May 12^th, 2009. 5:12pm.

Katy stared down at the pregnancy test, her eyes wide. Why had she made that stupid decision? Why had she been so desperate to prove that she was something she wasn’t? It had been the worst - okay, the only - sex of her life, and it had been more than enough to prove to her that she was a lesbian.

The last thing she had expected was to get pregnant.

Her thoughts slid towards the beer she had on the table. Yes, she was 19, blah blah blah underage, but in her town, there wasn’t much else to do for fun. She thought back to the man that she had slept with. His name was Chris, and he wasn’t that awful, really. Mostly. She just wasn’t really into men.

But with her Catholic parents, she had been dutiful and given heterosexuality a try. And now look where she’d gotten herself.

She had missed her period, convinced herself it was something else. Then her breasts got more tender, and she threw up in the morning.

That was when Lucia and Eleanor had snuck into Walgreens and bought her a pregnancy test without anyone knowing. That’s why you needed best friends in life. If Katy had done it, her parents would have found out within hours. Small towns.

Katy sat the stick on the tiled countertop of the bathroom, then pulled her pants back up, washed her hands, and headed out of the bathroom.

She didn’t even have to speak. Instead Lucia guided her to the couch, Eleanor on her other side as they held her.

“Aren’t you gay?” Lucia’s voice was tentative. She had been as surprised as Eleanor when Katy had asked for a test. Hell, as surprised as Katy.

“I am now,” Katy quipped, but the words rang hollow. She could get an abortion. Even though she wasn’t a proper Catholic like her parents, she didn’t like that option. Oh God. Her parents were going to flip. They had moved Katy down to Phoenix proper when she was nine, and had talked about going back to Oregon now that she was grown.

Katy could only imagine they would move away faster once they knew she was pregnant.

When did she tell Chris she was pregnant? Now? Later? Never?

“Who’s the father?” Eleanor asked, keeping her voice curious but lighthearted.

Katy sighed. “Chris MacKenzie.”

Lucia’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “The playboy?”

Katy glared daggers at her. “Him.” She figured if she was going to try sex with a man, she should go with someone who was good at it. She shuddered at the thought. She regretted her decision even more.

“Do you think it’s a girl?” Eleanor looked excited.

“It’s way too early to tell.” Katy picked up a couch cushion and whacked her with it.

Lucia grinned.

Katy’s face went more somber. “Should I tell him?”

“He’ll find out one way or another,” Lucia said pointedly. “You don’t have to.”

“He doesn’t have to be involved with the kid,” Eleanor added. But you should give him the option, was left unsaid.

“I’ll think about it.” Katy wrapped her arms around one of the couch cushions, hugging it to herself. She was pregnant. There was life growing inside of her. It was a baffling thought.

Later, after Lucia and Eleanor had left, Katy sat there, staring at the phone. Her parents would only be gone another half hour, so if she was going to make the phone call, it had to be now.

She took a deep breath and dialed Chris’s number. It rang twice, three times, then picked up. “Hello?” It was a female voice. Not what Katy had expected.

“Um, I’m looking for Chris?” Katy twisted a finger in her hair.

“Who is this?” The woman on the other end didn’t sound mad, she sounded - sad, almost. Resigned.

“My name is Katy.” Katy swallowed hard. “I’m a friend from school, and —”

“He’s dead.” The woman’s voice caught. “Chris was killed in a car accident a couple hours ago.”

Katy felt like she had just been hit with a truck. “What?”

The woman exhaled slowly, obviously tired. “We’ll release an announcement when the funeral is planned.” The phone went dead, leaving Katy sitting there, shock on her face.

It really was just her and the baby now. No one else.