The Night He Saved Me

by Sarah Stevens

  “Moving on. So, what kind of cake do you want at the party?” Bren asks.

  “Let’s go with chocolate cake with strawberry frosting; it’s my favorite.”

  “Sounds good to me. We will actually have two cakes: one is for the grad party, and the other is your birthday cake. This is going to be so much fun! We just have to deal with the parents until cake time, and after that, my parents have agreed to take off at least for a while, so we will have until midnight to party,” Bren says.

  “I really can’t wait, Bren. This is going to be so much fun, and at least I get to have some fun before I tell my mom what is going on with me. I plan on telling her on Sunday after I get home,” I confess in a hushed voice so no one can hear me.

  “Do you want me there? I will be if you need me to be.”

  “As much as I love you, I need to do this just me and Mom. Thank you for being there for me when I need you.”

  “Definitely, no problem, I’ll always be there.”

  We finish off our coffee and decide to head out, and as we walk to the door, we both turn around and wave goodbye to Jayce. He is a good guy but not the guy for me. In fact, I don’t know if there is a guy for me anymore.

  Sunday night, Bren stays at my house because I needed a ride Monday to a doctor appointment. My first doctor appointment since I found out I was pregnant. Well, it is really just an appointment to confirm what we already know.

  Monday morning comes and we are getting into Bren’s car and heading off to Planned Parenthood, since at this point, my mom can’t know I am pregnant. The ride to the office is quiet; I’m not in the mood to talk. Heck, I even thought I may be having second thoughts about keeping the baby. So, we will see what happens once we get there.

  The ride is too short, and before I know it, we are ringing the buzzer to be let into the building. Once we get up to the counter and check in, I have a stack of paperwork to fill out.

  When I’ve finished, and expertly skipped over the insurance information since it will come right back to my mom, I turn in my papers and take a seat next to Bren. She doesn’t talk, and that’s fine by me because I’m stuck in my head, overthinking everything.

  “Katarina?” a woman asks from a door that was closed moments ago.

  Standing, I silently walk with her and Bren trails behind me. The woman instructs me to leave a urine sample in the bathroom, and when I’m finished with that, she leads us to an exam room where I am to strip down and put on a flimsy gown.

  When I’m decent, the doctor comes into the exam room with a small computer and asks me some basic health questions.

  “When did you last have your period?” she asks, never looking up from her computer.

  “March 30th,” I tell her softly.

  “Well, you are indeed pregnant, and by my calculations, you are about nine weeks with a due date of December 20th.” Finally, she looks up at me with a smile on her face. It quickly falls when she sees me. “Is everything okay?”

  Bren looks at me and says, “Hey, Kat, what’s going on? You were okay when we talked about this before. Are you second guessing yourself and keeping the baby?”

  I don’t answer either one of them. I am inside myself again until Bren knocks my shoulder.

  “What? Oh, yeah, um I have been thinking of looking into my options, Bren. I don’t know if I can do this. We just graduated high school; college is where we are supposed to be in the fall. I just don’t know what I want right now.”

  I look at Bren and see shock on her face. She looks at me like I am a stranger. I don’t know what she wants me to do or say … I just don’t know anymore.

  The doctor looks at me with sympathy in her eyes and lets me know that we can go over the different options available to me. Number one being abortion, removing the fetus from me for good. Do I want to do this? Can I live with myself if I have an abortion? As I sit there listening to the doctor, she lets me know that they can help me in whatever decision I make, and if I choose to keep the baby they will help me with the process to get Medicaid so I will have medical coverage for me and the baby when it is born.

  With my options in mind, we walk out the door. Only a small moment passes before Bren’s hand is on my arm, turning me around forcefully to face her. “What the hell was all that about? You don’t know what you are going to do? Huh? I thought you knew what you were going to do and you knew you were going to welcome your child into the world? What the fuck, Kat? What is wrong with you?”

  I wasn’t expecting this from Bren; I figured she would understand that I needed time to think and figure it out. It is a lot to take on. I guess I was wrong, and if I changed my mind to get an abortion after all, I know she won’t be on my side.

  We silently went back to my house, and Bren dropped me off giving me an excuse that she had things to do and couldn’t stay. I knew she was pissed at me, and I understood, so I let her go, went to my room, and curled up on the bed. What am I going to do? What should I do?

  Before I know it, my mom is walking into my room, and the light from the sun is low in the window. Apparently, the stress of the day took its toll on me and I was exhausted enough to take a nap for a few hours.

  “You hungry?” Mom asks.

  “I can eat,” I tell her.

  “Let’s order a pizza tonight; I’m too tired to cook.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Mom leaves my room, and I peel myself out of bed. While washing my face to wake myself up a bit, I hear the doorbell ring. That can’t be the pizza already.

  “Kat, someone is here to see you,” Mom calls.

  Walking toward the front door, I see Bren standing on the other side with an apologetic look on her face.

  “Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”

  “Sure.” I agree and yell into the kitchen, “We will be in my room.”

  “Okay,” Mom yells back.

  Bren and I walk to my room in silence. God, this silence stuff lately between us is starting to kill me.

