Foolish Games Page 8

  "The law wouldn’t exactly permit what I WANT to do to Josh, but I think we should find him first and then we have no choice but to let the law decide." Mr. Andrews replied. Then he reached for his jacket.

  "Where are you going?" Jessie asked when she saw him leaving.

  "I’m going to find that son of a bitch." Mr. Andrews said simply.

  "Well i’m going with you." Jessie said.

  "No!" Mr. Andrews and Nick blurted out in unison.

  Jessie gave them a strange look.

  "Why not?"

  "Because I don’t want you anywhere near Josh." Nick said, "He’s dangerous, Jess. You know that."

  Jessie sighed.

  "I have to agree with him Jessie." Mr. Andrews said.

  "How are you going to find him?" Jessie asked then pouting.

  "I have connections." Mr. Andrews replied with a wink then closed the door behind him.

  Jessie flopped down on the nearby sofa.

  "And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

  "Get to class." Nick said looking at his watch.

  "Shit! Class! You’re right, if we go now I can still make it!" Jessie said jumping off the sofa and out the door. Nick was right behind her.

  "Right now I need all the help I can get!"

  "Erica? What are you doing here?" Kevin asked allowing her in. He was surprised to see her like this. Her eyes were red and puffy so he could tell that she had been crying.

  "What’s wrong?" he asked when they sat down.

  "Brian and I..we had a fight." She said.

  "Didn’t you two just get back together?" Kevin asked a little confused.

  "Yes, we did, but now.. I dunno..my life’s a mess!" Erica exclaimed before breaking down in a fresh set of tears.

  Kevin hugged her and waited for her to finish crying before he continued.

  "Take your time and tell me what happened."

  "Everything was going great when Brian and I got back together. Then the other morning, I woke up and I wasn’t feeling well so he took me to the doctor and I found out that i’m pregnant." Erica explained.

  "You’re pregnant?" Kevin was stunned. "That boy moves fast!"

  "Kevin! I’m trying to be serious here!" Erica snapped.

  "I’m sorry. Okay, so why did you two fight? You two don’t want this baby?" Kevin asked.

  "That’s part of it." Erica said.

  "So what’s the other part?"

  "Brian’s not the father, Kevin. You are." Erica said as calmly as she could.

  "What?!" Kevin’s face registered shock. "Are you sure? I mean, we only slept together like ONE time!!"

  "I know and I’m positive! I’m two months pregnant and Brian and I weren’t together two months ago. I was with you."

  Kevin got up and was pacing the floor.

  "Stop that! You’re making me nervous!" Erica stated.

  "So what are you going to do?" Kevin asked stopping and looking at her.

  "What do you think I should do?" Erica countered.

  "I dunno. What do you want to do? This is your baby."

  "Uh-uh, Kev. This is OUR baby. We make this decision together." Erica said.

  "Ok sorry. You’re right. I can honestly say that i’m not ready to be a father, Erica." Kevin stated.

  "I agree. Neither of us is ready for this kind of responsibility but we don’t really have a choice now do we?"

  ‘Why don’t you have an abortion?"

  "You really think that’ll be the best thing to do?" Erica asked him.

  "Do you want this baby Erica? I know you’re not ready for one, but honestly, do you want to have this baby?" Kevin asked her.

  "I don’t know. A part of me wants to have this baby so bad but then another part of me doesn’t know if I can handle it. I have school Kev. My life is going exactly the way I planned it and then this had to happen!" Erica stated.

  "You make it sound like a curse Erica. It’s not." Kevin told her.

  "I know. I’m just so confused right now." Erica said.

  "I know." Kevin said softly, then shook his head as a thought occurred to him.

  "I can’t begin to imagine what Brian must have felt when he found out."

  "What Brian must have felt?!" Erica cried,"I found out that I was two months pregnant when everything in my life was perfect then I lost Brian when I’d just gotten him back! I don’t think Brian is the only one hurting here Kevin!"

  "That’s not what I meant." Kevin said gently.

  But Erica ignored him and got up and walked to the door.

  "I don’t even know why I bothered coming here. I think my mind’s already made up." With that she turned around and left, leaving Kevin staring after her.

  CHAPTER 26

  Two hours later..

  Jessie met up with Erica at their usual meeting place, the on campus cafe’ where Erica filled Jessie in on the morning’s details.

  "OhmyGod! Erica, what are you going to do now?" Jessie asked her friend when she’d finish.

  "Right now I think the best thing for me to do is to have an abortion." Erica said.

  "Are you sure that’s what you want?" Jessie asked concerned about her friend.

