And the one person she could trust with her secret, the one person she knew would understand, the one person she wanted to talk to more than anyone else, was gone.
And he wasn’t coming back.
“Garrett knew.” Chris commented. He slowly pet her hair. The gesture made her feel like a sweet little princess, like she was special, like she was the most important girl in the world.
For just a moment, Sarah began to feel like nothing could go wrong as long as he just kept touching her.
“He knew. He was the only one I told.”
“He warned me you were complicated,” Chris said.
“You told my brother you liked me?” Her heart soared, but she wasn’t sure that it should. Garrett had been right. Sarah was complicated and she would be for a long time.
For the next 18 years, at least.
She tried not to worry about that, tried not to think about how much it would hurt when she was turned down for dates in the future or when men didn’t want to be around someone with a kid.
Her baby was the most important thing. She knew that.
“No, I didn’t tell him I liked you. He just knew. Garrett was a smart cookie, you know?” Chris moved his hand so he was rubbing her back instead of her hair. She let out a groan and he chuckled. “Like that, princess?”
“Yeah, I like that.”
“Tell me about the father,” he said.
Sarah shrugged. What was there to say? Jared had been a one-hit wonder. She had met him online and in an unusual burst of excitement and bravery, she had gone out with him. That was really all there was to tell.
The next day, he had left without so much as a “that was fun.” When she found out she was pregnant, she had texted him out of courtesy, and he had offered to pay for half of an abortion.
Sarah had deleted his number.
“Remember that really bad date I went on back in April?”
“No,” he said, his voice full of disbelief. “That loser?”
“Yeah,” she blushed. How could she have been so stupid? “I got caught up in the moment. I felt lonely and he was there. I thought we were just going to have a little fun, but…” She shrugged. “We didn’t use a condom. Rookie mistake, right? I wish we had. At least I could tell people it broke or that I had done everything in my power to be smart. I mean, it’s the 21st century. Who just ‘accidentally’ gets pregnant, right?”
“Does the guy know?”
“He knows, but he doesn’t want anything to do with me or the baby,” she touched her tummy, and to her surprise, Chris did, too.
“He’s stupid, Sarah. He’s an idiot.”
“You aren’t upset?”
“Why would I be upset? A baby is a beautiful thing, Sarah. A gift to the world, and you, darling, are going to be one kick-ass mom.”
She did start crying then, and buried her head in his shoulder.
“Why are you being so cool about this?” She asked. “You aren’t even mad.”
“Sarah, you already know I care about you. A lot. This baby is a part of you, honey. I might not be able to promise you money or riches or a world of possibilities, but I can promise you that I will take care of you and I will take care of your baby, okay?”
She cried some more until she had nothing left, then she finally slid off Chris’ lap, embarrassed at her outburst.
“Tissue?” He asked knowingly, and handed her a box.
She blew her nose, wiped her face, then ate some pizza. They watched TV in silence for a little while, then Sarah finally fell asleep on Chris’ couch, her feet propped up in his lap, and her belly full.