Desiree
Desiree bit her lip as she sat on the park bench and stared at the concrete.
"It has to be up to him. I mean, I'm fine with it, I'm... I can live with whatever he wants."
She sighed and shook her head.
"Call him girl."
She pulled out her cell phone, glanced at the slip of paper, and dialled Zac's number.
Zac
Zac heard his phone ring and picked it up. An unfamiliar number was on the screen.
"I wonder who that is... Only one way to find out I suppose."
He pressed the little green button and put the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
Desiree
"Um, hi... Zac," Desiree began, pushing some hair behind her ear.
"It's Desiree... I don't know if you'll remember me. You helped me get to the cemetary when my car was broken down? Sorry, is this a bad time?"
Zac
"Oh yeah, I remember you," Zac replied.
"I slept with you and nearly lost Faith because of it. How could I forget?" he thought ironically.
"What can I do for you?"
Desiree
"Well ah... a bit of guidance would help," she began.
"Just recently I found out I was pregnant, and guess who was the only person I had unprotected sex with?"
She bit her lip. She hadn't meant to blurt it out so hard.
Zac
Oh no. Not again. The colour drained from Zac's face and the phone slipped from his fingers. Then he realised he dropped it and picked it up again.
"Hello? Desiree? Sorry. I uhh... oh gosh... you're joking right? Please tell me you're joking."
Desiree
Desiree tried to hold the tears back.
"I'm sorry," she shook her head, "but I'm not. And I need to know what you want to do. Because... whatever you want to do with it is fine with me."
Zac
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Dez," Zac sighed. "Really, I am. I don't mean to be insensitive, it's just that... well... This is the second time I've gotten someone pregnant. Okay well technically it's the third time but I dont could Zada because she raped me and she's dead now anyway."
Zac then realised he was babbling.
"Sorry, sorry. Oh man..." he sat down. "You... you sure it's mine? Oh man... Mom is gonna freak!"
Desiree
"I'm sorry," Desiree said again, "yes, I'm sure. I've... since you I've only slept with one other guy. My boyfriend. But he always insists it's protected because he's paranoid. I'm sorry Zac."
She put her head in her hands, starting to cry.
Zac
"Your boyfriend?" Zac repeated. "Oh damn, forget Mom, Faith is gonna kill me."
Zac took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he said again. "Please don't cry... I... damn it. Look, umm... whatever you decide... it's your baby. Whatever you decide for it, I'm fine. And if you decide to keep it, I'll help out okay?"
Desiree
Desiree shook her head sadly.
"I don't want to keep it Zac. It's up to you. Do you want me to abort it? Do you want to keep it? Or should be put it up for adoption?"
Zac
"Oh."
Zac was quiet for a long moment.
"Ummm, well... I... I... since you're leaving it up to me... I guess... Well, I don't much like the idea of abortion, so if you don't mind carrying it to term, I'll..." he gulped. "I'll keep it."
Desiree
Desiree took a deep breath.
"Ok," she nodded to herself, wiping the tears from her eyes, her mascara getting everywhere.
"I'll do it. Just, call me sometime, ok? Or at least give me an address or something."
Zac
"Dez, Dez, I... I'm gonna do more than that okay?" Zac assured her. "I swear, I'll look after you while you're carrying the baby, okay? It's... it's bad enough... I don't want you to suffer any more because of me."
Desiree
"I'm not suffering yet, Zac," Desiree smiled, her voice soft.
"Not until morning sickness sets in, then I'll go off at you."
Zac
"And you have every right to," Zac said, managing a smile.
He took another breath and then gave her his address.
"Come over - or call - whenever you want," he told her. "Anything you want or need, just let me know, okay?"
Desiree
"I'll be fine Zac," Desiree smiled.
"And I'll call you. Don't worry too much, ok? Talk to you soon."
Zac
"Okay. Bye."
Zac hung up and stared at the wall in silence for a moment.
What the heck had he just gotten himself into?
And more importantly, how was he going to tell Faith?