. However, with the possibility of this news that would completely change both of our lives looming and hovering over me, I am a mess of emotions.

Flashback

Finally settling on my comfy couch after traveling from Miami, I hear a knock on my door.

I open it to see Briddy standing there holding a shopping bag from Target. She busts through the door, looks around and asks, “Who’s home with you?”

I sarcastically reply, “Well, hey Briddy, how are you? I’m doing well. The trip to Miami was great. How was your week?”

She rolls her eyes and says, “Sorry…”

I tried to let out a laugh and answer, “No one, it’s just me. Mom and Dad were exhausted from traveling so they headed straight home from the airport.”

“Oh, perfect. So, we have some privacy to finally get some answers,” she says as she dumps the contents of the shopping bag onto my dining table. Spilling out of the bag were several boxes of different brands of pregnancy tests.

I stood there just staring at these tests that are essentially going to determine the rest of my life. I shook my head thinking ‘how in the world did I get here?’ A couple of months ago, I was sitting in my room editing Youtube videos, then going onto this reality dance show opened new opportunities for my career and changed my personal life. I’ve grown, I found love, I felt the pain from walking away from love and now… the ultimate responsibility of bearing and raising a child may or may not be in my future.

My eyes start to fill with tears just thinking about that possibility. I softly say, “I can’t do this.”

Briddy replies, “Yes you can, Beth. I have seen you with Marin. You are the most responsible and mature 19 year old I know. I know this wasn’t planned and the timing may impede into your career but everything happens for a reason. When you see that ultrasound for the first time, or hear the baby’s heart beat, or feel it kick and when you finally get to hold him or her in your arms, you’ll be ready and life will fall right into place.”

“Brid, I can’t even think that far ahead right now,” I nervously explain, “Look, we are probably over thinking this. Maybe it’s stress, that could be why I’m late. I’ve been trying to eat healthier and exercise more so my body could be reacting to the change in diet. Or it could be stress from the rollercoaster of emotions that I have put my body through figuring things out with Derek. Or it could be stress from being on the go lately and traveling so much. There are so many explanations, that being pregnant can’t be the only reason why I am late.”

“Well then, let’s take these tests and rule out for sure that you are not pregnant,” she suggests and hands me a pregnancy test.

Holding the pregnancy test in my hands, I exclaim, “I can’t.” I quickly shove the test back into Briddy’s hands and I continue, “I am not ready to even to find out the results. Whatever the pregnancy results reveal will make this all real and I am not ready to comprehend that just yet. Can we not do this right now?”

“Beth, we are going to have to find out sooner or later. You can’t put this off,” she says. “What… you want to wait until 8 or 9 months from now when you are standing there with a belly about to pop?”