Secret Crush

Chapter 14

Katy stopped crying enough by early afternoon to head downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water and some crackers. She wasn't hungry, but she had a headache didn't want to end up nauseated. Her mother was in the kitchen making a cake, but Katy couldn't gather enough energy to say anything other than hello.

"Katy, I know being grounded and losing your phone seems rough," her mother smiled weakly. "But you know your father and I love you and are just trying to keep you safe. If you want to talk about it, you know I am here to listen."

Katy had always had a good relationship with her parents. She was a "daddy's girl" for sure, but his over-protectiveness went too far sometimes. Her mother usually succumbed to her father's rules because he had the stronger personality and had become the authority figure in the household long before Katy came along. They were good parents, but sometimes Katy wished they would just lighten up. Their rules hadn't impacted her much in the past, but right now her parents were wrecking her world and they didn't even know it. There was no one she could talk to about this situation. The only person she wanted to talk to was Zach, and that was impossible.

By the time Monday morning came along, Katy didn't feel any better and she was missing Zach desperately, but at least she had finally stopped crying. She figured her body had run out of tears at some point last night. Now she felt numb but was determined to try to act like normal. Skipping school and being dramatic would only make things worse.

As usual, Katy met Emily at the curb in front of the house at 8 am sharp to ride to school together. Emily was full of questions about the weekend and was frustrated with Katy for having ignored her phone calls all weekend.

"I'm fine Emily, I promise," Katy said in a firm voice devoid of emotion. "As you can imagine, my parents were not happy that I wasn't honest with them, so they grounded me for a month and took my cellphone. That's why I couldn't call or text you."

"Wait – what? They took your phone?" Emily screeched. "That is harsh! They must be so mad at you."

This response was exactly why Katy didn't want to talk to Emily about this. She should have made up an excuse to have her mother drop her off at school. She didn't need all of the Emily drama right now. Trying to act "normal" was going to be hard enough without adding frustration to the mix.

"I don't want to talk about it right now, okay Emily?" Katy snapped. "I don't mean to be rude, but it was a tough weekend, and I just can't talk about it now. I want to focus on school."

"Okay. Sorry to upset you," Emily whimpered. "But I expect a full account of your weekend sometime soon. You have to tell me where you were. I'm sure it's a great story." Katy looked at Emily with dagger eyes and Emily re-focused on the road and closed her mouth for the time being.

Katy somehow managed to throw herself into her classes and focus on her studies. Even though she felt numb and so sad she could barely keep her head up, it was nice to have a routine to follow. She had always been a good student, so playing this role was easy for her.

Everything was relatively fine for the next few weeks as Katy focusing on her classes and the newspaper while managing to keep Emily's questions at bay. She eventually told Emily that she went to a party thrown by a senior who Emily didn't know and that it wasn't fun and she wished she hadn't gone. She said she was flattered by the invite and wanted to see what it was like. She hated lying to Emily, but she had to get her to stop asking questions.

Things were finally feeling a little more normal by the fourth week, and Katy saw the light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that she would get her phone back in a few days. She could text Zach and she knew he would understand why she had been out of touch.

When Katy woke up on Friday morning, she felt odd in a way that she never had before. She felt like she had the flu but it was different from that. Her stomach was rolling and she realized she needed to get to the bathroom immediately. She felt a bit better after she threw up. Maybe it was something she ate. She went to school and made it through the day but was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. She was glad it was the weekend and that she did not have any plans.

Saturday morning was a repeat of the day before. As soon as Katy opened her eyes, she felt the world spinning and barely got to the bathroom in time. What was going on with her? She had never had stomach issues before. Maybe it was all the stress of missing Zach. Katy stepped out of the bathroom and ran smack into her mother, who had been hovering by the door.

"Katy, are you okay? What is going on?" her mother whispered with a worried tone.

"I'm fine Mom. Maybe I have a bug or something," Katy said. "I'm going back to bed."

"Katy, I heard you yesterday morning too," her mother said as she frowned then smiled weakly. "You are giving me flashbacks to the early days of being pregnant with you. See what you have to look forward to one day."

With those words, Katy froze. She was a smart girl. Why hadn't she thought of that? Surely that wasn't it, but she knew it was possible, as crazy as that thought was. Come to think of it, with all that had been going on, she couldn't remember the last time she had her period.

"Mom, please. I can't believe you would say that," Katy snapped and headed back to her room, shut the door and crashed onto her bed.

There were so many thoughts running through Katy's head that she didn't know what to do. It couldn't be true, could it? They only had sex one time, but they had not used protection, so it was possible. But what are the chances? There had to be another explanation for how she had been feeling. The tears kept falling but she knew that lying there on her bed would accomplish nothing. She had to be brave and take a pregnancy test to solve this once and for all.

Katy wiped her eyes, got dressed, and walked to the local drug store. As soon as she stepped in the door, she was relieved to see a cashier who she didn't know. How embarrassing it would be if Justine checked her out and then told all of her senior friends at school. Katy grabbed the first test she found on the shelves and tried to act normal as she picked out some gum and headed for the checkout, her heart was pounded so hard she could hear it.

When she got home, her mother had run out on some errands and her father was at practice, so she could do this in peace. She was terrified and so wished that Zach was there to talk her through it. But she had to be strong and get this over with now. Once she knew she wasn't pregnant, so could put this scare behind her and move forward to reconnecting with Zach.

Katy's hand shook as she placed the test on the counter and waited for the results. It seemed like those two minutes were two lifetimes. She was staring at the bathroom wall but knew it was time to face the truth. She felt as if her legs were made of jelly as she turned to look at the strip. No, that couldn't be right. It was a pink plus sign. Did that mean what she thought it meant? She picked up the instructions and read them again even though she knew the truth as clear as day. She was pregnant.