  After I close the door, Bren wastes no time to break the silence. “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through and how hard of a decision any and all of this is to make. I am so sorry.”

  I wrap my arms around her and hug her. “It’s okay. I wish it was easy, but it isn’t.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry for not seeing it from your point of view.”

  “Bren—“ Just then, the doorbell rings signaling the pizza’s arrival. With a smile, I forget what I was going to say and instead ask, “Want some pizza?”

  She smiles. “Sure.”

  This time, the silence between us doesn’t bother me, because I know that no matter what, Bren will always be there for me.

  James

  Once again, Kat seems to have disappeared this week. I’ve been worried about her since her graduation night, and I wish I knew what was going on. The fear I saw in her eyes about killed me to see. I wanted to take her in my arms and protect her even though she isn’t mine yet, but I will make her mine.

  Jayce has been on my case lately asking me what is wrong with me. Apparently, I have been a bear to work for. It’s all because of Kat. Lately, she has lost the light from her eyes. When I first saw her, she had a sweet innocent look in her eyes, but now her eyes have dimmed and I want to know why—I want to fix it. I want to hold her and make the light shine in her eyes again.

  I hope she comes by on Friday. It’s her birthday, she will finally be eighteen, and I can finally kiss her. I can tell her I want her and after all these months, find out if she feels anything toward me.

  Then maybe I will have the chance to put the light back in her eyes.

  Two days, but it will feel like two years.

  Katarina

  My birthday is tomorrow, and my dad hasn't called or even made an attempt to see me. It hurts, but it is what it is. I checked the mail today, and in it was a card for me. The return address was, of course, from my dad. I tear it open to see a graduation card. Did he even rem
ember my birthday? In the card is a check for one thousand five hundred dollars.

  What am I going to do with $1500? I briefly think about buying a car, but I still need to go and take the driving test, and then I think about calling Bren and having a fun night out and shopping, but it all boils down to the fact that I am going to need this money for my baby.

  I think with this I just made my decision to keep the little one growing in my tummy.

  My mom comes home a while later, and I have already put the check into my bank account through that little app thing on my phone. I decided I was going to find an apartment of my own. Mom isn't very happy with me, she says that money is supposed to go toward my school in the fall, and it isn’t to blow on nothing.

  “It's my money, and I can do whatever I want with it, I’m going to get an apartment and a job. I’m not going to college.”

  “You are going to do what? Why aren’t you going to college? You are being stupid, Kat.”

  “If I can have a baby, I think I can decide what to do with my money. I put it into savings, and I am getting an apartment.”

  “I can't believe you … Wait, what? You're pregnant?" As the weight of my words settles around us, she begins to cry.

  Shit, what did I just do?

  "Yes, Mom, I'm pregnant; almost ten weeks along now."

  “I can't believe this. Fine, you want to make adult decisions? Then make them on your own. I knew you’ve been sneaking out and lying and God knows what with that girl Bren. You are done here. Tomorrow, you are out and don't come back."

  So much for celebrating my birthday tonight. Turning around, I stomp to my room and start to pack my things. Tears run down my face, and at this point, I know I have to prove myself to her. I am going to keep this baby even if it kills me in the process.

  Once I have my bags packed, I sit on the front porch and call Bren.

  "Hello?" she answers.

  "Bren, it's me. I-I-I need a place to stay," I stammer.

  "Are you okay? What happened? Of course you can stay here, you were going to anyway," my best friend rambles.

  “Can you come get me?”

  “I’m leaving my house now; I'll be there soon."

  I look up and see my mom in the window with tears streaming down her face. Kyle is by her side with his arm wrapped around her in comfort. Is it too much? Me becoming an adult? I don't know, but now is my time to prove her wrong, and I can do this.

  “Sweetie, what happened?” Bren asks the second we get into the driveway of her house.

  As I control my breathing so I can talk, I manage to say, “I told her I was pregnant, and she told me to get out and not come back”

  “She said what? What a bitch.” I can hear the anger in her voice. “You can stay here for a while, sweetie. Maybe she will cool off.”

  “What am I going to do? She got pissed I was using the money to get an apartment and I wasn’t going to college in the fall and then it just came out of my mouth. I’m so stupid,” I bellow.

  “You are not stupid. Don’t say that.”

  Bren gathers me into her arms, letting me cry on her shoulder before she exclaims she is hungry. We go inside, and while I head into Bren’s bedroom, she splits off to the kitchen. I don’t know if I will be able to eat, but she brings me a sandwich anyway. After just a few bites, I crawl up on her pillow and pass out.

  When the sun streams through the windows, it takes me a minute to realize that I am not only eighteen today, but I am not in my own home where I should be. Gently, in an effort not to wake Bren who is curled up beside me, I move into the bathroom.

  Before I can close the door, a sleepy Bren mumbles, “Happy birthday, Kat.”

  “Thanks. What a happy birthday it is too,” I say sarcastically

  “We will make it great, Kat. You are now eighteen, and you have your whole adult life ahead of you, and we have a party to throw today!”

