Thorn of a Rose

Over the next month Rose and Shawn got very close. She really liked him, but she was always afraid to get "too" close. She didn't want to fall in love with him. If Rose fell in love with Shawn, she might not be able to go back to Dylan. As wrong as Rose knew that sounded, she wanted to be close to Shawn, but have the Dylan option still there. One night in late April, Rose and Dylan were sitting together on the couch watching T.V., when Rose heard rain and thunder outside. She remembered that Amy had been sitting outside on the roof. She'd told Rose she was "spending some time thinking". Rose didn't remember hearing Amy come in. Rose wondered if Amy was still out there on the roof, and when she saw lighting come down, she got up, figuring it was best to go check.
"Rose where are you going?" asked Shawn when Rose got up.
"Um, bathroom. Be right back." she said, and walked upstairs. She reached the upstairs hallway and pulled on the chain that brought down the staircase leading to the attic. She climbed up and saw that the window that led out onto the roof was open. She ran over to it and stuck her head out, looking to the right. She saw Amy, soaking wet, hair covering her face, but Rose could hear her crying. "Amy?" she called as she climbed out onto the roof. She slid carefully next to her and Amy rested her head on Rose's shoulder. Rose put her arm around Amy's shoulder. She was shaking from the cold, being out in the rain. "Amy what the hell are you doing out here? You could get struck by lightning or something!" said Rose.
"Oh wouldn't that be nice." said Amy, wiping her eyes.
"Amy, honey what's the matter?" asked Rose, really confused. Why was Amy so upset all of a sudden?
"I...I want to die right now Rose."
"Why? What happened?" asked Rose. Amy let out a high pitched sob and took a few spastic breaths.
"I...I'm...Troy and I are..." she began.
"Amy..." said Rose. "Are you pregnant?" Amy let out another huge sob, shaking uncontrollably. "Amy how long have you known?"
"A...a month." she choked out. Rose's eyes got wide.
"Does Troy know? Does Jamie know?" Jamie shook her head fervently.
"No. No. No one knows. Only you. Rose I don't know what to do. I...I can't have a baby. What'll it do to me? To Troy? To everyone? I can't have a baby."
"What if you have it and...and...put it up for adoption?" suggested Rose.
"Are you kidding? I'm sixteen. I don't think I could even carry a damn baby for another eight months. And do you know how they treat foster kids these days?" shrieked Amy.
"Well...could you have a...have a..."
"An abortion?" said Amy, disgusted. "I don't want to do that. I don't want to kill my baby. But I can't have it. I can't be pregnant."
"Amy. If you can't have the baby...then you have to get the abortion." Amy sobbed again and leaned into Rose.
"I know." she whined. "I know I do. Come with me Rose. Please? I can't go alone." Rose sighed.
"Okay Amy. I'll go with you. But you know what we have to do don't you?" asked Rose. Amy nodded.
"We have to tell Troy."

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Amy and Rose went inside and took showers, then Rose went and found Troy. He was in his room, reading a comic book.
"Um...hey Troy?" said Rose, quietly from the doorway.
"Sup Rose?" he said, looking up from his book.
"Uh, me and Amy need to talk to you. Its kind of important." Troy's brow furrowed as he stood up and walked towards her.
"Okay...is something wrong?" he asked. Rose winced as they walked back downstairs, into the kitchen. Amy was already in there, still crying. Troy rushed over to her and took her in his arms.
"Amy baby what's the matter?" he said, looking confused at Rose. Rose held up her hands and said
"Amy has to tell you. I'm just here for moral support." Amy looked up and said
"Wow Rose thanks."
"Well I'm not the one who this affects!" said Rose.
"Yeah well apparently I am so will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?" interrupted Troy. Amy took a deep breath, stood up, and said
"Troy." her breathing got faster and tears filled her eyes again. She shook them away. "Troy...I'm pregnant." she said it very quickly and then shut her eyes, turning away, as if she was afraid. Troy just stood there, mouth open, looking madder and madder by the second. He took a breath and looked like he was ready to yell, but he closed his mouth again and took another deep breath. When he spoke it was an angry whisper.
