Even Angels Fall

Chapter 21

                             ~~~~~Mike~~~~~

How could that be all? I wondered, staring at the box on the desk in front of me. How could I have worked this long and only managed to save $587.69? I counted it four times just to be sure. 

That wasn't even enough to support myself for a month. It certainly wouldn't be enough for Christina and the baby. At this rate, I wouldn't be able to support them at all. 

I didn't even want to think about asking my dad for anything. There would be no living with him after he knew about the baby.

The only thing to do was to drop out of school and work full time. 

Christina wouldn't like it. She wanted both of us to finish high school, but as my dad was always telling me, want and need are two different things. And right now a high school diploma was definitely falling into the want category.

But would anyone even hire me? I was still seventeen. I knew Steve would help as much as he could, but the store wasn't that big. I wasn't sure if, legally, he'd even be able to give me more hours, since I was still a minor.

Technically, I wasn't sure how legal my job actually was anyway. Steve just paid me out of the register at the end of two weeks. He said it was less paperwork for everyone and I wouldn't have to worry about taxes. Just to keep my mouth shut about it. I'd been happy to agree, but would he risk employing a minor, full time, who wasn't in school? Would anyone? 

My birthday couldn't come fast enough. I was just about to count the money again, hoping that maybe I miscounted by some miracle, when my dad barged into my room.

"Wanna explain that?" he demanded, tossing something on my desk. 

I looked down to see what he was talking about. Lying in front of me was one of the pregnancy tests that Christina used. We must have missed it when we got rid of the rest. And even I could see it was clearly positive.

I just stared at it for a second, trying to think of what to say. This was alot sooner than I planned on telling my family anything.

"Well?" my dad barked. "I know that's not your mother's."

I turned to my dad. After just realizing how unprepared I was for this, I was in no mood for one of his lectures or any of his insults.

"Congratulate me, Dad," I said sarcastically. "I'm gonna be a father."

"Like hell you are!" He stepped into the room.

I almost wanted to laugh. Did he really think that telling me I couldn't do it, meant it wasn't happening? Even if I didn't want to take responsibility, I would still be a father.

"Doesn't work like that. You can't just make this not happen because you don't like it."

"You're not gonna ruin your life!" he said. "You don't even know that this kid is yours!"

"Of course it's mine!" I yelled back, angry that he could think that of Christina. "It couldn't possibly be anyone's but mine!"

"Pretty girls are good at making you think that way when they need you!" he said. "She could have got knocked up by somebody else! She's using you!"

"You don't know anything about either one of us," I said. "If you did, you wouldn't even suggest that."

"Why? Because you're in love?" he asked mockingly. "Let me tell you something. Your love isn't gonna mean a whole lot when you've got no money and a screaming baby keeping you up all night."

"Gee, Dad, it's good to know that Mom means so much to you," I said disgusted. He didn't even know the meaning of love. 

My dad was speechless for a second, apparently shocked that I made that connection.