by Remember Me
made him tell me the truth. I started bragging about how many guys I had been with, and he
couldn’t resist. He admitted that he knew many girls intimately.”
“He’s been with a lot of girls?” asked Laura in disgust.
“Yeah,” answered Heather, noticing her friend’s anger. “Like I said, he plays the game
really well. He’s a really smooth talker. I bet he could talk just about any girl out of her clothes.
Why the sudden interest in Todd?”
“I didn’t mean to pry,” apologized Laura. “I just had the idea from when you first started
dating that he was really innocent. I can’t believe that he used a story like that just to get his way
with a girl. What ever happened to honesty?”
“Honesty doesn’t get you laid.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed you to tell me about your personal life,” Laura apologized
again.
“Oh, I don’t mind talking about it,” Heather explained sincerely. “Now you’ve learned
from my experience without having to make a mistake yourself. I mean, what are friends for if
they can’t help you from making the same mistakes they did.”
“Yeah, that’s what friends are for.”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 79
“So why are you up so bright and early, Laura?” Heather asked, changing the subject.
“I had another rude awakening. This stomach flu doesn’t seem to want to go away.”
“Maybe you should go see a doctor, you look really thin.”
Heather looked up at her friend with sincere worry. Laura wore a T-shirt and shorts, even
with the cold weather outside. Her usual cheerful spirits had disappeared, and Heather knew she
needed some rest.
“I don’t want to do that just yet. I’m sure it will go away soon. There’s no reason to
bother a doctor about it yet.”
“You’re going on three weeks with this flu. Why don’t you get some medicine to kill it?”
“I don’t know,” Laura explained. “I guess I’m just afraid to go and find out what the
treatment for my illness is. I really hate going to see doctors.”
“I know what you mean,” agreed Heather.
Laura and Heather stood along the side of the football field watching the clock slowly
tick down to the final seconds of the game. The temperature felt incredibly warm for an evening
at this time of year, and expectations for this final game were really high.
The crowd had remained standing through the entire game. Everyone knew that if they
won tonight, they would still make the state tournament. The team had managed to pull together
and win their past two games, and everything was riding on these last few plays.
Even Heather had her spunk back. The night seemed unreal, and in a way, Laura hoped
the last few weeks were just one long dream. She fantasized about waking up and regaining her
innocence that she had lost during the dream, but she knew everything was real.
Harrison’s football team lined up on the three yard line for the last play of the game. The
score sat at 48 to 42, with Harrison needing the touchdown to win the game. Laura hoped that
they would make it to the tournament. She wanted to talk seriously with Todd, but the football
season had taken a turn for the better, and she didn’t want to affect his playing. She had excuses
every time she had met with him really. Before the sudden change in the football season, she
didn’t want to tell him while he felt so depressed and moody. Nobody expected this game to stay
so close, and winning fell beyond the scope of miracles, but they had held their ground against
the best team in the league.
Laura watched with shaky nerves as the home team hiked the ball. The quarterback took
several steps back as a battle raged before him. Laura’s heart skipped a beat as she saw the
quarterback hand Todd the ball and left everything up to him. She would deliver quite a weight
for his shoulders to handle when she broke the news to him, but it seemed minuscule to what he
carried at this moment.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 80
Todd ran forward at full speed towards the dueling linemen. At the last moment, he found
a hole in the defense and ran up through the line. He had the ball held high as he crossed the line
and the nearest official called a touchdown.
Laura and Heather screamed as loudly as they could. For the first time in weeks, Laura
had managed to keep her dinner down. Even the smell of cheap hot dogs in the air smelled good
to her. Moments later, the kicker scored the extra point, and Harrison took the lead.
The stands roared in a frenzy as Laura looked up at the clock and noticed that five
seconds still remained. The time it took to kick off the ball and run down the last five seconds
seemed to last forever, but their opponents’ attempts were in vain as Harrison tackled the runner
where he caught the kick.
The group of blue and white football players danced around on the field as the final
seconds ran down. The spectacle before her under the bright lights threw Laura into a momentary
trance.
The crowd roared as the buzzer signaling the end of the game sounded. The bleachers
emptied in a chaotic state as the student body and local supporters ran down to celebrate. Laura
could hardly hold herself back from running down and throwing her arms around Todd. She ran
out onto the field with Heather, wishing for a moment that she had never known her.
The two girls made their way through the crowd, not sure whom they were really looking
for. Laura found Todd standing with several of the other players, he had a huge smile on his face.
Laura had never seen him looking so happy. Todd noticed her, but quickly looked away.