  "No but I don’t really have a choice here Jess. You know I’m not responsible enough to be anyone’s mother!"

  "What about adoption?" Jessie asked her.

  "That won’t work. That’ll mean that i’d have to carry this child for the next couple of months and I have exams coming up. I can’t handle all that." Erica explained.

  "Then you’re right. You don’t have much of a choice." Jessie said softly, "So when are you going to do it?"

  "Well, the sooner the better, so I’m thinking first thing tomorrow morning."

  "You want me to come with you?"

  "Nah. I’ll be fine. Besides, you have classes all morning." Erica pointed out.

  "True." Jessie replied.

  "Anyways, how are things with Nick?" Erica asked as they moved their conversation into the ladies room.

  "Just fine." Jessie said with a smile.

  "You two slept together yet?" Erica asked just to tease her but Jessie blushed in spite of herself, "Ohmygosh! You did!" Erica cried when she saw the guilty look on Jessie’s face.

  "Ssh! Would you keep your voice down!" Jessie hissed at her.

  "Why? No one’s even in here but us!" Erica said motioning to the empty bathroom. All the stalls were empty except for one door which was closed and had the words ‘Out of order’ on it.

  "It doesn’t matter!"

  "So now you can get into Phi Alpha Beta!" Erica said excitedly.

  "Actually that’s something I had to talk to you about." Jessie began, "I don’t think I want to join Phi Alpha Beta anymore."

  "What? Why not?"

  "Well because-"

  "You’re feeling guilty because you have feelings for Nick and you slept with him just to get into this sorority right?" Erica guessed.

  "Something like that." Jessie said. "I love Nick. That’s why I slept with him, not because I wanted to get into that sorority."

  "So what are you going to tell Britney?"

  "I’ll just tell her that i’ve changed my mind about joining that’s all." Jessie said simply.

  "Why are you doing this?" Erica asked her.

  "Because if Nick ever found out that I had to sleep with him to get into Phi Alpha Beta, he’d be hurt. Oh hell, what am I saying, the guy would kill me! He loves me. He told me that and I told him the same. He won’t believe me if I told him the truth because he knew that I disliked him the instant we met." Jessie said.

  "But you didn’t."

  "That’s not what he thinks." Jessie said, “Anyway, let’s not think about it. I’ve already decided that i’m not joining that snobbish sorority! Nick would never find out because it won’t be true cause i’m not joining. So you better keep your mouth shut!"

  "Hey! I’ve got my own problems!" Erica said and they both walked out.

  The door to the stall marked
‘Out of Order’ was suddenly opened and Britney walked out, a devilish grin on her face.

  "Well, well, well. The things you hear while hiding in a bathroom stall." She said to herself. She touched up her makeup and walked out.

  CHAPTER 27

  Nick was walking to his car unaware that he was being followed. He was about to get in when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with Britney, who was smiling at him.

  "What do you want?" he asked harshly.

  Nick had never liked Britney. Since the first day they met, she’d been following him around like some love sick puppy trying to get him to go out with her but he refused. Perhaps because she tried so hard and well, acted pretty desperate. Soon afterwards though, she stopped, much to Nick’s relief.

  "Well I thought maybe you and I could have a little chat." Britney said.

  Nick opened the door and getting into the car responded, "I don’t think you’ve got anything to say that would interest me."

  "Jessie." Britney said simply.

  "What?" Nick asked looking up at her from his seat in the car.

  "It’s about Jessie."

  "What about her?" Nick asked.

  "She doesn’t love you Nick." Britney said.

  Nick got back out the car and faced her.

  "How would you know?" he countered.

  "Well for one thing, I know that you two slept together." Britney said, "I have to admit Nick, I didn’t think you’d fall for someone like her."

  "How do you know we slept together? Did Jessie tell you that?" Nick asked narrowing his eyes at her.

  "Of course she did. After all," Britney said flipping her hair over her shoulder, "It was all part of the plan.

  There was a brief silence as Nick took this all in.

  "What ‘plan’?" Nick asked running his hand through his hair, "What the hell are you talking about?" Damnit! He wanted some answers and he wanted them now!

  "Oh, she didn’t tell you?" Britney asked him, raising her eyebrows and feigning shock.

  "Tell me what?!" Nick asked frustrated. If they weren’t in the middle of the campus and around all these student, he would have strangled her to get it out.

  "Didn’t Jessie tell you that she was joining Phi Alpha Beta?" Britney asked. She loved watching him squirm. Especially after everything he put her through.

  "Yes, why?" Nick’s control was just about ready to snap.

  "Did she tell you what she had to do to get in?"’