"Pregnant? How the hell did this happen?" he asked. Amy raised on eyebrow and said
"Well Troy you were there, you're the last person I'd expect to have to tell how babies are made but..."
"No not like that!" he hissed. "I mean, we were protected. Come on I don't think I imagined putting those condoms on."
"Condoms fail Troy." screamed Amy. "Stop bitching about how it happened and tell me what the fuck we're gonna do about it!"
"You're the mom you decide!" he yelled, holding up his arms.
"I'm having an abortion!" she shrieked. Rose heard glass shatter and she whipped around. Jordan was standing right behind her, and she'd dropped her glass of water. She stood there, mouth open, hand still out from where she was holding the glass.
"Amy...you're pregnant?" she whispered. Amy nodded and ran her fingers nervously through her hair.
"Ye...yeah Jordan I am. And I'm not having the baby. I'm gonna get an abortion. I mean, I don't want to, but I have to." Jordan shook her head and ran towards the door, grabbing her keys.
"No. No you don't. No one has to resort to that unless they want to be a murderer." she said, right in Amy's face. Amy buried her face in her hands as Jordan stormed out the door and bolted out of the driveway in her black SUV.

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Rose didn't have her driver's license, and yet there she was, driving down the highway, while Amy cried in Troy's arms in the backseat. They were driving home from the abortion clinic. Amy had had the procedure done. Amy truly felt like a murderer, after what Jordan had said. Jordan hadn't come home that night, or that morning, and when they'd left for the clinic, she still wasn't home. Amy had refused to tell Jamie about her pregnancy unless she absolutely had to, so when they got home they rushed Amy right upstairs. They were all three of them sitting on Amy's bed, letting her cry, when they heard someone coming up the stairs. Fearing it would be Jamie, Rose and Troy helped Amy get under the covers, hiding her face. Rose and Troy then hurried towards the door, hoping to be in their own rooms before Jamie could see them. Too late, Rose and Troy were just squeezing through the door as Jamie was attempting to do the same. They stopped, barring Jamie's path and smiling the most pleasant smiles they could, but not moving.
"Hey Jamie how ya doing?" asked Troy. Jamie cocked one eyebrow up.
"Um...fine. Can I get past? I wanna see my sister. She came upstairs looking like she was crying."
"Oh, oh no she's asleep." said Rose quickly.
"Oh well let me through." said Jamie, trying to push past.
"NO! No she doesn't want any body around and..." started Troy
"It's okay guys let her in." they heard from Amy. Rose and Troy sighed and stepped into the room, letting Jamie past. Jamie went right over to Amy's bed and pulled the covers down, revealing a red and puffy faced sobbing Amy.
"Amy what's the matter?" asked Jamie, grabbing some tissues.
"Jamie it's really...nothing I just...I just..."
"Amy stop." interrupted Jamie. "You are Miss Happy. Nothing makes you cry this hard. And on top of that you're my identical twin sister. I can tell when your lying now give it up." Amy took a deep shuddering breath and started her story.
"I got...I got pregnant Jamie." she said. Jamie's face went stark white. "Troy and Rose just brought me to the clinic. We'll just say I'm not pregnant anymore..." Jamie stood up when she said that. She looked like she was about to explode, but then she appeared to go completely limp.
"Well little miss perfect, I guess it was about time you screwed something up." she whispered. She turned to leave, this time Rose and Troy didn't try to stop her, they stood in the hallway to let her through, but Amy leapt out of her bed and grabbed Jamie by the shoulders, spinning her around.
"So that's it then?" she asked. "I need a sister right now more than ever, and you tell me I screwed up and walk away?"
"Well you had this coming. I have no sympathy. You fucked up my life, it's about time you fucked up your own." said Jamie matter-of-factly and walked towards the stairs.
"Don't tell me you're still bitter about that Jamie Nicole." spat Amy. Jamie stopped and came back to the door, getting right in Amy's face.
"No, Amy Jennifer, I'm not bitter. I never was. Angry maybe. Homicidal even, sure. But bitter? No. I pity you honestly. You didn't even try to get here and you got it. I tried to hard and look where it got me." said Jamie, holding up her hands. Rose looked at Troy, confused. He looked back, sighing, he knew exactly what was going on and that bothered Rose.
