BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER

Sasha stared at her mother. She had never been able to hide things from her for too long because she always saw right through her. She thought about the best way to tell her mom about the pregnancy. She couldn’t come up with any so she stood up. “I’m not troubled, mom…” she said. But when she looked back at her mom she saw her mom still had that concerned look on her face.

“You are not fooling me, Sasha” Penelope said, “I can tell that something is on your mind. I am your mother dear. You can tell me what it is.”

Sasha buried her face in her hands, “I don’t think you want me to tell you about this. You’re going to be so upset with me, and dad… Oh God he’s going to be so furious. The both of you are going to be so disappointed”

“Oh, Sasha,” Penelope said, standing up and pulling her daughter into her arms. When she released her, Sasha stared at her with wide, sad eyes,” Tell me what it is. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together… As a family”

Sasha couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst into tears. It seemed like that was all she could do lately… Cry. “I’m pregnant mom” she blurted out, “I screwed up real ba. I know I shouldn’t have gotten pregnant. And now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do with myself and I’m so confused. I don’t even know if I want the baby. The baby’s father doesn’t even know yet, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want the baby either. So it’s just me. And I don’t even know if I can handle it. Having a baby comes with such a big responsibility. I don’t even know if I can have a baby alone. I’m so scared.. Mom. I’m so scared.”

She let her mom sit her back down on the couch and hold her. After she had dabbed her face with a tissue she faced her mom. She had been so worried about how her mom would react. She knew her mother would understand, but she was still nervous.

“It’s okay, honey. I understand, trust me” Penelope said, holding Sasha’s hands.

“You do?”

Her mother nodded, “What did you think I was going to do after you told me? Send you away?”

Sasha shook her head, “I don’t know” she replied.

“Truly, this isn’t what I would have wanted for you, but there’s no use crying over spilled milk, and you are not alone. You have me, and your father. You know we will do anything to help you. All you have to do is come to us. It’s okay to feel this way, but I know it’s going to be alright. I promise”.

Sasha nodded, not entirely convinced. She didn’t know how everything was going to be okay, but something about the way her mom said it made her feel a bit calmer. “I don’t think dad is going to see it that way” she said,

“Let me worry about your father. I know he’ll be pissed, but he’ll come around. Think about it,” Penelope continued. “This baby is a good thing. And trust me, you are going to love it, more than anything or anyone in the world.”

“You really think so, mom?” Sasha asked.

“I don’t think so, honey… I know so” her mother replied, and she pulled her into her arms again. “You and your baby are going to be very happy together. It doesn’t matter if the father wants the baby or not”.

“Thanks mom,” Sasha said. Relaxing a little bit.

And one more thing,” Penelope added. “You have to tell the baby’s father. You can’t keep something like this from him” she said.

“He wouldn’t want a baby, mom. I know that”. Sasha said with a frown as she thought about Kaleb.

“But you can’t just assume something like that honey. I understand how you feel. But you should tell him. I’m not saying right now. You can do it whenever you are ready. But I hope you make the right decision”.

Sasha nodded.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Penelope stood to go, then she turned towards her daughter, “Go to bed. You will feel better tomorrow morning, and when you do feel better l, you are going to tell us about this man”.

———–

When Sasha came down for breakfast the following morning, she noticed her father was already at the table and he did not look happy. Sasha didn’t need anyone to tell her why. It was very obvious that her mother had told him that she was pregnant. She walked slowly towards her parents and slid into her chair, “Good morning dad. Good morning mom”

“Good morning” Sylvester replied, although by the tone of his voice, he didn’t think there was anything good about the morning.

“Did you sleep well, dear?” her mother asked, her voice cheerful.

Sasha nodded, although she’d spent half the night wide awake. She watched In silence as her mother served the bread and eggs onto her father’s place, then she did the same for her. She took a bite of the eggs on her plate, and while she was sure that they tasted good she could barely taste it. She wanted her father to say something and when he finally did, it didn’t bring her any relief at all.

“What is this your mother is telling me about you being pregnant?” asked Sylvester, “You better tell me she was joking because no child of mine is going to have a child out of wedlock.”

Sasha sighed. It was finally happening. Time for her to face the music. She took a deep breath before she finally spoke, “I know you must be very disappointed in me, dad, but it’s not a joke. I really am pregnant. That’s what I came to tell you both. I know you must be very mad at me and I’m sorry. It was never my intention to disappoint you, but I am already terrified and I need your support right now.”

“How the hell did this happen?” her father thundered.

Penelope placed her hand on her husbands, “Honey, we talked about this last night. Please calm down. There’s no need for us to yell at her. It won’t solve anything… Please … We agreed last night to focus on the future so please let’s do that instead.”

Sylvester seemed to calm down at his wife’s words, but then he asked a question Sasha wasn’t prepared for, “Who is the father?”