Laura turned next to her and understood why. Heather had caught sight of him as well.
The two girls stood there, not uttering a word. Laura began to feel awkward. She didn’t care if
anyone knew about her and Todd, yet something held her back.
She feared that maybe Heather was telling her the truth about Todd. Maybe he really was
the experienced manipulator that Heather claimed, and he had lied to her. She felt terrified as she
realized that it was possible that he had used her and tricked her into thinking he really cared for
her.
The guys whom Todd stood with turned and started towards the school locker room.
Their path led them directly past the two girls who stood silently waiting. Todd glanced at Laura
only momentarily, but looked Heather over as he got closer to her.
“You played a good game, Todd,” Heather complimented him.
“Thanks,” Todd spoke quietly as he smiled at her.
Laura stood by, not uttering a sound. Her thoughts wandered rapidly, studying the entire
situation over. Her fears began to eat away at her, and she knew she had to do something. She
decided she would try to separate herself from Heather so that she could escape with Todd for a
while and sit down and talk.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 81
She had so much she needed to tell him, and there were several questions she wanted
answered. She had to know how much, if any of their relationship was a lie. She started back off
the field and towards the school with Heather walking by her s
ide.
They reached the bleachers and Laura noticed Heather walking slowly over to sit down.
The detour was unexpected, as the crowds had almost completely cleared the stands, and she
knew something had gone wrong.
Laura walked over and sat down next to Heather on the cold wooden seat. She started to
chatter about how much fun they would have when they went to cheer at the state tournament
and asked Heather if she thought they had a chance of winning the state title.
Laura waited quietly for her friend’s reply. Heather hadn’t listened to a word she had
said. She just sat in tears. Laura knew she felt some regrets for loosing Todd.
“Are you all right, Heather,” Laura asked.
“I didn’t think I’d miss him this much. He hasn’t even spoken to me since the
homecoming game. Now, I hear around school that he’s been seeing someone else. I know that it
sounds funny, but I really want him back. I think I may have made a big mistake.”
Laura felt her stomach tightening up. She wanted so badly to tell someone about her
condition and she knew that Heather could relate to her. Laura hoped that her friend might
finally have gotten over Todd and that she could come clean and ask her friend for advice, but
now she realized that was not an option.
“You’re right, Heather, you have to put him behind you now,” Laura pleaded with her
friend. “Why don’t you try getting in touch with number 87. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard. I’ll
even ride down there with you to look for him.”
“I don’t want him,” Heather sobbed. “I was just using him to make Todd jealous. I had to
get even with him. I never thought I would lose him over it. I have to get him back, Laura. Do
you think he’ll ever come back to me, Laura?”
“I wouldn’t count on it, Heather. I heard he and his new girlfriend are pretty serious.”
“Do you know who she is?” asked Heather.
“No,” Laura answered without thinking. “I don’t keep track of Todd’s social life that
closely.”
“I’m gonna go home,” uttered Heather. “I’m not much in the mood for celebrating right
now. You don’t mind if I ditch you, do you?”
“No,” assured Laura, feeling awful. “Go home and get some rest. Give me a call if you
need to talk.”
Heather walked away from the bleachers and headed to her car. Laura remained in the
bleachers for some time, watching the door where she knew Todd would exit. After about fifteen
minutes, he walked out of the school building with several of his friends.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 82
Laura knew she had to talk with him. She walked quickly to cut them off before they
could leave the parking lot. Todd spotted her from far away and broke off from his friends
towards his truck. The parking lot had almost emptied as the students headed to main street to
celebrate.
“Hey there,” Todd called out as he got closer to her.
The two were far away from anyone else in the parking lot and Laura knew it was safe to
talk to him. She fought to hold back the tears she wanted to cry.
“You really did great out there,” Laura answered as he reached out and threw his arms
around her. Her troubles seemed to disappear when his arms were around her, but she knew her
mind just masked them.
“Let’s go,” Todd pressed as he grabbed her hand and led her towards his truck. “I told the
guys I would meet them in an hour or so to go party. We have to be finished before then.”
“Finished with what?” Laura asked.
“You know,” Todd smiled. “You can’t tell me your not as horny as I am right now. Let’s
go, I’m all showered up.”
“I’m really not in the mood for that right now, Todd. Can we just go and talk for a while.
I really need to speak to you, and I don’t think it can wait any longer.”
“We can talk,” Todd assured her, “but you have to understand, I need you right now. I’m
in the celebrating mood, and you’re my girl. I want to kiss every inch of your body. This is a
night to party.”
