Pregnant at 17

by Christine Conradt

  Although she was terrified, Chelsea remained stoic. He wanted to terrorize her, to make her last night on earth hell. She wasn’t going to let him.

  “You’re sick,” Sonia said. Greg swung around to her and smirked. “You’re ruining your sister’s life and you don’t even care.”

  Greg’s expression turned angry. He pointed the knife in Sonia’s face. “I’m saving Lauren’s life, so you can’t send her to prison like this little bitch did to me.” Greg abruptly brought the knife down and sliced through the zip ties on Chelsea’s wrists. Then he pushed her aside and cut off Sonia’s, too. Chelsea rubbed her wrists, feeling the marks the plastic ties had made. Greg took the shovels from Lauren and handed them each one.

  “Greg, what’s going on?” Lauren asked. Greg didn’t answer. Instead he turned to Sonia.

  “Dig. Nice and deep. Right there.” Realizing he was having them dig their own graves, Chelsea sucked in her breath and looked at Sonia. To her surprise, Sonia didn’t look back. She kept her eyes on Greg and jammed the blade of her shovel into the moss-covered earth. Following Sonia’s lead, Chelsea did the same.

  “You said we weren’t going to kill anyone,” Lauren protested, genuinely stunned. Chelsea and Sonia both glanced up at Greg to see his reaction.

  “Trust me. It’s the only choice we have.”

  “But Greg . . .”

  “Have I ever let you down?” Greg grabbed Lauren’s arm. Visibly rattled, she shook her head.

  “No.”

  “Then trust me.”

  Chelsea could see Lauren shift uncomfortably. Tell him you won’t be part of this! Chelsea silently begged her former classmate, but Lauren remained quiet.

  Greg lowered himself onto a fallen tree trunk and slipped the knife back into his pocket. Lauren took a seat beside him and they watched Chelsea and Sonia dig. Grabbing the handle, Chelsea slid the blade of the shovel into the dirt. As she lifted it up, it was heavy in her hands. She noticed the silence. No din of traffic in the distance, no sounds of animals, just the occasional whisper of cold wind in the trees and the metal blades pounding against the rocky earth.

  Chelsea barely noticed the gray mist that drifted in from behind the cabin like long, sinister fingers. Chelsea could feel the palms of her hands starting to blister and her toes going numb. The cold wetness had soaked through her flimsy tennis shoes. She glanced over at Sonia, who looked back and gave her a slight nod. What was she trying to tell her? Chelsea didn’t understand. Chelsea furrowed her brow, trying to convey her confusion to Sonia, but Sonia just looked down at her shovel. Suddenly, Sonia let out a pained gasp and dropped to her knees.

  “Sonia?” Chelsea screamed. She knelt down. Greg jumped up and pulled his gun.

  “Follow my lead,” Sonia whispered to Chelsea. She barely got the words out by the time Greg approached, the gun pointed stiffly at them.

  “Get up now!” Greg slid his finger onto the trigger.

  “I can’t,” Sonia muttered, breathless. “I can’t do any more of this.”

  “Get your ass up and keep digging!”

  Chelsea stole a glance at Lauren, who was standing a few yards away, watching the exchange. She seemed frightened, a completely different Lauren than the one who had thwarted her attack in the cabin. It came to Chelsea in a flash, and she knew exactly what to do. Tightening her grip on the shovel, she raised it up and swung it at Greg, smashing him violently in the arm. The force sent him into Sonia, who grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to the ground.

  Lauren jumped back, shocked. She pointed her gun into the air and fired. The shot echoed through the dark woods, making it sound as if it were coming from all directions. It made no difference. Chelsea wasn’t even sure if Sonia heard it.

  Wrestling on the ground with Greg, Sonia scrambled to get control of Greg’s gun. Chelsea gripped his arm, trying to pry him off, when she suddenly felt Greg go limp.

  Sonia pulled an empty syringe from his side. Then she shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out another one. Greg eyed her groggily and tried to sit up. Sonia bit off the cap and spit it into the weeds before plunging the needle into Greg’s neck. Chelsea recognized the syringes from the day before.

  “Greg?!” Lauren cried, clearly terrified they’d killed him.

  He collapsed against Chelsea’s legs, his eyes rolling back. His fingers unfurled and his grip relaxed. Sonia pushed Greg off and snatched up the gun.

