Finding Immy (Sebastian Vettel)

The Only One She Could Count On

Immy felt a sudden rush of nausea as she stared at the white plastic stick in her hand. Pregnant. Seventeen years old, and she was pregnant. She hadn't expected a positive result, even though her period was six days late. She and Jared had always been careful, apart from that first time. He'd always used condoms, she'd insisted on it. She'd had no symptoms other than the late period. What the hell was she going to do? There was no question of her having an abortion. Although she wasn't against them, and she agreed that for some women it was the only option, she knew that she couldn't do it.

Her thoughts turned to Jared. How was she going to tell him that despite their precautions he was going to be a dad? She took a deep breath and slipped the pregnancy test into the back pocket of her jeans. She wasn't seeing him until the following day so she would sleep on it, and hopefully she'd have an idea on how to break it to him. She knew that he'd be there for her. It would be a shock, but she had faith in him. They'd often spoken about having children in the future, years down the line when they'd both finished their education and had become established in their chosen professions. It was just going to happen a few years earlier than planned, but Immy told herself that they would get through it.

She buried the empty packaging underneath all the rubbish in the wastepaper basket and flushed the toilet. Heading back to her room she placed her hand on her stomach. Hers and Jared's baby. She felt a small spark of love ignite inside her. It would be ok.

She laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She wondered if it was a boy or a girl. She didn't mind as long as it was healthy. And she was absolutely certain of one thing. Her baby would never feel unloved and unwanted. She would never be like her own parents. She would tell her baby every day, more than once, that she loved him or her. It would be the most loved baby in the world.

The rest of the day dragged. Jared was away until the next day with his father, who was a truck driver. She began to wish that she could talk to Joel, but she didn't know how he would react to her baby news. He'd probably be angry and tell her she was stupid. Plus, Jared deserved to know before anyone else did.

She spent the evening curled up in bed watching a movie on her laptop. Finally, around ten o'clock she began to yawn. She decided to call it a night. She went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and had a wash. Then she got changed into her pyjamas and went back to her bedroom.

She barely slept a wink that night. Different scenarios kept running through her head. What if Jared didn't want the baby? How would Joel react? How would her parents react? She thought about labour and giving birth. She wasn't the best at dealing with pain. How would she cope? Then she'd think of holding her baby. Finally, she would have someone of her own to love and to love her in return. Finally, she would have a proper family.

She finally dropped off to sleep as dawn was breaking, and when she woke up she was surprised to see that it was gone eleven. She hauled herself out of bed and padded to the bathroom. After a quick shower she got dressed into a white and blue gingham sundress and headed downstairs. She was hungry. In fact, she was beyond hungry. She felt like she could eat a horse!

There was no sign of her parents anywhere, but that came as no surprise. Her dad spent most of his days around his brother's house drinking since losing his job, and her mother very rarely surfaced from her bedroom before midday.

She opened the fridge, sighing when she saw the choices available to her. A block of cheese that hadn't been wrapped up properly and had gone hard around the edges, two strawberry yoghurts that were two days out of date, a microwave Macaroni Cheese, plus a few eggs. She slammed the fridge shut. Fuck it, she told herself. She was eating for two now. She needed more than this shit.