Page 138 of Small Town Firsts

I bite down on my bottom lip. “Uh. Well. I was hoping we could talk.”

At my worried tone, my mom turns to face me, giving me her full attention; Dad looks my way but keeps chopping.

“What’s wrong, Natalie?” Mom asks, motherly concern lacing her tone.I wonder if I’ll sound like her when I talk to my kid?

“Maybe y’all should have a seat?” I scrunch up my nose. Why did I say that?

Mom walks over closer to me and wraps me in her arms. “Talk to us, sweet girl. You know we’re here for you.”

Deciding the Band-Aid approach is the best way to go, I blurt it out. “I’m pregnant!”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, my dad shouts, “Fuck! Goddamn it!” Apparently, my news caused him to miss the carrot and slice his thumb instead.

He should have sat down like I said.

“Oh, m-my God! Dad are you oh-okay?” I ask, my voice wobbly and tears streaming down my cheeks.

He grunts out some unintelligible reply and turns away from me.

Mom releases me from her embrace and passes him a dishtowel. He wraps it around his thumb, applying pressure. “Do you need stitches?” she asks.

Another grunt.

Taking my own earlier advice, I plop down onto a bar stool, tucking myself out of the way while Mom administers first aid to Dad.Good thing she’s a nurse, I guess.

My eyes stay on my parents while my mom works, but I’m not paying attention to them—not really. My mind is racing a million miles a minute. I can’t help but feel like I’ve let them down…like I’m a failure and a disappointment.

Before I know it, my silent tears have turned to gut-wrenching sobs. I know they say a parent’s love is unconditional, but how could they possibly still love me?

How could anyone?

I’m so lost in my own mind, I don’t even notice that my parents have moved until I feel both of them wrapping me in their arms. Their comfort only makes me cry harder, because I know I don’t deserve it.

CHAPTER 3

NATALIE

“Oh, honey,”Mom whispers brokenly into my hair, her voice clogged with emotion. “Let’s go sit and talk.”

I nod, and they step back. In the family room, I claim the loveseat while my parents sit across from me on the couch. I can tell my dad is furious from the way his jaw is ticking and how he keeps clenching and unclenching his fists.

My dad is the first to speak. His tone is shockingly calm. “Nat bug, how did this happen?” I open my mouth to reply, but he cuts me off. The calm has worn off. “How the fuck did this happen? Your mother and I have provided for your every need, and this is how you thank us? By getting knocked up before you’re even out of damn high school?” His face is an angry shade of red, and spittle flies from his lips as he yells at me.

Unable to take any more, I draw my knees to my chest and drop my head onto them, letting my hair fall forward like a curtain.

Taking note of me folding in on myself, Dad softens his tone…a little. “Are you sure you’re even pregnant? Like one-hundred-percent positive? Who is the father? Why didn’t you use protection? How could you be so…”

That cakewalk I mentioned early? Yeah, not so much. His rapid-fire questions make my chest feel tight, like an elephant is sitting on me, its weight slowly pressing the air from the lungs.

Luckily, Mom shuts him down…right before he could call me stupid. The word may have not left his mouth, but I know it’s what he was going to say.

“Luke. Let’s tackle this one issue at a time.” She lays her hand on top of his, and he covers it with his other. Together, they’re a united front, able to conquer any obstacle with grace—including their seventeen-year-old daughter being pregnant.

“Like your father was saying, you’re certain you’re pregnant?” Her tone is soft, and it makes me feel so shitty, though I know that isn’t her intention. I almost wish she would shout at me too. Her compassion is too much.

I give a small nod. “Yes, ma’am. I took two tests.”

“They aren’t always accurate!” Dad exclaims.

---