One Night...

Chapter 2

A week had passed since Scarlett had taken the pregnancy test. She had spent the week laying in bed in sweatpants and a ratty old sorority t-shirt, barely showering, definitely not eating, and dodging calls from her boss as she thought about where to go from here. At the end of the week, she decided enough was enough. She couldn't just disappear, not from life, not from work, and certainly not from the fact that she was now carrying a baby. Kelsey had urged her to sort out her feelings, and if there was one person Scarlett could turn to, it was her de facto "big sister" in Los Angeles, her mentor LeAnne Spencer. Scarlett had met the powerhouse divorce attorney during the first year of law school, when LeAnne came to USC as a guest speaker. Scarlett found her talk fascinating and had went to introduce herself to the forty-ish lawyer after the panel. LeAnne liked Scarlett immediately, and they went to coffee together, where Scarlett peppered LeAnne with questions about the law, Los Angeles, and life in general. LeAnne had never had a daughter, and Scarlett's mother had passed away when she was five years old. The two became fast friends, and LeAnne was the person Scarlett turned to for everything.

That night, Scarlett went to LeAnne's posh Brentwood home, and LeAnne knew something was wrong with her pretty blonde mentee immediately. As LeAnne's husband Roger served Scarlett hot tea, the girl poured out the whole story to her mentor, almost embarrassed to tell the woman she considered a role model about the horrible decisions she'd made. But LeAnne immediately calmed her.

"Scar, you're focusing on what happened in the past, what happened to get you to this point. It's too late for that. You need to focus on the future," the kind dark-haired attorney told her bluntly. "I'm just so embarrassed LeAnne," Scarlett said with a sigh. "Did I ruin my career? Did I ruin my chance to find a nice husband? I mean, who's going to want to date me now?" Tears formed in her eyes, and LeAnne patted her on the shoulder before shaking her head. "Nope, that's not what we're going to do Scarlett," the woman told her firmly. "None of that matters. What's the plan now? How do you feel about this? What do you want to do about it?" LeAnne fired off pointed questions, and the blonde girl started to focus immediately.

"This is your life Scarlett. The first thing you need to decide is what you want to do. Do you want to keep the baby?" she asked, her voice soft but serious. Scarlett's breath hitched, thinking carefully about it. "I mean, I don't know," she said quietly, voice barely above a whisper. "I never in a million years thought I'd be having a baby as a 25 year old single girl. But then again, like... I don't know, I just feel like a baby is blessing regardless. I want to be a mom at some point, and I... I just don't think I could sleep at night knowing that I didn't keep a baby, or that a baby that was mine was out there living with someone else..." her voice trailed off and she looked at LeAnne, scared of her reaction, and she saw tears in the older woman's eyes.

"Scarlett, my biggest regret in life is that I never had a child. I met Roger when I was 40 years old, and by then, well, I just felt it was too late." LeAnne wiped her eyes a bit, putting her arm around Scarlett reassuringly. "I would never tell you what to do. But if that's your immediate reaction, follow your heart. Your career and everything will work out. " Scarlett nodded a little, teary-eyed but feeling a little bit of relief that she had actually made a decision.

"I'm going to keep it," she said softly, and LeAnne nodded approvingly. As she breathed in a sharp breath, LeAnne cleared her throat. "Scar, there's one more thing," the older woman said, and Scarlett looked at her with wide eyes. "This guy that you... well, Scarlett, I mean, I think you should talk to him," she told the blonde girl quietly, and Scarlett looked at her with fear in her eyes. "I was afraid you were going to say that," she said softly, and LeAnne nodded. "Listen, sweetie, I'm not your mother, and I certainly can't tell you what to do. But this boy, he deserves to know the truth. Wouldn't you want to know if you were him?" She brushed some hair off her face and shot the blonde a kind smile.