What's My Age Again?

"I'm grounded for six months. Can you believe that?? Six months!" Kellin complained to me in class. This was the first time we could talk since yesterday when our parents found out the truth about everything. Of course my mom called Kellin's mom and told her that we were sneaking out behind their backs to go to parties. She also told her about the older guys so Kellin was in trouble for that too.

"I'm probably going to be grounded for just as long. Most of my pregnancy actually." I sighed. "I'm sorry I got us caught, Kellin."

"No it was going to happen one day. We were way too lucky for too long. I just feel bad for Vic and Alex. They both are probably heartbroken right now. I know Alex told him by now."

"Yeah. I'm sure they're both angry." I said.

"I was thinking about skipping school to go explain myself to him, but I don't want to get in any more trouble."

"That's true, but I think we should still talk to them before they leave."

"Maybe we can beg May to let us leave one night." He suggested.

"Nah she's not going to let her out of her sight now that she knows what we've been doing."

"Shit. I don't know. We're just going to have to sneak out then."

"You just said you didn't want to get in any more trouble." I chuckled.

"Well yeah, but I have to talk to Vic some way before he leaves."

"Yeah I have to talk to Alex too."

"Are you going to tell him about it?" He gestured towards my stomach.

"I don't know." I sighed. "I want him to know, but I don't want to freak him out. He's already got enough to deal with."

"Yeah I understand, but he does have the right to know."

"I know, but that's is a lot to tell him in one week. Not only am I a minor but I'm pregnant." I whispered so no one would hear the last part.

"You're right." He agreed.

"I'm going to think about it some more." I said and he nodded.

"Well you've got one more week after this."

"Ugh that's too soon."

"Yeah. We can think it over some more at lunchtime."

"I actually leave next class for a doctor's appointment." I said.

"Oh well I guess we can talk about it later. Does your mom work tonight?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Cool, we'll talk before bed."

***

My mom called the school during my second class to check me out and I drove myself to the doctor's. She met me at there a few minutes before my appointment. I had to go to a gynecologist so she could make sure my pregnancy was going well. My mom took me to the gynecologist at the hospital she worked at since she already talked about my condition with her.

"Did you make sure to get your homework from your other teachers?" My mom asked as we say in the waiting room.

"Kellin's gonna get it for me." I told her and she nodded.

"Okay."

"Mom, how long am I grounded for?" I asked while looking at the ground.

"I don't know, Jacky. Lisa grounded Kellin for six months, but she's not going to stick with it. She'll probably unground him after three months if not two. I don't know what to do about you since things are...worse. Let's just say you're grounded until I say you're not anymore."

"So there's no time limit?"

"As of right now, no." She said. I wanted to complain but I couldn't. I got myself into this mess.

"Okay." I sighed.

We waited the rest of the time in silence. Then a nurse finally came and called me back. We followed her to a room and she did a quick physical exam on me. Then she told us the doctor would be in soon. I read a People's magazine while we waited since I didn't have my phone to keep me company. The doctor walked in minutes later.

"Hi Joyce, and it's nice to meet you Jack. I'm Dr. Williams. How are you?"

"Fine thank you." I said shyly. She seemed like a nice lady but it was embarrassing that I had to meet her because of this.

"So this is your first prenatal checkup, correct?" She asked as she looked at my chart.

"Yes ma'am."

"And you're nine weeks pregnant now?"

I nodded and she stood up and went to a calendar in the room.

"Do you know around what time you might have gotten pregnant?"

"I think it was mid-December." It happened at Alex's birthday party.

"Okay so since you don't have a monthly period I'm going to put your due date at the second or third week of September. I'm going to have you come see maybe once a week as we get closer to that time, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright! Well let's go over you and the dad's medical history." She said.

"Um I don't know who he is." I mumbled.

"Oh okay. Let's just go over yours for now. Do you take any medications?"

"No."

"Do you have any allergies or serious health problems?"

"No."