  I brighten up a bit at the prospect of a fun day and a party. When I’m finished in the bathroom, I come back to see Bren is dressed and applying her make-up.

  "Hurry and get dressed; we have lots to do today. First stop is The Java for coffee and breakfast. “

  The prospect of seeing James puts pep in my step and I grab some clothes. Once dressed, I put on some mascara and some pink lip-gloss.

  “Ready,” I tell her.

  “Let’s go.”

  James

  I woke up this morning with a plan—I am going to kiss that girl today. With a purpose, I walked downstairs to The Java and I started getting everything ready to open. Once my second morning worker comes in, I am free to get my paperwork done. When, I walk out a while later I am surprised to see that at nine AM, both Kat and Bren are there ordering coffee and pastries.

  “Well, look who it is. You’re here early today, aren’t you?” I say as I walk toward them. “Cammie, their stuff is on the house today. I hear it’s someone’s eighteenth birthday!” I give her a hug, wish her happy birthday, and give her a small kiss on the cheek before pulling back to see her face turn red.

  “Thanks, you really didn’t have to do that. Bren was buying.”

  I chuckle. “Well, I did promise to buy you a coffee on your birthday, so no worries. How are you doing today, birthday girl?”

  “I’m good, excited for this afternoon and tonight; we are having a party at Bren’s house. You should stop by tonight,” she says with a shocked look on her face. I don’t think she is used to being so forward.

  “I’ll try. Bren, can you write your address down so I have it?” I ask.

  “Sure, I can do that for you,” she replies.

  I wasn’t ready for her arrival this early in the day; I was hoping she would stop in later today or tonight. Pulling her a little ways away from the counter, I ask, “Are you okay? You look like you have been crying, and no one should be crying on their birthday.” I rub my thumbs under her puffy eyes.

  She pulls her face away and says, “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

  I want to kiss her. She looks so sad in her eyes even though she is trying to act happy, but I let her pull away. She walks back over to the counter where Bren is just grabbing their coffee and pastries. They grab a table and I stand there and watch them from the shadows. I wish I could figure out that girl and what is going on in that pretty little head of hers. Until then, I will give her her space and see her tonight.

  When Bren notices I am getting ready to walk away, she stops me. “James, here is my address; the party starts early because we are having a graduation BBQ, but you're welcome to stop by at any time. Party ends at midnight. See you later.” She walks back to the table where Kat is looking right at me like she wants to look into my soul.

  She has me, and she doesn’t even know it yet.

  Katarina

  Why does he care about me or why I was crying? He has never even hinted at being interested in me, not like today. He kissed me, albeit on the cheek, he still kissed me and wrapped me in his arms for a hug. The way he looked at me when he slid his thumbs under my eyes … It was different than any other time he looked at me. Unless, I am going crazy.

  Once we finish breakfast, we head out. It’s only nine thirty in the morning, and we have a lot to do today so we head back to Bren’s house. When we arrive back to Bren’s house, her parents are in the kitchen drinking coffee.

  “Hey, girls, where have you been?” Bren’s mom Sandy asks.

  “I took Kat to The Java for breakfast for her birthday, though I got out of paying because the owner has the hots for Kat!” she answers back

  I look at Bren and yell, “What? You have no clue what you are talking about. He is just a nice guy.”

  A look passes between Bren and her mom, and they both say in unison,” Riiiiight.”

  “You both are crazy,” I say as I feel my face heat. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

  As I walk away, I hear Bren say to her mom, “I invited him over tonight for the party, I bet he shows up, that will prove I’m
right.” And then they both erupt into a fit of giggles.

  When I get out of the shower, I lay out the clothes I want to wear this afternoon. I choose a cute, short, blue dress with maroon accents with a light sweater to go with it. The days are warm but the nights get chilly here in Maine. I don’t want to get dressed for the party yet so I toss on a pair of leggings and an oversized t shirt and walk back out to the kitchen where they all still sit.

  “So, what do we need to get done before the party today?” I ask as I approach.

  “Really, we don’t have to do a lot; we have an event planner coming over in about an hour with her crew to set up, and the caterer will be here soon after that,” Bren’s mom announces.

  “Whoa, wait, you have an event planner for this party? Bren, why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have suggested celebrating my party tonight too.” I am starting to freak out; this is way too much for me to process.

  “Yes, Kat, we have it all planned out. It was nothing to add a cake and to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. You are my best friend; we are happy to celebrate with you,” Bren says.

  Sandy comes over to me and gives me a hug. “Sweetie, really, this is not a big deal. We seriously just added a cake to the plans for later in the night. Bren wanted to help you celebrate, and we are more than happy to help Bren celebrate your birthday.”

  “Thank you, all of you, you are too kind. So, Bren, what do we have to do then? You said we had a lot to do today.”

  “Well, seeing as it is your birthday, I am taking you to get your nails done and then your hair; we need to make you look hot tonight, especially since James will be here.” She winks at me.

  “You are spoiling me, Bren, there is no need to do that. I am fine with what I have.”

  “My turn for a shower and then we are off, Kat, no argument,” Bren shouts as she walks away and leaves me in the kitchen with her parents.