Chapter 12

Andrew just got home after playing basketball with his neighbors. He wiped his sweat with a towel and changed his clothes. His phone said that he got eight missed calls from Dianna. Eight missed calls! It must be an emergency, he panicked. He called Dianna.

“Finally!” Dianna yelled.

“Dianna, what’s wrong?” Andrew asked. “By the way, I did not see you in school the whole day. Is there a problem.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“You’re what?!

“You heard me right. I was supposed to go to the shoot, remember? But then I got dizzy and I slept for hours. Kristine came in my room and she suggested that I took a pregnancy test. It showed two lines, which means it’s positive. What are we going to do?”

“Dianna… umm…”

She waited for his answer. Then he said, “You have to abort it!”

“Abort the child? Why? Don’t you love me anymore?”

“I love you, Dianna. It’s just that I... uh, I’m not ready to be a father. We are not yet ready to raise a child. We are too young for this.”

“You are just a coward! You never thought about our future did you? You were just happy that you’re dating me because I’m beautiful and popular. It’s good for your ego. But you never really loved me.”

“That’s not true, pumpkin. I love you. It’s just that…”

“Stick your excuses inside your a*s! It’s over.”

“Dianna, please don’t break up with me. You have to understand�" “

Dianna hung up. She cried while lying in bed. It dawned on her that Andrew did not really love her enough to start a family with her. Andrew was not different from the other guys she dated. He’s a loser like the rest of them. But I love that loser and it really hurts. He broke her heart into pieces and she was pretty sure it won’t be mended by anyone ever.

Andrew sat on the floor by the door and contemplated about his conversation with Dianna. He could offer a million reasons why even though he loved her, he refused to be the father of their baby. Indeed, he was too young to be a dad and they would be hounded by countless problems they might not handle very well. People in the community, especially the religious ones, would judge them for having a child at a very early age of fifteen. But the truth was Andrew was afraid he would turn out to be like his father�" a drunkard and violent sorry excuse for a man if he ever came face to face with the challenges of parenthood.

The only thing he could do was let Dianna raise the child alone if he or she came into this beautiful but pathetic and cruel world.