"Um...anybody wanna tell me what you guys are talking about?" ventured Rose. Jamie nodded, not taking her eyes off Amy. Troy rolled his eyes and mouthed
"Here we go." Rose glared at him. Jamie spoke.
"Four years old. That's how old I was when I started playing drums. I wasn't good or anything when I started, but years of practicing and I was completely untouchable. Then when I was fourteen I heard about an open call for a drummer in a band that was looking to get discovered. There were other people there looking for the job, but I still tried out. Jordan and I became friends, and she'd be over at my house a lot. They were still in the process of choosing from the drummers, but we bended the rules and stayed friends. One day Amy took an interest in the drums too. Jamie! Jamie! Teach me how to play! I wanna be as good as you! So I taught her. She was, I'm willing to admit, really good. It was one of those things that came naturally to her. One day she was practicing on my set and Jordan came over. She heard Amy playing and offered her the spot right then and there. Amy agreed."
"I got the spot as drummer in the band and since then Jamie's hated me. Out of jealousy. I got everything she wanted." added Amy, smirking a little.
"Everything I deserved you mean." corrected Jamie.
"And then, our mom sends Jamie here along with the band. To keep me safe. So she got to sit there and watch me get what she wanted. Yeah well the drummer's spot wasn't all you wanted was it?" said Amy, smirking even more. Jamie's jaw dropped and she shook her head.
"Say it and die." she whispered.
"I got the guy of her dreams. I got Troy!" said Amy, laughter breaking across her face. Troy's jaw dropped.
"I didn't know about that part." he said, looking wide-eyed at Jamie. Her eyes filled with tears and she glared at Amy with eyes full of hate. She took several deep breaths.
"Well, now you're gonna get something I don't deserve" she whispered. She drew her elbow back behind her head and thrust her fist foreword, right into Amy's face. Amy was knocked to the ground. Her head collided with the wall and she stopped moving. Jamie started gasping for air as she stared down at her sister's limp form. Troy leapt foreword and put two fingers to her neck. After a few seconds he looked up, sweating like crazy.
"I...I don't know if we should call the ambulance or...or call the cops." he said, looking at Jamie with a look of terror. "I don't feel her pulse." he added. Rose gasped and bent down next to him. She pushed his fingers away and replaced them with her own. Rose didn't feel a pulse either.
"Call the ambulance. We're not fucking doctors." she spat at Jamie. Jamie, looking incredibly disoriented, ran into the back of Amy's room and picked up her cordless phone. She dialed 9-1-1.

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Three days later Amy was home. She was okay, Troy and Rose had been searching for her pulse in the wrong spot. Amy had been knocked unconscious by her collision with the wall, and had suffered a mild concussion. She had to stay off her feet for two weeks or so, but she would be fine. Of course, now tension was high because everyone was afraid Jamie would strike out again. Jamie didn't come out of her room much anymore, and Rose was the only one she would let in. Rose was the only one who wasn't involved in Amy getting in the band instead of her, so she was the only one she trusted. Rose didn't like having to be the one Jamie always came too, simply because she'd never been a good problem solver. One morning Jamie had finally ventured out of her room, in the morning to get some breakfast. Rose, Amy, and Jordan were also there.
"Oh look it's the baby killer." she mumbled as she walked past Amy.
"Oh look it's the reject." said Amy, without even looking up. Jordan snapped to attention.
"You mean you went through with it?" she asked Amy in a hushed voice.
"Yeah Jordan I did. You heard be before I can't have a baby."
"Doesn't mean you have to go and kill it." said Jordan. "That's totally uncalled for. You could have given it up."
"N I couldn't do that to a kid! Don't you know that they treat foster kids like shit? You never know what's gonna happen to them once you let them go!"
"You can keep in touch with your baby once you give it up!" screamed Jordan standing up. Amy stood up too.
"And how the fuck would you all know this Jordan? You never had a baby." screamed Amy. Jordan opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it again, and stared at her feet. Jamie's eyes got wide.