  Lauren lumbered back a few steps in utter panic. She pointed the gun at Chelsea, her hand shaking wildly.

  “Chelsea!” Sonia yelled. Chelsea felt Sonia grip her arm, pulling her toward the trees. Night had started to close in and it was difficult to see where they were going. Chelsea’s feet slammed against the ground right behind Sonia’s. Running as fast as she could through the murky fog, Chelsea could hear the hammering of Sonia’s breath. Ducking under low limbs and straining to see the path ahead, their feet pounded over the ground until Chelsea stumbled, her toe catching on a rock. Pitching forward, she hit the ground hard and let out a pained cry.

  “Chelsea!” Sonia turned around and raced back. “Are you okay?”

  Chelsea lifted her hands, blistered and muddy, and grabbed Sonia’s hand. She felt Sonia heave her to her feet and a warm trickle of blood against her leg.

  “I think so,” Chelsea said, and the two continued to run deeper into the forest. Sonia peered back once and kept going. Chelsea, unsure if Lauren was coming after them, didn’t bother to look. All she could think about was getting away.

  As they reached a small clearing, Sonia stopped running and doubled over, trying to catch her breath. Chelsea stopped too. Her legs were heavy and she could barely get enough air into her lungs. The front of her pants were wet and sticky from her bloody knees. She’d never been especially fit, but she’d always been able to run farther than this. The pregnancy was affecting her.

  Where were they? The fog was worse here and she could barely see anything through the dense haze. Chelsea shivered. She was wet and cold and tired. The sudden howl of a coyote caused her to jump. Where was it? It sounded so close. And threatening.

  “Sonia?” Chelsea whispered, scared to move.

  “It’s okay,” Sonia said. “Just a coyote. It won’t attack unless you corner it.” Chelsea held her breath and listened intently. She thought she heard the snapping of twigs in the distance. Sonia must’ve heard it too because she pulled Chelsea behind a gnarled bush and knelt down. Hidden away, they could finally talk.

  “Stay still. I think that was her,” Sonia whispered, peeking between tangled limbs, searching for Lauren.

  “Is Greg dead?” Chelsea asked, careful to keep her head down. She shivered again.

  “No,” Sonia said, and rubbed Chelsea’s bare arms to create friction. “That was the sedative from my vet bag. He won’t be knocked out for long.” Chelsea swallowed, hoping he wasn’t already up and searching for them.

  “What do we do? Keep going?”

  “Just stay here,” Sonia whispered, and positioned the gun in front of her, ready to shoot if she saw Lauren emerge from the blackness. Chelsea had forgotten that Sonia had picked up Greg’s gun. For a moment, she felt relieved.

  Unable to see, they stayed silent, listening. It was getting dark quickly now. The last of the cool-blue light had drained from the inky sky. Every gust of wind that sent dead leaves scattering over the ground made the hair on Chelsea’s neck stand on end. Had Lauren stayed to help Greg? Or had she chased after them, ready to finish what her brother had started?

  “Lauren?!” Greg’s voice was distant but it rang through the night like a gunshot. Chelsea shrank back. He was awake and he was looking for his sister. That had to mean she had followed them into the grove.

  Sonia moved slightly, trying to get a better view. Then suddenly Sonia raised the gun and pulled back the hammer. They could see someone standing at the edge of the clearing, silhouetted in the pale moonlight. Chelsea held her breath. Her heartbeat picked up.

  Sonia tra
ined the gun on Lauren, who had no idea she’d just become a target. She walked slowly into the clearing, looking around, gun poised and ready to shoot. Chelsea closed her eyes. Please don’t let her find us. Please.

  Lauren suddenly stopped moving. Chelsea tucked back, worried she’d sensed their presence. Every passing second felt like an eternity as Lauren quietly, unknowingly came closer. Her heavy boots crunched over the fallen twigs and dried leaves. Chelsea glanced at Sonia, who never took her eyes off Lauren. Would Sonia really shoot and kill someone? Could she?

  At about ten feet away, Lauren stopped again. She lifted her gun higher and scanned the trees. Chelsea held her breath. She could tell Sonia was holding hers, too. Then, as if she heard them breathing, Lauren looked right at them. A shot rang out and the tree bark exploded only inches from Sonia’s head.

  Sonia and Chelsea instinctively dropped. A second shot cut through the night! This time it hadn’t come from Lauren. The gun in Sonia’s hand jolted up and Chelsea could smell the burst of gunpowder. Lauren staggered back.

