The Good Day

"Wow, Dad, this place looks great!" She'd just walked into her father's new apartment. There was a living room and two bedrooms, plus a full bath. The kitchen was small, but it would be a big improvement for Kyle over getting takeout every night. And it was a huge step up from the motel he'd been staying in for over three months. "How have you been able to afford everything since you've got home?"

Kyle chuckled, "Kelsey, I had a job before jail. I'm not broke." He scratched his scalp. "Plus, between you and me, your grandma has been loaning me some money.

Kelsey laughed. "That makes sense."

The two chatted for a while in the living room until deciding to go out to dinner. Kyle chose Olive Garden, and Kelsey ws surprised to see her mother waiting for them.

"Hello, Darling!" Carri wrapped her arms around Kelsey and kissed her on the cheek before greeting Kyle.

"Uh, hi, Mom."

They were seated quickly and had their drinks delivered. "Kelsey, your father and I need to talk to you."

Kelsey imagined this as how kids with normal families felt when they were getting in trouble. Of course, her family wasn't normal, she knew she wasn't in trouble, and she was still in shock that her parents were being friendly.

"It's about the baby." Kyle said, fiddling with his napkin. "You're already three months into the pregnancy. For the sake of you, and the baby, we think it's best that you make the choice soon."

"We're planning to take you to the clinic at the end of the week either way." Carri chimed in.

Most teenagers got the sex talk... Although, that really wouldn't have applied to her. Of course, parents never gave the how-to-avoid-being-raped talk, which really would have come in handy about 3 months ago. "I already make my decision."

Both of them stared at her curiously at her, as if they hadn't expected her to have been thinking about anything responsible.

"I'm keeping it, of course." She said it wasn't something that was ever really up for debate to her. She'd just never formally announced her decision. "I'm going to get a job instead of going to college, but I'll take some classes online. I know it's going to be weird, but I'm going to make it work."

Carri smiled and glanced over to Kyle. "We're very proud of you, sweet heart."

___

Kelsey's chest felt constricted- like she couldn't breathe. Everything was so cold, and she tried to cry out but the cloth was still covering her mouth, still muffling her voice.

"Please help me..."

She felt him cutting her clothes and her skin. She wanted to fight back, but her body felt like stone.

"God, help me..."

Even her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. If only she could see him.

"Brian?"

He was on top of her now. She could feel the ice cold cement through the hair on the back of her head.

Hot tears burned her cheeks.

"Be a good girl." His voice sounded distorted.

Kelsey screamed.

Carrie rushed into the bedroom, closely followed by Eli, who shook Kelsey's shoulders.

Her eyes shot open. Carri's mouth was moving, but Kelsey couldn't hear her.

"Mom?" Her ears popped and she could hear, again. Then she remembered what she'd just woken up from. She started to cry, again. Breathing came in sobs.

Carri embraced her. "Honey, it was just a bad dream!"

"No. It wasn't."