"Do you have any serious health issues that run in your family like diabetes, heart disease, and etcetera?" She asked. I looked to my mom because I had no idea I any of that stuff ran in our family.

"No none of those." My mom told her.

"Okay and Joyce did you have any complications throughout your pregnancies like gestational diabetes or anything?"

"No they both didn't really give me any problems." She said and they both chuckled.

"Well I'm going to get a nurse to come in and draw a little blood so we can run a few test to be sure I need to go over a few things that you should expect. I know you're mom's a doctor so I'll try not to bore you." Dr. Williams joked. "So it's important that you began taking prenatal vitamins to insure that you're getting all the vitamins you and the baby will need. You might see your food intake will increase over time and of course that's because you're eating for two. You will probably eat three-hundred extra calories a day. But I will go over more information as you come back for every month or so for more check-ups. Do you two have any questions for me now?"

"I um...will I have to have a C-section?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the only way we can get the baby out of you." She answered.

"Will it hurt?" I was afraid of feeling the smallest amount of pain from having a knife cut my stomach open.

"No no you won't pain at all. You might feel a little pulling and tugging, but no pain." She said and I took a deep breath. "Try not to stress yourself out too much, okay. You're doing fine so far." She assured me.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Any more questions?"

"Yes I have one." My mom said. "Is there a certain diet that he should follow? Like certain food and drinks he shouldn't have? I don’t things will be different for him then they were for me."

"No it’s pretty much the same as every other pregnancy so he should stay away from foods that are uncooked like food containing raw eggs or like sushi. Some fish and cheeses should be avoided too just in case. Be careful with drinks that contain caffeine, you don't want too much of that a day. Other than that he should just keep a normal healthy diet. It's okay to indulge in those cravings every now and then." She chuckled. "I'm going to get one of the nurses to print out the packet that goes over, in detail, the foods that are okay and foods that should be avoided."

"Okay. Thank you Dr. Williams." My mom said.

"No problem. I'll see you two in a month." She told us and left.

A nurse came in a few minutes later and took a blood sample from me. She also have my mom and me the packet that Dr. Williams was talking about. My mom and I went to the front to check me out. We also got a doctor’s note for me to take to school tomorrow.

"Are you hungry?" My mom asked as we walked out to the car.

"Yes." I missed my lunch time so I was practically starving.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Any place that I can get a huge burger with lots of pickles." I said and she chuckled.

She took me to Five Guys to get food. We went inside and I went to take a seat. Luckily we missed the lunch hour traffic so we were the only one's there. My mom ordered the food for us since I felt a little dizzy from being so hungry.

"You have to start eating more." My mom told me as she sat at our table with the food.

"I know. I just hate eating before class." I complained. "I always feel like I'm going to get sick."

"I know, but you can't just not eat in the morning."

"I'll start eating more." I promised.

"Good."

I began to eat my burger and I could have cried over how delicious it was. My mom actually asked them for extra pickles so it was literally perfect.

"So you might have to fall a year behind in school." My mom said and my head shot up.

"Why??"

"Because you're going to be eight months in August when you're junior year starts and you're going to have the baby in September. So you won't be able to get around the school."

"Noooo I don't want to graduate late!" I whined.

"It won't be that bad. As long as you graduate, that's all that matters." She said.

"I guess. When I start showing they're going to make me go to the alternative school anyways. That's what they did with my history teacher’s daughter."

"Oh so probably in April?" She asked.

"Yeah. I don't mind it though. I'd rather go there than get made fun of for the rest of school." I sighed.

"Well it'll only be for a few months. It'll be summer before you know it."

"Yeah, but I'll still be grounded." I said, trying to get more information out of her.

"Probably." She agreed and I rolled my eyes. "I need to make sure that you learn your lesson and never sneak out behind my back again."

"I already learned my lesson." I said and pointed at my stomach.

"You learned your lesson on having unprotected sex, but not sneaking out." She said.

"Yeah I'll never do that again."