  “Greg!” Lauren yelled for her brother as she fell onto her knees and then forward onto the ground. Chelsea could see the girl moving, struggling to turn and crawl back out of the woods the way she’d come.

  Sonia leaped up and ran over to her. She kicked the gun from Lauren’s reach and knelt down beside her.

  “Help me,” Lauren begged. Chelsea abandoned the hiding spot and met Sonia at Lauren’s side. She looked down into Lauren’s eyes and saw the fear of a young woman who believed she was about to die. The same fear, Chelsea thought, that Lauren must’ve seen in her eyes a few hours earlier. Why should Sonia help the girl who tried to kill them? They should walk away and let her die. But there was another part of Chelsea that couldn’t help but feel compassion. Lauren had believed her brother’s lies the same way Chelsea had believed Jeff’s.

  “Do you have a phone?” Sonia asked Lauren as she opened her jacket and examined the hole in her side.

  “My pocket,” Lauren said. “Where’s my brother?” Ignoring the last question, Sonia extracted Lauren’s phone and handed it to Chelsea.

  “Stay still for me. I need to put pressure on your wound to slow the bleeding.”

  Chelsea’s fingers were so cold she could barely feel the screen. She typed 911 into Lauren’s keypad, but nothing happened.

  “No service,” Chelsea reported to Sonia.

  “Keep moving around till you find some. Hurry.” Chelsea saw Sonia turn her attention back to Lauren, who kept bringing her head up from the muddy grass to try to see her wound. Even in the dark, she could see that Lauren was losing a lot of blood. Chelsea began to run. Another cold wind whipped through the pines and seemed to cut through her like a knife. As Chelsea dialed the paramedics again, she looked back just in time to see a figure lumbering through the fog.

  “Sonia!” Chelsea screamed, her voice getting lost in a gust of wind. Greg grabbed Sonia by the collar, knocking her away from Lauren. He gripped Sonia’s throat. Chelsea ran toward them.

  “You bitch!” he yelled as he banged Sonia’s head against the ground.

  “Stop!” Chelsea screamed, horrified. She searched the dark ground for Sonia’s gun. She saw the silver barrel glimmering a few feet away. Snatching it up, she aimed at Greg and without thinking twice, pulled the trigger. A bright orange flash erupted from the muzzle. It all happened so fast, and yet it felt like it was happening in slow motion.

  Greg sat up and stared right at Chelsea. Blood began to soak through his coat and he looked down at his sister.

  “Greg!” Lauren cried, reaching out to him. Chelsea’s hands shook, her grip on the gun so tight, it hurt. Her feet wouldn’t allow her to move. Greg looked back at Chelsea and then slumped to the side.

  Sonia rolled Greg off her. She got on all fours and coughed as she tried to fill her lungs with air. Lauren, sobbing, let her head fall back into the grass and stared up at the sky. Greg was still. So still. The fabric of his jacket rustled in the cold night air.

  It felt like Chelsea was up in the atmosphere somewhere looking down on the horrific scene, completely disconnected. For a few moments, she couldn’t feel anything. Then it all came rushing back and she was there, at the center of it all. She’d just killed Greg. She’d just shot and killed a person. She felt the icy blasts of wind blowing through her hair, the metal grip of the gun in her palm, the heavy, wet, bloody jeans that clung to her thin legs. Trudging over the muddy ground, she ran over to Sonia.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, breathless.

  Sonia nodded, still holding her throat. Chelsea looked over at Greg. His lifeless eyes stared up into an expansive sky full of stars. Slowly, deliberately, she raised the phone and dialed again. This time, she heard a ring and finally a voice.

  “Nine-one-one, please state your emergency.”

  “I need ambulances and the police,” Chelsea explained. “One man’s dead, and two people are hurt. I don’t know where we are. It’s a wooded area and we’re pretty far off a main road.” The dispatcher said to stay on the line and she’d triangulate the call. Sonia went back to putting pressure on Lauren’s wound and Chelsea dropped down into the grass next to her, answering the questions the dispatcher asked.

  “We’re going to get you help, okay?” Sonia said to Lauren, trying to keep her calm. “They’re sending an ambulance for you.”

