Sixteen by Emily Rachelle Read Free Book Online Page B

features, and he pulled the chair out further. Christy led Nikki to the seat, patting her back and whispering soothing words to her. Matt stood off to the side, not sure what to do. After a few minutes, Nikki's sobs quieted to hiccups, and she did her best to tell him what she had to tell.
    "I... I came to tell you that... that I'm.... p-pregnant." She hiccupped again and fiddled with her bracelet.
    Matt fell back into the other patio chair, his face losing color. After a minute, he asked, "Are you sure? I mean, I’m not questioning that it’s… um, mine -- but, well, how do you know? That you’re really… pregnant?"
    "I took a test." The words were barely a mumble.
    "A home test?" He paused, scratched the back of his neck, popped his knuckles. “Shouldn’t you make sure at the doctor’s or something? I mean, I’ve heard those things can be inacc-”
    Christy interrupted. "Matt, I know you're just trying to help, but you aren't helping. She's sure. A girl knows about these things."
    He nodded, looking somewhat sheepish. Nikki's fingers froze on her bracelet, her entire body rigid. She didn't make a sound; she simply stared at the tiles.
    "So... what are you gonna do?"
    She continued to stare at the floor. Finally, she shrugged, but she still didn't look up or speak.
    He nodded, seeming relieved that life had returned to her form. "You don't have to decide what to do right now. The... baby's not due until, what... March? April?"
    Nikki nodded. "Early April." Christy gave Nikki's shoulder a supportive squeeze.
    "So..." He appeared at a loss for words.
    "Um..." She glanced at Christy, who nodded. During the car ride, Nikki asked Christy what she should do now, as a pregnant teen and new Christian all at once. Christy’s advice was to start with tell Matt about her salvation, since Matt claimed to be a Christian. She turned to look at him as she spoke, fighting the urge to return to her bracelet-fiddling. "You should probably know something else... I got saved yesterday, and... and I went to church this morning, and I want to do the right thing, but I'm not sure what that is.”
    Matt sighed. Was he upset? "I told you I'm a Christian, right?"
    Nikki nodded. She couldn’t quite remember when he told her, but she did know he went to church. Something like that.
    "Well, that's true, but sadly so. You see, I was saved when I was nine years old. Back when my mom died, I quit going to church. I was nineteen. Lately, Dad's been on my case about going to church with him. He seems to get more and more concerned about us kids the worse his health gets. I just wasn't ready until after... July. I've been attending regularly now, and I'm getting back into my Bible."
    Christy chanced another comment. "Seems like God's been on all our cases lately."
    Nikki forced a laugh and turned her eyes down to her lap. "Yeah."
    They sat in the awkward silence that followed, until Matt spoke. "Do you have any idea about whether you want to keep the baby or put it up for adoption?"
    "I've thought about it. I've had an idea of what’s... happening for a few weeks now. I keep seeing this little baby in my arms, all wrapped up and happy, and I... well, I don't know what the right thing to do is, but I don't think I could give him or her up when the time came." She looked up to gauge his reaction.
    Matt nodded. Nikki couldn’t read his face -- did he agree with her decision? Once again, silence fell over them. Nikki glanced back over at Christy, who gave her another shoulder squeeze.
    After a few more minutes, Matt asked again, "So you want to keep the baby?"
    Nikki paused, then nodded. "I thought I didn't know, but I guess I kinda knew all along. I just have to keep him."
    Matt smiled. "Since you're going to keep the baby, I think he or she should know his father.” A pause. “I'd like to be a part of his life."
    Nikki grinned in relief. So he supported her choice. He wanted to be part of it. That was a good sign. "Definitely. He should have both