We All Have Secrets

Anywhere But Here (Part Two):

(Continuation from the last part?)

Which they defiantly don't need. It takes about an hour until the two boys are exhausted and they fall asleep on the sofa. Jenny and I make an escape into the kitchen to talk. She tells me about her day, other than babysitting which is pretty much her average day. She tells me she's now dating some guy named Tristan.

I couldn't help but be enthusiastic for her. "Good for you!" I cheer her on. I hadn't figured out how to tell her about leaving home, or much less Christopher's baby in me.

"Tessa, how come you aren't all that interested in boys?" She asks, suddenly a serious tone.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you..." I mumbled and looked at my belly. I'm still so much disgusting because of him, this baby is proof.

"Come on, tell me." She nudges my arm. Her skin feels warm to the touch, and she's always glowing like the sun. Some people are just naturally beautiful, I wish I was.

I take deep breath and look at my beloved friend. This moment, this seemingly simple moment, could change my life. I could lose my only friend. "...For starters... I'm pregnant." I look down, away from her, and start to play with the hem of my skirt. How can I tell her the rest?

"How...How can that be?" Jenny pauses and I look up at her. Her puzzled expression tells me that I've shocked her. "You've never told me you were dating anyone, let alone having sex!"

"...It wasn't sex... And I didn't want to talk about it." I look at my belly.

"Tess, who's the father?" Jenny asks.

"My step-father." Suddenly I can't hold back the tears and they come flowing like a river. Jenny catches me before I fall, she hugs me and tells me that everything will be alright.

I spend the night, her parents have always been so nice to them. But she promises to keep my situation a secret, because we're best friends.

We eat dinner together as a family, Jenny, her older sister Rae, her mom, dad and her two little brothers. They're all so cheerful and they sincerely care about each other. My home life was much different, my mom would cook dinner and we'd eat in silence with the occasionally how do you do. But you can certainly tell fake from the real thing.

"Tessa you have such a big appetite!" Mrs. Douglas, Jenny's mother, claims.

I felt my face heat up. "Yeah... I was just starving... And you're such an amazing cook!" Jenny glances at me from her side. She's lucky, she looks like a miniature version of her mother. While her sister Rae looked more like her dad and the boys looked like a mixture of both.

"Well thank you." Mrs. Douglas took a bite of her food.

After dinner, me and Jenny went up to her room. Which was decorated in pink flowers, white curtains and walls covered a light orange with purple decorations. Leave it to Jenny to mix-and-match her room design. Pictures of me and Jenny splattered the walls, other photos of Jenny with her friends and family splattered them too. She was extremely photogenic.

"I can't believe Chris would do that to you, he was always so nice and polite while I was there." Jenny plops down onto her blue and purple bed that's covered in stuffed animals ranging from elephants to penguins.

"He's very deceitful, and he still has my mom by the clutches." I glance at her on her bed and think of all the times Chris took me on mine. It's stained with his scent and his memory. Tessa, this is a safe haven, no one will violate you here. I have to remind myself.

"I'm really sorry, Tessie. You should've told me sooner we could've prevented your pregnancy." She gets up and hugs me tightly.

Maybe she's right, but I didn't think I had the courage. I still think I don't, I'm just desperate. "Maybe."

In the morning, Jenny wakes me and we get dressed and go to school together. She's very curious on how I feel about being pregnant and if my mom knows or not. The answer to my mom is obviously no. And she's polite, if I don't go into elaborate detail, Jenny doesn't pry.

When we reach school, my mom and Chris were standing around scoping. I know that they're looking for me. Jenny grips my wrist tightly and we approach them together.

"Tessa you have to come home." My mom spits out.

"I-I-I can't." I gulp. If I go home, Chris could hurt me and he could hurt the baby.

"Why not?" My mom asks me.

Jenny steps in. "Maybe that's because you married a psycho path who likes to rape high school girls, like your daughter."

My mom looks shocked by what Jenny said, but she's still not convinced just hurt. "Chris is an honest, hard working and nice man. He would never hurt anyone. I don't know what would delude you and Tessa to think, let alone sat, such things about such a humble man."

"If we're so delusional, then why is Tessa pregnant with Chris?" Jenny stands in front of me, protecting me.

The expressions on Chris's and my Mom's face are so shocked I think they might be frozen. Chris's face flushes to a pale white, like he lost all the blood in his head and he faints. I stay hidden behind Jenny looking at my frozen mom as she slides forwards us and away from Chris's passed out body. "...Are you really pregnant Tessa?"

I nod and the tears start to flow.