"Mhmm. Are you sure you don't have any ideas on who might be the father?"

"No I don't know." I said.

"It was that many guys?" She asked skeptically.

"Yep."

"I don't believe you. I think you're protecting someone." She guessed and I kept a poker face not to give myself up.

"No I'm not protecting anyone. I honestly don't know how many guys I slept with." I told her.

"Do you think Kellin would know?"

"No. He didn't really pay attention to who I hooked up with."

"Oh okay. Well it's not like we need his assistance or anything it just would have been nice for the baby to know his or her dad." She said.

"Yeah." I agreed. Of course this made me think of my own dad. As much as I convinced myself that I was better off without him, it always hurt to think about how why he wasn't in my life. If I didn't tell Alex anything, this baby was probably going to be in the same boat.

***

"We can see them for thirty minutes okay, Kellin?"

"Yeah. Thirty minutes is enough time for me to apologize and then for us to have sex and make up." He agreed and I rolled my eyes.

We were sneaking out of my house while May was asleep in my mom's bed. We were going to split up, I was going to see Alex and he was going to see Vic. I didn't know how this would turn out, but I hoped we wouldn't get caught. I grabbed May's car keys off of the kitchen counter and we left. I had to take her car since our moms took our keys and hid them. If May woke up and saw that her car was missing she would definitely tell on us.

I got in the driver seat and Kellin got in on the passenger seat. I was going to drop Kellin off at Vic's and then go visit Alex. It was two am, but knowing them they were most likely still up. I pulled in front of Vic and Mike's house and Kellin hoped out.

"Remember thirty minutes." I reminded him.

"Yeah I got it." He said and walked off to the front door.

I left and drove all the way to Alex's house. I got out and went to his front door, but I didn't ring the doorbell yet. I was afraid to talk to him after he knew the truth about everything. I was honestly afraid of what he was going to say to me. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. A few seconds past by before Rian opened the door for me.

"Jack . . . hi." He looked so shocked to see me.

"Hi Rian. Is Alex home?" I asked.

"Um he is, but he might be sleeping." He told me. I knew he was lying to me.

"We both know Alex doesn't go to sleep until like three or four most nights. Can I come in and talk to him, please?" I begged.

"Uh I don't know, Jack. He actually asked us not to let you in here anymore."

My heart felt like it broke in half. Alex didn't want to see me anymore. I frowned to hold back my tears. I just wanted to apologize and leave for now.

"Please, Rian. I just want to apologize for everything and then I'll leave."

"Okay. But if Alex ask, you ran past me." He joked and stepped to the side.

"Thank you." I walked in and went upstairs to Alex's room.

Alex’s door was closed, but I could hear his TV on so he was still up. I knocked on the door and he said 'come in.' I slowly opened it and he didn't notice me at first. He was laying on his bed messing with his phone. He only looked up because I didn't say anything when I came in.

"What are you doing here?" He sounded angry.

"I um came to apologize." I said.

"No. I don't want an apology. I just want you out." He said and my heart broke into more pieces.

"Alex I really didn't mean for it to go this far."

"It doesn't matter, Jack. It's over."

"What do you mean it's over?" I asked with tears threatening to spill over.

"I mean we're over!" He yelled.

"But Alex-"

"No no there's nothing you can say to change my mind. You are sixteen, Jack. Do you know how much trouble I could have gotten into for just holding hands with you in public?" He questioned.

"I know and I was going to tell you the truth, but then you said you loved me and I didn't want to ruin our relationship." I cried.

"Jesus. You know, maybe if you would have told me about your age when we first started to fall for each other I would have forgave you, but you continued on with the lie for months. I don't even know who you are."

"I didn't lie about everything, just my age." I said.

"I don’t believe a single word that comes out of your mouth."

"No you don't understand-" I tried to explain myself, but he cut me off.

"I don't understand? No you don't understand! Do you know how horrible I feel about the things I did with you? The things I imagined of doing with you? We've had sex too many times to count. I'm technically a rapist!"

