16 and Pregnant

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Brandon held my hair back from my neck as I heaved over the toilet bowl.

It had been 3 weeks since we'd first had sex and since then, every night had been even better than the last. Every night he'd touch me like he never did before and he kissed me somewhere new. I started feeling his lips in places of my body I didn't even know existed. He warmed up to it and got less nervous and I warmed up to him.

"Are you okay, Joey? Do you need a doctor?" Brandon asked me as I finished emptying my stomach and straining my neck. I laid flat against the floor and had the urge to through up again. I gagged. Brandon swooped me up and turned me over so I wouldn't choke on my own throw up. I spit into the toilet.
"Josephine, I'm taking you to the doctor." Brandon spoke in a soothing voice and held me in his arms.
"Okay. Let me," I gagged and swallowed it down. "Let me get ready."
Feeling nauseous, I stood to my feet and walked over to the sink to brush my teeth.
"How do you feel, aside from nauseous?" Brandon asked me as he started to get dressed. He made the bed and cleaned up our delivery pizza from last night. I didn't speak with my tooth brush shoved in my mouth. I held me finger up, telling him to hold on. Brandon said okay as he peered down at the pizza box.
"You think it was this food from last night?" He asked me and I shrugged my shoulders. I was beginning to hope that it was the pizza because I didn't want something to be wrong for real. I spit out a mouth full of foamy, mint toothpaste and rinsed my mouth.
"I'm nauseous, my lower stomach hurts, and my boobs hurt." I told Brandon. He looked concerned. I pulled one of Brandon's hoodies over my head and put sweatpants over my leggings. I had a hard time getting them on though, but I figured I was just a little bloated from throwing up.
"Ready?" Brandon called from the closet as he covered his messy hair with a grey beanie.
"I'm hungry." I said and walked down the hall to the kitchen.
"There are some bagels in the pantry I think. I might have som cereal and oatmeal too. Fruit is in the fridge." He told me.

Brandon never had tons of food in the house. I guess he was just used to feeding one. He interns at a local community college doing research and they pay him $600 a week. His father pays for all of his insurance and rent through child support since his parents are divorced and his mom has legal custody though she put him out of the house. He never told me why. So, long story short, he has plenty of money to buy food. All he pays for are his phone bills and his groceries and clothes.

I stuffed my face with three bagels and Brandon met me by the front door.
"Ready now." He asked and I nodded with a bagel in my mouth. We head down to the car and to the doctor's office.

"Ms. Frank?" A thin nurse called my name from behind the door leading to the patient area. She gestured me back and Brandon followed.
"How are you today?" She asked.
"Not too good." I told her and she lead me to a room.
"What seems to be the problem?" She asked as I sat onto the bed. The paper crinkled beneath me.
"I woke up sick this morning. I was nauseous and dizzy." I told her she nodded her head.
"Anything else?" She asked and typed some words into the computer.
"My stomach hurts. Like my lower stomach." I continued and she smirked and then returned to her normal professional face.
"Have you been sexually active?" She asked me. I looked at Brandon and then back at the nurse.
"Yes. I lost my virginity 3 weeks ago." I told the nurse.
"Any type of birth control." She asked. Brandon twisted his face and buried his face into his palms.
"What's wrong?" I turned to him and he looked up with tears in his eyes.
"Any type of birth control?" The nurse asked again. I shook my head.
"No." I spoke quietly and stood up to sit by Brandon.
"What's the matter?" I asked him and he just shook his head.
"Would you mind taking a pregnancy test for me?" The nurse asked after she typed some more information into her computer. Then it hit me. Brandon thought I was pregnant. I can't be pregnant. There's no way. I can't raise a child and Brandon needs to go away to school. I nodded.
"I'll take the test, but I'm not pregnant." I told the nurse arrogantly.
"Whatever you say." The nurse said and walked out of the room.
"I'll be right back." She said.

"Brandon, Honey, I'm not pregnant. You don't have to worry." I said. Brandon slid away from me.
"You don't know that, Joey. You really don't know. You know 85% of sexually active women who don't use birth control get pregnant?" He said.
"I...um, I didn't know that." I whispered. "Well, just pray that it doesn't come up positive. Maybe I'm part of that 15% that doesn't get pregnant." I continued. The nurse came back into the room.
"Okay, let's get this over with." She said and took my blood. When she finished up she tied my arm with a bandage.
"All done. I'll be back with your results in about 10 minutes." She told us and walked out of the room.
"Joey, I can't do this. What if you are pregnant? It would be my fault. I can't live with that type of guilt." He whined. I wrapped my arm around him.
"It wouldn't be your fault. It takes-" I started and Brandon cut me off.
"It takes to to make a baby. I know. But still..." He said. What was I supposed to say to make him feel better. Nothing I tried worked.
"Brandon-" I called his name and then the nurse came back into the room with a manilla envelope. She handed it to me.
"These are your results. Take care." She said and pointed us into the lobby. I didn't want to look and neither did Brandon. We walked out into the lobby and signed out before leaving.

Brandon and I were sitting in the car and neither of us spoke. I held the envelope above my lap. Brandon looked at me and I looked at him. I looked down in my lap and unraveled the clasp. I slipped the folded paper out of the envelope and opened it. Taking a breath, I stared at it and read the results. Brandon peered over my shoulder. We both gazed at each other as I spoke.
"Negative."