  "Well, no."

  "That’s where you come in. In order for her to get in, she had to get you to sleep with her and you did!"

  "No, no that can’t be true!" Nick said shaking his head, "Jessie would never do something like that!"

  "Wouldn’t she?" Britney asked him, "Tell me Nick, when you two first met, wasn’t she distant from you? Didn’t she act like she hated you?"

  Nick was, to say the very least, hurt. Everything Britney was saying about the first time they met was true. So could this be true also? He wasn’t sure and he couldn’t be sure until he asked Jessie himself. He knew that Britney would do anything to get what she wanted but this was a little extreme.

  "You know Britney, I didn’t think that even someone like you would stoop so low, but I guess I was wrong." Nick said getting back in the car and starting the engine. The window was down so he could still hear her.

  "You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to Nick." She said, "Ask her yourself. But I can assure you that i’m telling you the truth. I mean, why would I lie?"’

  "God alone knows." Nick said then drove off leaving Britney behind with a satisfied grin on her face. Things were working out just as planned. If she couldn’t have Nick, then no one could.

  CHAPTER 28

  Erica walked into the hospital and went up to a counter where a nurse was seated, talking into a telephone. She hung up quickly when she saw Erica.

  "Hello. How may I help you?"

  "Hi, I called you earlier to schedule an appointment." Erica said a little shakily.

  "Name, please." The nurse asked opening a book to refer to.

  "Erica Matthews."

  The nurse found the page she was looking for and gave her a hard look.

  "Not another abortion." She stated dryly, "Haven’t you teenagers heard of contraceptives?"

  Erica was appalled by the nurse’s outburst. She was about to say something but she bit her tongue and controlled her rising temper.

  "You may have a seat over there." The nurse told her pointing to a room which Erica assumed was the waiting room.

  Erica followed the nurse’s instructions and went to the room and took a seat next to a fairly middle-aged woman who looked as nervous as she was. The woman gave her a warm smile when she sat down.

  They sat in silence for about five minutes before the woman spoke.

  "I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why are you here?"

  Erica sighed on answering.

  "I’m pregnant and i’m here to have an abortion."

  The woman looked at her shocked.

  "What?! Why would you do something like that?" she asked.

  "Well, because I have school, I have exams and I can’t handle raising a child right now." Erica told her.

  "You should have thought of that before." The woman replied shaking her head at her.

  "I know."

  "By the way, i’m Katherine Sands."

  Erica shook her hand.

  "Erica Matthews. So why are YOU here?"

  "Actually the exact opposite of you. I’m trying to have a baby but I can’t. Today i’m supposed to find out what’s wrong." Katherine explained.

  "Oh." Was all Erica could say, "I’m sorry."

  "But I want to have a baby badly. You should be grateful you’re pregnant. Look at it as a blessing and not a curse because there are a lot of women out there who want to get pregnant and can’t." Katherine said.

  "That’s sorta like what my ex-boyfriend told me." Erica said.

  "Well, he’s right."

  "So what am I supposed to do? I can’t do this."

  "Yeah you can." Katherine assured her, "Besides, it’s too late now, you have to take responsibility for your actions."

  "You’re right. Usually I just pay somebody to clean up my mess for me but now I have to do it myself." Erica stated then got up, "Thanks a lot. This conversation has been very helpful."

  "Anytime sweetie." Katherine said then hugged her.

  Erica turned to walk away, then stopped and turned back around to face Katherine.

  "Good luck." She said, "I hope you get your baby."

  The woman smiled at her. "Thank you."

  Erica left the hospital and never looked back.

  Jessie had just finished changing her clothes when she heard the doorbell ring. Her father wasn’t home so she answered it. She saw Nick standing before her and her smile was short-lived when she saw the expression on his face. His face was red with the anger he was trying so hard to control. Before she could utter a single word, he pushed her aside and walked in.

  "We need to talk Jessie." He told her through clenched teeth.

  Jessie looked at him, her face marked with confusion trying to figure out what the hell had possessed him to be acting this way towards her. Well she was going to find out soon.

  "What about?" she asked a little hesitantly.

  "Sit down!" he ordered her, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her down on the sofa while he remained standing.

  "Nick! What the hell is this all about?!" Jessie asked him, her anger building as well as her fear.

  "Tell me Jessie, what is it that you had to do in order to get into Phi Alpha Beta?" Nick asked her.

  "What?!" Jessie couldn’t believe he was bringing this up.

  "What’s your ‘Mission’ Jessie?" he asked again, "What did those bitches tell you to do to get in?" he added harshly.

  Jessie swallowed hard at the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.
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