"No I wanted it too." I assured him. Why would he call himself a rapist?

"You're so young that you don't even know what statutory rape is." He pinched the bridge of his nose. I heard the term statutory rape before but I had no idea what it meant. "It's when an adult has sex with a minor." He explained.

"Oh." That sounded horrible.

"Wait was that your first time having sex the first time we did it?" He asked and I looked down not able to answer him. He knew what I meant though. "So not only did you have me preform statutory rape, but you also had me take your virginity?!" He yelled at me.

"Alex I didn't me-"

"Stop it Jack. I can't do this with you. J-Just get out of my house and don't come back again." He demanded.

"But Alex-"

"I said get out!" He yelled.

I debated on whether or not I should tell him about my pregnancy, but there was no point. He wouldn't believe me no matter what I said. I looked at him one last time to make sure that he really wanted me to go. The scowl on his face gave me the answer. I turned around and left his room. I walked out of the house without saying a word to anyone. My sight was blurry from all the tears as I walked back to May's car. When I got in I let myself cry in front of their house until it was time to pick up Kellin.

I tried to clean my face as I drove to pick up Kellin so he wouldn't know I just cried my soul out. Thankfully he was walking out as I pulled up. I didn't have a phone to tell him I was out side and vice-versa. He got in on the passenger side without noticing my red eyes.

"How did it go?" I asked as I drove to my house.

"Um I think it went well. Vic wasn't a happy camper when I first came in, but he said that's because I made him fall in love with me. So he suggested that we just stay friends until I turn eighteen." He explained.

"You're okay with that?" I asked.

"Yeah...well it's better than us just not speaking at all."

"Yeah." I mumbled.

"What happened with you and Alex?"

"He um broke up with me and told me to never come back to his house again." I wiped my eyes as more tears fell.

"Oh my god really??" He asked shocked.

"Yeah. He was really angry, but it's my fault. I shouldn't have lied to him."

"Did you try to tell him that you were pregnant?"

"No. He wouldn't have believed me."

"Jack, you should have told him." He scolded me.

“He said he couldn’t believe anything I said anymore. He definitely wouldn’t have believed me if I would have said I was pregnant.” I explained.

The rest of the drive back to my house was silent. There wasn't anything to say about what just happened. I just wanted to go cry myself to sleep and forget all about Alex. That wouldn't be possible since I was toting our baby in my stomach.

Kellin and I got out and quietly made our way back into the house. I placed May's keys back on the counter where she had them and then we went to bed. I laid in my bed staring at the ceiling. I wasn't going to get any sleep tonight with everything on my mind. My heart was broken, but Alex's was too. He also lost someone that he loved which is probably why he was so angry with me. I wished we could at least do like Vic and Kellin and still be friends or at least keep in contact.

I began to cry again at the thought of everything being over between me and Alex. I felt like I couldn't breathe through all the tears. He just said everything was over between us without a hint of remorse. I know he was angry, but I thought he loved me enough to at least talk things out with me.

I heard my room door opening and May turned my light on and stood in front of me. Her arms were crossed and she looked pissed. "Did you take my car??" She asked.

"Yes." I sniffled and she realized I was crying.

"What's wrong Jack?" She asked, sounding a little more sympathetic.

"Nothing." I lied and she sighed.

"At least tell me where you went in my car and I'll debate on whether or not I should tell mom." She bargained.

"I went to visit someone." I said honestly. "But whatever. Tell mom if you want. I don't care." I sniffled.

“Who was it?” She asked, but I didn’t answer her. “Was it a guy?” she continued, and I nodded.

“What's so special about this guy?"

"Nothing." I mumbled.

"Nothing? So you were willing to get grounded for eternity over an average guy?" She asked, and I nodded. “Is he the father?” She stared waiting on me to say something. I shook my head and she sighed.

“He’s nobody.”

Notes

There's only one chapter left and an epilogue! Hopefully Alex will take Jack back before it ends.