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her.  Why did this offer comfort? It wasn’t her boyfriend who’d made her get an abortion, but her mom, who threatened to throw her out if she didn’t.
    Her grandma was in Kansas.  I never asked her name as I listened to her story and she did the same.  We remained anonymous to each other. It was best.  We had met at a place that we didn’t want to admit to ourselves or others.  As I listened to her talk about her plans, I realized that having a baby wasn’t as bad as Sebastian made it out to be.  I told her my story.  I just skipped the fact that he was my stepbrother.  That was a confession I wasn’t willing to make. Especially to a stranger.

16
    B renda came to pick me up.  I hadn’t realized the time or how much had passed since I’d called her; I just appreciated her turning up.  She showed me that she was a true friend, which was more than I had showed her.  I had treated her like a stranger.  As she sat in the bar and ordered a soda, I felt bad for dragging her out here.
    “Anyway, it was nice to meet you,” the girl from the clinic said as Brenda ordered. It was clear that Brenda wanted an introduction, she kept shifting in her seat and nodding her head towards the girl.  I didn’t know the girl’s name to introduce her, and Brenda’s presence made her feel uncomfortable.  She shifted nervously as she sat, unlike when we were talking before Brenda arrived, and I felt bad.  It was nice to speak to someone in the same position.  Someone who could relate to all the things that were going on inside my head.
    We just met at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
    “It was great talking to you.” I gave her a hug, a warm embrace that said hello and goodbye at the same time.  As I released her, there was a tear streaking out of her blue eyes.  I waited for her to speak. When she didn’t, I hugged her again.  Her ponytail swayed as she made her way to the cashier and then waved goodbye.
    I became lost in my thoughts watching her walk out.  Then, reality hit home as Brenda said, “You going to tell me what the fuck is going on or what?”

17
    I debated whether to tell her at the diner or to wait until we got to her place.  My indecisiveness had gotten worse since being pregnant, apart from one time—when it came to having an abortion.  The part that felt it was the wrong thing to do, hit home as we reached the clinic.  I realized that I was only doing it to make Sebastian happy.  He’d never even discussed it with me.  He’d just ordered the information.  Shoved it in my hand and said be ready tomorrow morning.
    What an ass.
    There was no easy way to say it, or to do it.  I thought I would skip the part where Sebastian booked the appointment and tell her the important stuff.  Hoping that she wouldn’t be shocked and have a crash on the way to her house. 
    Hoping that she would take me in her arms and tell me that it was going to be okay and she was glad that I had told her the truth.
    Hoping that I was going to make it through the day. I was on an emotional rollercoaster, and I didn’t know how to get off the ride.  It was going round and round and never stopping.  I just kept staying on the ride, unclear how to get off, and wondering if getting off was going to be worse than staying on it.  Something inside of me said be strong, and I blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
    She nodded. “Well, I know that part. But what are you doing here?”
    “You knew?”
    “Ah-ha. Sebastian told Dwayne. Then, he told me. I was upset that you didn’t come to me first. But Sebastian made out that you guys were sorting it out, so I thought it was you guys against the world sort of thing.”
    Why would he do that then drop me at the clinic like a bad smell? What the fuck is wrong with that guy?
    No, I was going to wait to tell her the rest of the story when we got to her house.
    “Can you do me a favor?”
    She eyed me up and down like I was mad.  Like I had said the craziest thing in the