You Can't Run From the Past

Chapter 26: BOOM!

Chapter 26: BOOM!

Jessie's Point Of View:

"Because I've gone through it before," I whispered lowly as memories flashed through the back of my mind.

"You've what?" Tessa asked surprised.  "I thought you were, you know, a virgin."

"I am," I replied.  "Tessa, I've gone through this same situation before, though."

"What do you mean?" she asked through her confusion.

"Remember last year?  Before any of this nonsense happened?" I asked.

"Of course," she replied eagerly awaiting more information.

"Remember when Jaci had that huge crush on Paul?"

A dark memory flickered through Tessa's mind and I could tell what they were.  "Yeah, but Paul never liked her back.  Hardly anyone did."

"Tessa, I know this is hard to hear, but we both know Paul wasn't the sweetest guy."

"Jessie, Paul would never try anything with Jaci."

"I know you and Paul had some sort of 'connection' last year, but everyone knew, Tessa.  Paul tried things with everyone."

"No, that's not true.  Those were all rumors."

"I wish they were," I told her.  

Tessa let out a long, frustrated sigh.  "What are you trying to say, Jessie?"

"Paul knew Jaci was the kind to put out and he took advantage of her.  I found her crying in the bathroom a week later.  We were never really friends; I hated her, but when I saw her on the floor sobbing I put all that aside."

"Are you saying Jaci was pregnant?" Tessa asked.

I nodded and continued my story.  "She was afraid to tell anyone.  She knew it was Paul's; he was the only one she ever did it with.  She refused to tell him though.  She wouldn't tell her parents either.  The only reason she told me was because I caught her at her weakest point and she needed someone to talk to."

"She never told me," Tessa choked out.  "She was one of my closest friends for five years.  We told each other everything."

"Things can change," was all I could think to say.  I knew why Jaci didn't tell Tessa, but that was another story for another time.  "The point is that I've been through this before."

"No you haven't!" Tessa screamed.  "Jaci has!  You have no clue what I'm going through!"

"Fear? Pain? I know you're tired.  I know all you want to do right now is cry.  The thought of a baby must have been wonderful when you thought it was in the future.  When you thought you'd be prepared and ready."

Tessa swallowed loudly and looked at me with pure sadness.  Tears pooled in her eyes and spilled out over her cheeks.  "I've been in this same situation before, the friend was just Jaci instead of you," I told her.

"What did Jaci do?" she asked.

"She kept it a secret for three months before she woke up in a blood covered bed.  She miscarried.  She was depressed for half a year."

Tessa stared into space while the tears fell down her face.  "She never seemed depressed."

"Some people, like Jaci, are good at hiding their true feelings."

"Then how do you even know she was depressed?  Maybe she was just relieved."

"I've always been intuitive, Tessa.  She was devastated to lose her baby," I told her calming.