Remembering Sunday

"You're WHAT?!"

I leaned away from my mother, afraid she was going to slap me across the face.

"Pregnant," I whimpered.

"You are not fucking pregnant!" she yelled.

"Yes I am! Do I have to do a pregnancy test to prove it to you?!"

"Yes!"

"MOM!" Tracy yelled.

"What?!" she asked confusedly, but I heard the anger to her voice.

"Laura is not going to take a test just so you can believe it."

"Why the hell not?"

"Do you really not believe your own daughter? Look at her!"

"Tracy, she cannot be pregnant."

"Well I am," I retorted. I wiped my eyes and looked away toward the beige carpet at my feet.

"How fucking long have you been keeping this from me?" my mother inquired angrily.

"I'm almost two months. I found out a little while ago," I said.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" she screamed.

"THIS WASN'T FUCKING PLANNED, OKAY?!" I screamed.

"DON'T YOU DARE SCREAM AT ME LIKE THAT!"

"Both of you, stop!" Tracy yelled.

"Tracy, stay out of this," my mother demanded.

"I'm leaving," I stated as I quickly stood up and headed for the door. All the yelling was making me sick, and just knowing that my own mother wasn't going to be there for me was pushing the soup up my throat.

"Oh no you are not!" My mother hurried after me and grabbed hold of my arm, but I jerked away and bolted for the front door. However, Tracy zipped in front of me, blocking my only exit. Unless I used a window . . .

"Laura, come upstairs with me right now," she demanded sternly.

"No," I snapped.

"Laura."

"Tracy, no. Clearly I made a big mistake calling you and mom for comfort, so I'll just leave."

"You are not leaving. Mom is just a little shaken."

"Oh, a little? You call that a little?"

"She'll settle down, just give her some time. Come upstairs with me and we'll talk. I won't yell, I promise."

I eyed Tracy for a minute, wondering if she was lying, but she seemed sincere enough. I sighed heavily and turned to the stairs, the two of us heading up and into her room. Tracy closed the door behind us and I instantly dropped and sprawled out onto the bed. I wanted to cry again, but my eyes had filled their quota for today.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked as she sat down on the bed beside me. I had no other choice, so I jumped into the story quickly in order to get it over with. As soon as I finished, Tracy's mouth was agape, mostly because my ending sentence described how I had left Seth. She looked unsure as she reached out to wipe the warm tears from my face that I didn't even realize were forming.

"You have to tell him," she stated.

"Are you out of your mind? I left him last night without so much as a good-bye and you expect me to tell him?" I exclaimed.

"Laura, he deserves to know! It's his kid too, y'know. He has every right to know."

"I can't."

"You can." Tracy pulled out her cell phone, punched in star sixty-seven, and then Seth's number.

"No!" I screamed hoarsely. Tracy put it on speakerphone and held it above her head, out of my reach. I shook my head and grabbed at it, but she kept pulling it away as it continued to ring. As soon as the ringing stopped, so did my heart.

"W-what? Who the h-hell is this?" Seth answered, his voice noticably shaken and somber. It was easy to tell he as crying. Tracy held the phone to me, but I was frozen stiff.

"Go on," Tracy mouthed, pushing the phone at me again.

"W-well? Hello?" he said again with a few sniffles. I grabbed the phone, snapped it shut, and threw it across the room.

"Hey! If you break that, I swear I'll--"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I yelled. "Are you trying to make me kill myself?"

"What did I do?"

"I told you I can't tell him and I mean it! You heard how upset he was!"

"Alright, alright, but he's going to find out eventually."

I didn't say anything more. My hands had been clutching my stomach for who knew how long now, but I didn't feel sick.

"So I'm going to be an aunt?" Tracy asked.

"Maybe," I whispered, new tears forming.