“Why don’t you go ahead with your friends,” Laura told him. “I really don’t feel well
enough to do that tonight. I don’t want to spoil your fun with the guys. I’ll talk to you tomorrow
when we can get some time together alone. You’re going to the dance, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” Todd uttered disappointedly.
“I’ll call you tomorrow during the day if I start feeling any better,” Laura told him. “But
if I can’t reach you, I’ll for sure see you at the dance. No matter what, before the day is over
tomorrow, I want some time alone with you.”
Todd nodded his head and jumped into his truck. Laura walked back to her car alone. She
heard his engine roar as he squealed the tires leaving the parking lot. She knew she had upset
him, but couldn’t bring herself to think about sex when she had such important things on her
mind.
“Tomorrow,” she whispered to herself. “Tomorrow we’ll talk.”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 83
Chapter Five
The young girl sat in the examining room, waiting for her doctor. The pastel colors of the
small, well-lit room felt comfortable, even with the odd odors of bandages and medicine. She
wore only the gown given to her by the nurse. Her bottom crinkled the paper that lined the
reclining bed in the center of the room. She could feel the breeze from a ceiling vent against her
bare back. The doctor’s office always made her feel nervous.
“Hello there, and how are you today,” Dr. Drake called out in his commanding voice as
he entered the room. He closed the door behind him and turned to face her with a warm smile.
He had a white lab coat hanging loosely over the nice clothes he wore to work.
“Not bad, all things considered,” she answered.
“I see your tests are back. You do know the results?”
“Yes, Dr. Drake, I haven’t had a period in two months. My body runs like clockwork.
Either I’m pregnant, or I’ve hit menopause.”
“Considering your age, I would go with your first guess,” remarked the doctor, writing
down some notes on her file. He had taken a seat across from her, and his stethoscope hung over
the paper as he crouched over to write on the small note board.
“I was afraid of that.”
“Do you have any idea what you’re going to do this time?”
“I can’t go through with it,” the girl stated without hesitation.
“What about the father, have you told him yet?”
“I can’t. I’m not seeing him anymore. He wouldn’t want anything to do with it anyway.”
“Don’t you think that should be his decision?” questioned the older man. He spoke
calmly and quietly to the upset girl.
“It’s my body. If he want’s a child, let him get pregnant.”
“Do you at least want to think about it?” Raymond asked.
“I can’t have a child now. Why are you pressuring me like this? You never did before.”
“This will be your third abortion,” noted Dr. Drake. “You’re a senior in high school.
Don’t you think maybe you should slow down a little bit. It isn’t healthy to keep doing this to
your body. I don’t want to lecture y
ou, I’m not your father. I just want you to understand what is
happening from a physical standpoint.
“Every time you get pregnant, your body changes to harbor a child. When you abort the
pregnancy, your body goes through a physical shock. You have to take it easier on your body.
What happened to that prescription for birth control pills I gave you?”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 84
“I took them at first, but it’s such a bother. After a while, I just forgot. I can’t remember
to take them all the time.”
“So you want to have another abortion?”
“Yes. I know it isn’t good for me, but I can’t do this. I’m too young to have a baby right
now. I want my children to have a father and a loving home to live in.”
“All right then. I’ll schedule the procedure for next week then.”
“Can’t we do it today?”
“I can’t today, Heather. I’m backed up on patients for the rest of the week. If you want
somebody else to do it, I’ll understand. I just don’t have the time right now. Give me a week and
I’ll squeeze you in.”
“You’re my doctor. If you need a week, it won’t kill me.”
“I’ll give the receptionist a time for next week,” answered Dr. Drake. “Let me leave you
to get dressed. You can pick up an appointment reminder at the front desk when you leave. You
know though, if you change your mind, I would love to show you the other side of pregnancy.”
“Someday I’ll come to you to have my babies, but not this time.”
“OK, Heather,” Dr. Drake uttered with a small smile as he left the room. Heather stood
up and began dressing. She checked out with the receptionist and left the building for the ride
back home. She felt a small cramp in her stomach as she walked out of the office into the cool
afternoon air. She knew her body would return to its normal state in about a week.
Raymond Drake entered the door of his home quite late this evening. His wife quickly
greeted him at the door with a warm smile and a welcoming kiss. The light outside had already
subsided and his dinner had grown cold. Ray’s wife understood when he came home late like
this. She never upset him with an argument regarding his dedication to his work.
“Good evening, Ray,” spoke Alice softly. “Do you want me to warm up dinner for you?”