ASHLEY

40

The mark on her face becomes visible. Ice doesn't seem to be doing anything to stop it. She slumps against the couch, refusing to look at me. I messed up so bad.

"I didn't mean it Angela."

"You're angry when you're high. I get it." We laugh but it's anything but humorous.

I clear my throat before speaking, careful not to make the situation worse. "Are you sure you're pregnant? It could just be a scare."

She shakes her head. "I'm sure I'm pregnant. I missed my period this month and last. Bria, I don't know what to do. I can't have a baby. I'm only fifteen. Aunt Jackie is going to kill me."

"Not if I kill you first. How could you let this happen?"

Angela stands up from the couch, a flustered look on her face. I remain seated. I know I can easily overpower her and I don't trust myself or what I would do if I get up from this couch. I don't want another repeat of what just happened a couple moments earlier. I brace myself for what she has to say next. "Me? You let this happen."

"Me?" Maybe I heard wrong. She couldn't possibly think all this is my fault. I wasnt the one that went out and got pregnant. The girl is fifteen. What is she doing having sex anyway? I knew I shouldn't have trusted her to be out in her own. I gave her too much grace.

She nods her head vigorously. A long finger is pointed directly in my face. "You're never here. I couldn't come to you for advice. I couldn't ask questions. You're too busy having a damn fuck fest to even notice me. I still can't believe you were with him."

The couch is just going to have to wait. I can't sit down and take this. "Dont turn this on me and for the record I'm not some whore so don't talk to me like I am."

"This is all your fault," she blames me. Tears stream down her beautiful face. Her hair falls over her eyes as she holds her head down and cry. People always say we look alike. I guess we are more alike than we care to realize. I wrap my arms around her in a tight embrace. I may not agree with everything she's saying but she's my sister and I won't leave her hanging.

"I love you," I whisper between her sobs. I'm not offended when she doesn't say it back. I know despite how much she blames me that she loves me.

🔱🔱🔱

I wake up in the middle of the night with dry, puffy eyes. Some time during our emotional state we must have fallen asleep. I roll off the couch and search for my phone. When I find it stuck under Angela I pull it out carefully and unlock it. Kenneth has been blowing my phone up all night;

Bria can we just talk? Sent at 9:45 P.M.

I know what happened between us shouldn't have happened but it did. Its not just going to go away by ignoring it. We have to talk about this. Sent at 10:00 P.M.

We were high. Its not our fault. You have nothing to be ashamed of Bri. Sent at 10:45 P.M.

He goes on some more but I don't have the stomach to read them.

Shuffling comes from down the hall and I peak around the corner to see what it is. Of course it's only Aunt Jackie. I breathe a sigh of relief. I dont know who I thought it could have been. "I was wondering what you two were doing on the couch but I didn't want to wake you."

"It would have been fine. Angela is just so stressed out with school and she got into a fight with one of her friends."

Aunt Jackie tilts her head to the side. "Dont lie to me little girl. I know you better than you think. What's really going on?"

"It's not my place to say."

"Okay now I'm really worried. It is your place to tell me if it's serious and it involves one of you," Aunt Jackie says. She does have a point but I already feel so bad about hurting her. Telling Aunt Jackie Angela is pregnant will cause a ruckus. There will never be a right time to tell her. Either way it will be bad for all of us. It still seems so surreal.

There is still a chance this is all just a big scare. Girls miss their period all the time. Besides, Angela is a cheerleader and the type of stuff she does qualify her as an athlete. Athletes miss their period all the time.

"It's probably nothing Aunt Jackie. I just don't want to be the one to deliver the news in case it isn't."

"Bria-"

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"But Bri-"

"Don't worry about it. Shouldn't you be sleep? You have to go to work on a couple hours."

She looks as if she wants to say something else but decided against it. No way was I going to budge. I can't tell her Angela could be pregnant. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news.

Aunt Jackie heads for her room and I follow her. We crawl into bed together and it isn't long before I'm drifting off to sleep. Today has just been very upsetting for me. I need a good escape.