2. Lucas

Ihad no idea why Bernadette had called me, but it was safe to say that I was worried.

She had sounded like she was about to burst into tears, and even though the drive to my place from hers was rather short, every minute of waiting for her was agonizing.

I just wanted to know what was going on, to be able to wrap my arms around her tightly and let her know that everything was going to be okay, that I would fix it, whatever it was.

Except I didn't even know if I would be able to do that. What if it was something that I couldn't fix? What if she was in some real trouble that I couldn't make go away? What would I do then?

The answer was obvious. I would do my best to stand by her, no matter what was going on. I had to, because I loved her, more than she realized, and I wanted her to be okay.

Finally there was a knock, and I rushed to the door to see Bernadette standing on the porch of my little suburban house, silhouetted by the storm outside.

The two of us lived in Portland, so the likelihood that there would be a storm or at least some sort of drizzle on any given day was pretty high. It was these kinds of days that made me want to confess my feelings to her, just so I could wrap her up in my arms and cuddle with her by the fireplace.

The fireplace had been one of the reasons that I had bought the house. I think somewhere in my mind I had been thinking of me and Bernadette all cuddled up, maybe a child with us, wrapped in a blanket in front of the fireplace. But who knew if that would ever happen?

I had no idea if she saw me that way and had no intention of asking anytime soon. I didn't want to ruin the friendship that we already had, so I stuck to pretending like her very presence didn't make my heart pound in my chest and send blood to the tips of my ears.

"Come in," I said, opening the door wider and ushering Bernadette out of the storm, out of the cold. "Do you need anything? I could get you some tea or something to eat?"

She shook her head, wringing her hands in front of her as if I wouldn't notice. I reached out to set my hand on top of hers, stilling the anxious movement.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," I said.

"I—maybe I'll have something later," she said, almost as an offering. "I don't think I could eat right now."

"That's okay, why don't you sit down," I gestured to the couch, then took a seat in the nearby armchair, leaning forward with a worried expression.

She sat, then turned to me. "Lucas, I—I'm pregnant."

As soon as the words were out, it appeared as though a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, but it also looked like she was about to cry.

I considered the idea for a moment that this could all be a joke, some elaborate prank that she was playing on me. It seemed too strange to be true, that my innocent friend––who had never gone against her mother a day in her life––was pregnant.

But I knew Bernadette couldn't fake her emotions, and it was obvious from those that she was telling the truth, even if it was something that neither of us wanted.

"Bella…how…how did this happen?" I asked, leaning forward and taking her hand in mine, then giving it a squeeze.

"I…you know how my friends in college were."

I tensed. Did those brats seriously push her to do something that got her into this situation? I would make them pay for that. How dare they?

"Yes, I do," I replied, trying my hardest to keep the anger out of my voice.

"They took me to a party a few weeks before graduation, and a guy there …he …" she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"Bella, I need you to answer me honestly; did he rape you?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "It's not like I said yes, but I didn't say no either. It's so difficult to tell."

"If you want to press charges, I will help you. I can get the best lawyers; they'll make sure he pays for doing what he did to you."

Bernadette shook her head again. "I don't want to press charges. I have no evidence, and besides, what's the point? Right now, I need to focus on what's in front of me, and that's the fact that I'm carrying some stranger's child."

Tears were welling up in her eyes now, and I brushed them off of her cheeks.

"It's okay, we're going to figure this out, I promise." Realistically speaking, I had no way of knowing that, especially with the way that her mother was about these kinds of things. But I knew that it was what she needed to hear in that moment, and as I said the words, I knew that I was going to do everything in my power to make them come true.

"I don't know," she sobbed. "How in the world is anything going to be okay? I'm not ready to be a mother, I don't know how to be a mother. And my mom is going to freak out. I can't hide this from her forever. It's not like it's going to go away."

"Shhhh." I traced one hand down her cheek, feeling her lean into my touch. "Let's not worry about what we can't control right now, and instead think about what we can control. There are some things that we can do, but before we can think about that we have to get you calmed down."

She nodded, and I had a feeling that I was saying exactly what she needed to hear.

"All right."

"I'm going to get you some water and something to eat," I said. "Will you be fine on your own for a few minutes?"

She nodded, suppressing another sniffle. "I'll be fine."

"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I headed to the kitchen, grabbing her a glass of water and some cheese and crackers. A fun thing that I had learned while in college was that you couldn't cry and drink at the same time, or at least it was very difficult, so I hoped this would help.

I returned to the living room and handed her what I had grabbed.

"Here you go. Do you want me to go over your options now, or do you want to eat something first?"

She gratefully accepted the plate and set the water down on the table next to her. "I think I'll eat first," she said, and I nodded, letting her have something in silence for a bit while I contemplated what to do next.

I really wanted to be there for her as best as I could, and I recognized the fact that this was a moment she really needed me, but I was having a hard time thinking of how I could help without being invasive.

My first instinct, of course, was to take her in my arms, kiss her until she stopped crying, and tell her that I would take care of her from now on, but not only would that probably aggravate the situation with her mother, but she also needed me as a friend at the moment. If she didn't feel the same way as I did then she couldn't afford to lose that friendship, or to have the awkwardness that would be there for a while.

Not that I could either, but I was trying to think of her first in this situation.

"I just thought of something else," Bernadette said with another tearful look in her eyes. "How am I going to support myself?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, still stuck on the idea of taking care of her. I could. I could do it. I had a house and a company and plenty of money. And I would be inheriting my father's business as well soon. But whether or not I could do wasn't the problem, I supposed.

"I don't have a job yet, and so far, not a single company seems interested in hiring me. And I can't burden my mom anymore, especially not with a baby."

This caused her to burst out into tears again, to which I pressed the glass of water into her hands and implored her to drink. She did as I asked and that seemed to calm her down quite a bit.

"I'll help you find a job," I promised. "I know some people, and I know the process well. We'll get you a job, so let's not worry about that right now."

"Okay." She choked back another sob.

"Oh Bella, everything's going to be all right," I promised again. "You'll see soon, I promise. We'll figure everything out. You don't have to worry about it."

"I know, I just can't help but worry."

"That's perfectly fine, but for now let's look at some of your options for fixing this situation, okay? It's going to be okay."

She nodded. "What were you thinking?"

"Well, first let's think about the biggest issue, the pregnancy. You haven't been pregnant for very long, so an abortion is still an option, and no one would blame you if that was something you wanted to do."

She shook her head. "I don't want to. I don't think I could live with that, knowing I might have had a child and then giving it up in that way."

"Okay, you probably don't want to give it up for adoption either then."

She shook her head. "I know it sounds crazy, especially given my situation, but I'd rather have the baby."

"That's fine, we can work with that. All right, next thing is your mother, and breaking the news to her."

"She'll kick me out," Bernadette said with another sob. "She'll be so disappointed in me; I can't bear that."

"Well, maybe if you moved out first? Or softened the blow with some things that she might be proud of? I'm sure she'll come around, Bella. She loves you after all."

"I know I just…" She looked down at her hands. "I don't know if I could handle her disappointment."

"Then maybe we redirect her anger somewhere else? I could say that the baby is mine so she's mad at me and not at you."

Bernadette shook her head. "No, I don't want her to think any worse of you. She already doesn't like you, and it may not even work. It's not worth the risk."

I took a deep breath, feeling my hands shake as I thought about what I was about to say. "All right then, I have one final idea for you."