The teenage pregnancy pact

Lizette III

Three weeks had already passed since Paul took the worst decision of his life.

Logically, Lizette knew he wouldn't come back to her that soon—he never did in the last three years due to his pride, she always had to wait by giving him the cold shoulder for weeks, only then he apologized.

That's where she messed up, instead of playing his game right back at him, she decided to confront him, something he wasn't used to. No wonder he felt overwhelmed.

It would take months for Paul to come to his senses again and swallow his pride. That realization worsened her mood more than ever; several times she wanted to skip school again, only the impending fear of Santiago showing up at her house again prevented her from it. The idiot already had her on a leash without realizing, and here she thought she had no father no more.

She chuckled darkly at the thought. Because being honest with herself, she could see what drove Jo to him.

During middle school she forbade Lizette from speaking to him, "He is the enemy," she told her once, face puffy and red, clenching her teeth "and it's all his fault that my parents don't love me anymore."

Lizette found that somewhat amusing, and jokingly started called him Jo's boyfriend, until the whole school did it, Jo wasn't fond of such allegations, responding to them with barfing noises every time.

Oh crap! Why did she remember that just when her nausea had passed?

"Are you sure you don't need us to stop, Lizzie?" Jo asked beside her, just as Lizette felt her father started to lower the speed of the car.

"I'm fine, don't worry" she told them, forcing a smile.

Ever since Lizette entered that car, Jo's father spent most of the trip making snide remarks about how spoiled Jo was for being permitted to attend a slumber party during exam week.

Lizette suppressed a dry laugh. That man had no idea what a truly spoiled little girl was like—but she did, because it was to the house of one he was driving them.

Melannie Burnham.

It was an unwritten pact between the three friends to never ask Melannie to visit her house unless she suggested it. And she finally did it a few weeks after Lizette's breakup, but that wasn't the main reason.

During those weeks, Lizette felt more tired than usual. She slept throughout the day and often squirmed in the classroom because her bladder had grown weaker. Her thoughts weren't on class anymore, but on how much time was left until recess so she could go to the bathroom.

She knew exactly what that could mean, and so did Melannie, hence the unusual invitation.

At first, she refused to believe, because throughout her relationship with Paul she used the pill to the letter, her mother reminded her every day until Lizette got fed up and asked her to stop.

So when her period was late, she almost had a heart attack, she couldn't even tell her mother, because for a moment she considered the tiny possibility that, if she was pregnant, it could be Santiago's and not her boyfriend's.

However, a quick research on internet told her that the symptoms only began a month after conception, and Santiago slept with her roughly two weeks ago, not even close to her "fertile" days.

That left Paul as the only candidate.

Buying the test wasn't easy either. Lizette didn't have enough money, and asking Jo was out of the question, that left Melannie, who agreed immediately but managed to slip in several subtle insults about Lizette's intelligence in the process.