Anything but Normal - Melody Carlson [64]
“Dylan isn’t like that.” Carrie Anne stood in front of her mirror with her hands on her hips.
“Like I said, you can believe what you want to believe, Carrie Anne, but the truth is the truth. And since you obviously have no interest in knowing what the truth is, I think I’ll go.” Sophie reached for the doorknob.
“Wait.” Carrie Anne turned and looked at Sophie with narrowed eyes. “What was Dylan’s reaction when you accused him—”
“I haven’t accused him of anything. If it wasn’t for your dad, Dylan would remain totally out—”
“My dad? What does he have to do with this?”
“He’s also my pastor, Carrie Anne. And he offered to speak with Dylan.”
Carrie Anne just stood there. Maybe she was speechless. “Look, I am really, really sorry for how this is hurting you. I would do anything to make it all go away. But life isn’t like that. Sometimes your bad choices and mistakes follow you to the grave. That will be the case with this one.”
“So what are you going to do?” Carrie Anne’s voice softened ever so slightly. “I mean, with the baby?”
“Probably give it up for adoption.”
“What if Dylan—if he really is the father, which I’m still not sure about—what if he wanted to do the honorable thing and marry you, Sophie?”
“Are you insane?” Sophie couldn’t believe Carrie Anne had just said that. “I don’t love him. And he sure doesn’t love me. What kind of horrible marriage would that be?”
Carrie Anne frowned. “Not so good. But it might be the right thing to do—you know, for the sake of the baby.”
“I think it would be absolutely nuts!” Sophie shook her head. What was wrong with Carrie Anne? “It would be totally and certifiably nuts! And I can promise you that if Dylan ever asked me to marry him, I would most definitely turn him down. I do not love him, and I don’t have the slightest shred of respect for him anymore. I can’t believe you’d even suggest such stupidity.”
“Sorry.” Carrie Anne looked hurt.
“No, I’m sorry.” Sophie sighed. “I feel like all I do is bring people pain. I will understand completely if you don’t want to be my friend anymore.”
Carrie Anne didn’t say anything.
“I just hope that in time you’ll forgive me.”
Sophie left. She couldn’t stand another minute of Carrie Anne’s judgment. On one hand, she didn’t blame her. How would Sophie have felt if the tables were turned? What if Carrie Anne had broken her pledge and was trekking around school with a big pregnant belly, expecting Sophie to act like nothing had changed, like it was no big deal? Well, it was a big deal, and Sophie knew it. And she didn’t blame Carrie Anne or Kelsey or Hannah or Jenny or Wes or anyone for steering clear of her. On the other hand, it hurt to lose a best friend. Thankfully she would still have the pregnancy center. At least she’d be understood there. She would make friends there too. And she would finish her school year. All thanks to the pregnancy center. She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony as she got into her car and drove home. Who would’ve thought—just a year or even six months ago—that Sophie Ramsay would ever have been thankful for the high school’s teen pregnancy center?
Mom, true to her word, made a doctor’s appointment for
Sophie. While other teenage girls were hanging with friends at the mall, doing some last-minute Christmas shopping and grabbing a movie, Sophie’s feet were above her head as the doctor did her “internal exam.”
It was the first time Sophie had experienced a gynecological visit, and unfortunately she knew it would not be the last. The worst part was the way the pain down there reminded her of how this baby had been conceived. In pain. Really, why did everyone act like sex was so great? For Sophie it hadn’t merely been physically painful, it had annihilated her life.
“Everything looks good.” Dr. Phillips removed her latex gloves, tossing them into the metal trash can. “You can sit up now.”
Sophie blinked back tears as she removed her feet from the stirrups and sat up, pulling the lap cloth closer to her.
“I’d say that you’re just starting your nineteenth week.”
Sophie already knew from her