  Chelsea waited for Lauren to ask if Greg was dead, but she didn’t. She must already know, she thought. As Chelsea watched Sonia do everything she could to save Lauren, she found herself sliding her hand over her belly, her thoughts drifting to her unborn baby.

  She’d just ended someone’s life, saved another, and felt the vibrancy of a third that had no idea yet how violent this world could be. And also how kind. As she studied Sonia, still working to save the girl who’d almost killed them both, the same woman who had taken her husband’s mistress into her home, Chelsea was overwhelmed with emotion. The level of cruelty that Greg could exact on a total stranger was staggering, but so was the level of generosity and selflessness that Sonia possessed. Such extremes. Life is all about choices, Chelsea thought.

  Chelsea sat there in the wet grass, her hands resting gently on her stomach until she heard the sound of a helicopter in the distance. Moments later, she saw the spotlight illuminate the tree line against the inky sky. As the helicopter circled around, she could hear sirens, faint at first, and then louder. Finally, she saw flashlights shimmering through the trees like giant fireflies as a wave of EMTs and police officers raced toward them.

  Fourteen

  The Birth

  Chelsea was careful not to disturb the IV in her hand as she repositioned herself onto her side. Maneuvering in the hospital bed with all her tubes and monitors connected was a challenge, but she wanted to watch as Sonia sat in the nearby chair and held her newborn baby girl.

  “She’s beautiful, Chelsea.” Sonia smiled lovingly at the dainty little infant in her arms, wrapped snugly in a blanket. Chelsea smiled. Although the labor process had gone on longer than she’d expected, Sonia had been there with her every step of the way. A few days before she was due, Chelsea and Sonia had decided to call Jeff and let him know his child was about to be born and she’d found out the gender—it was a girl. When he didn’t answer, Chelsea left a message. Jeff never returned her call.

  Feeling emotional, Chelsea had been sitting at home watching television with Adam when she’d suddenly burst into tears thinking about it.

  “Do you think he’ll just show up?” Chelsea said as Adam put his arm around her and pulled her closer. “Would he really miss the birth of his only child?” No matter how she tried to look at it, she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that someone could know their daughter is being born and not want to be there when it happened.

  “The people who care about you and care about this kid are going to be there. Those are the ones who will be important in this baby’s life, for her whole life.”

  Chelsea nodded, knowin
g Adam was right. He was such an amazing guy with an incredibly grounded view of the world. He could always see the bigger picture, and never lost his positivity. Over the past months, they’d grown even closer. A few days before she’d given birth, she had gone over to his grandfather’s house to have a pot roast for dinner with Mikey. They were watching old reruns of Three’s Company, Mikey’s favorite show from the seventies, when Adam leaned close and laced his fingers in hers.

  “I love you,” he whispered into her ear. A warm feeling came over Chelsea’s entire body. Everything about hearing those words from Adam felt so natural.

  “I love you too,” she said, and kissed him softly on the lips. She felt his hand move to her belly and knew that he loved the baby as well.

  “She has your eyes,” Sonia said, studying the baby. “And, of course, your hair.” She laughed. That was undeniable. Chelsea’s baby had come out with a tiny shock of straight red hair, just like Chelsea’s.

  Chelsea watched Sonia with the baby, and even though a tiny little part of her heart ached, she knew she was doing the right thing. She had no idea until she’d seen her child for the first time that it was possible to feel so much love. It was as if every cell in her body was about to burst with emotion for this itty-bitty human being. And it was because of that feeling that she was able to make the decision she’d made.

  “I’d like you to adopt her,” Chelsea said, hoping Sonia would say yes. They discussed it before, in more general terms, and Chelsea knew Sonia was thinking of adopting. She also knew from the many conversations she’d had with her and from the way she’d taken Chelsea under her wing and become a surrogate mother to her, that Sonia would give this baby a home and a life that Chelsea simply couldn’t. Sonia looked up at her with amazement. Chelsea smiled.

  “You’re going to be a wonderful mother, Chelsea. I wouldn’t tell you that if I didn’t think it was true,” Sonia said.

  “I know I would,” Chelsea responded. “And that’s why I want you to raise her. It’s the best gift I could possibly give this child. You are the most selfless person I’ve ever met. And I trust you completely. Besides, I know you’ll let me be a part of the baby’s life.” Chelsea saw Sonia’s eyes glisten as she looked back down at the baby. “You’re the only one I’d give this child to. It’s the right decision. I know it is. Do you want to be her mother?”