"Jordan...did you ever have a-"
"No! No. I never had a baby. I was never pregnant. No. No..." Jordan started to panic. She stuck a finger in her mouth and began to bite her nail. "Ow! Shit!" she said, pulling it back out. She'd bit it too far and it was bleeding very heavily. She rushed over to the sink and began to run water over it. Rose walked over to her and placed a hand on her back.
"Jordan, tell us the truth." she said, just loud enough for Jamie and Amy to hear her as well. Rose saw a tear mix in with the water in the sink, and looked at Jordan's face, to see more tears streaming down. "Jordan...tell us what happened." she whispered. Jordan nodded, took a breath, and said
"Okay. Okay. I'll tell you everything. But you might not understand some of it." she withdrew her finger from the water and got a band-aid from the cabinet. She wrapped it up and sat down by the counter. Jamie, Rose, and Amy stood around her. "Remember like, a year and a half ago when I left the band for like ten months? I said my mom wanted me in boarding school? Well, I lied. I stayed home because I was pregnant. Once I had the baby, a girl, I put her up for adoption. I never even considered abortion. It's cruelty against a fellow human being. I signed up for this special type of adoption that lets me go visit my baby girl whenever I want to. And I do. Every weekend, ever notice me disappear? The family she was placed in only lives about a half hour away by car. So I get to visit my daughter Alexis whenever I want to. So I do." once she said that, a small smile was seen on her face. "I feel a little better now that its out. But Amy, you having an abortion, you missed out on being a mother. It's really nice to have a little girl or boy calling you mommy, knowing you're the only one they really trust. That's why I got so angry." she turned to Amy, and didn't get what she expected. Amy was just standing there, mouth open, clearly in shock. Jamie's face was exactly the same. Rose spoke next.
"Whose the father Jordan." she asked.
"It's..." she began. Then she looked at Rose's face and stopped. "Ooh! Oh! Oh man. Um...um...the father? Why is that important?" she asked, trying to smile.
"Jordan. Who is the father?" asked Jamie. Jamie went limp and she closed her eyes.
"It's...it's Shawn's okay?" she shouted.
"What's mine?" said a voice from behind Rose. Shawn walked right up behind her and slid his arms around Rose's waist, resting his head on her shoulder. "Did I lose something?" he asked again. All the color drained from Jordan's face and Shawn let go of Rose. "I'm missing something here. Someone wanna fill me in?" Jordan started looking frantically around for an escape, but found nothing. Then Jamie said
"Jordan I'll tell him if you want me to." Jordan shook her head.
"No. No. I have to do this." she said. She started telling Shawn what she'd just told the girls. With every word she said Shawn's face went paler and paler. When she was done he choked out
"B-boy or girl?"
"Girl." said Jordan. "A girl named Alexis." as soon as she said that, Shawn moaned and fell backwards. Rose caught him as he fell to the floor. She let him down and started smacking his face.
"Shawn? SHAWN! Shawn wake up!" Amy ran to the cabinet and got a glass, which she filled at the sink with water. She handed the glass to Rose, and she splashed the water hard in his face. She smacked him again and Shawn's eyes shot open.
"She had a baby!" he nearly shouted. Rose covered his mouth and his head rested down on her arm.
"Quiet." she said, and removed her hand. He took several deep breaths and said
"Um, Rose, Amy, Jamie, please, um, I need to talk to Jordan alone." Rose stood up and the three of them went upstairs.

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Shawn stood up and walked over to Jordan.
"Are you mad?" she asked.
"No. Just a little disappointed that you didn't tell me about this." said Shawn. "I wish you had, I could have...helped you." his face fell. "But I mean, what can we do about it now?" Jordan shrugged.
"That's what I want to know. Do you want to get the baby back?"
"NO." he said. "We couldn't take care of a baby. Besides, I'm with Rose. That is..." Shawn stopped and looked at the stairs. "If she'll still talk to me, knowing that I'm a father."
"I'll talk to her if you want me to. I can tell you really like her. And I wouldn't want a condom that failed almost two years ago to come between you two." Shawn nodded.
"So what we just pretend like this never happened?" he asked.
"I like that idea." said Jordan.
"Yeah okay." he said. "So you just...we're cool?" Jordan nodded and gave him a big hug.
"We're totally cool." she whispered.