After I found out I was pregnant, I spent several days in denial, not wanting to believe what I knew to be true in my heart. I also didn’t want to face the inevitable fact that, eventually, I would have to tell Brian. But first, I called the only person I felt I could trust with this matter.

“Hey Mel, what’s up?” he answered after the second ring.

“Alex, I’m scared,” I confessed.

“Honey, what happened? Are you crying?” he asked, the concern easy to hear in his raspy voice.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I cried.

“Whoa… what happened? Start from the beginning,” he instructed.

“I’ve been sick for the last couple weeks. I ended up calling in sick all week, and Roger stopped by a couple mornings ago and forced me to go to the doctor. Alex, I’m pregnant... and it’s Brian’s,” I explained.

“Whoa…” he breathed, completely overwhelmed by the news. “Have you told him yet?” he asked, just like I expected him to.

“No. I’m afraid,” I admitted quietly.

“You have to tell him. He has a right to know. Plus, you shouldn’t be going through this alone,” he tried convincing me.

“I’m going to tell him. Not telling him is not an option, but do you really think telling him is going to make me any less alone? He’s got her; he doesn’t need me screwing up his life,” I sighed.

“That’s not true. He loves you. He’s just conflicted,” Alex tried to defend his best friend. It didn’t matter, though. Brian had made his own decision. Nothing Alex said would make it right.

“I’m going to tell him, but I was kind of hoping that you might be here when I do?” I questioned, getting to the point.

“I don’t know, Mel…” he hesitated.

“Please, Alex. I have no one else to turn to. I have nowhere else to go. I don’t want to do this alone. Please?” I cried into the phone, begging him.

“Mel, don’t cry,” he pleaded, hating the sound of my tears. I heard him sigh before giving in to my request. “I’ll take the first flight out. I’ll call you when I know all the details. Hang in there, girl,” he encouraged.

I felt better knowing that Alex was on his way, but I still found it hard to face the fact that I was going to be telling Brian soon. I knew Alex would not let me wait to tell him. He would use the guilt card, saying, “I flew all the way out here for this, now you better tell him.” I was terrified. I knew Brian had always wanted kids, but I also knew that Leighanne was going to blow up when she heard. I was afraid that she would somehow keep Brian from his child, which would not only kill him, but me as well.

Before I even knew it, Alex had landed and I was picking him up from the airport. As soon as he was in my car, he reached over and hugged me, kissing me lightly on the check. “Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted.

“Thanks for coming, Alex,” I gratefully added.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” I agreed. We made our way to Brian’s house in silence, both of us contemplating what could happen. None of the outcomes looked good.

We parked the car in front of Brian’s house, but neither of us moved. I just sat staring at the house in fear. Finally, Alex cleared his throat before addressing me. “I guess we should go knock, huh?”

“Yeah,” was all I could say in response.

We slowly walked up to the door before Alex raised his fist and knocked. We waited a few minutes before the door slowly swung open and we were face-to-face with Brian, looking tired and more worn than I had ever seen him.

“Mel!” he gasped, surprised to see me standing at his doorstep after all the effort I had spent avoiding him.

“Hi Brian. Can we come in? I have something I think we need to discuss,” I politely requested.

Just then, I saw Leighanne slink up behind Brian, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him from behind – a sure sign of possession.

“Brian can’t come out and play right now,” she cattily sneered.

I just stood there, looking at my feet, wishing the ground would open up below me and pull me to the other side of the world. But no such luck. Nothing happened no matter how hard I wished for it.

“Leighanne, Mel has something she needs to tell the both of you, and I didn’t fly all the way out here from Malibu just to go home without accomplishing what we came here to do,” Alex interjected.

I watched Brian’s eyes shift from me to Alex, as if he was noticing him for the first time. Leighanne looked at Alex as well, before huffing in annoyance, letting us in nonetheless.

We walked into the living room, a sense of dread and suspense filling the air. I sat down next to Alex, grasping his hand in my own and holding it with all my strength. I saw Alex wince slightly, but he said nothing.

I turned my attention to Brian and Leighanne, but before I could say anything, Brian surprised me by speaking first. “Roger said you’ve been sick all week. Are you okay?”

I swallowed hard, gathering my strength. “Yeah. That’s actually what I’m here to talk about. I went to the doctor a few days ago and they ran some tests to try and figure out what was wrong with me. I got a call back two days ago telling me that…I’m… ummmm… I’m…” I hesitated. I felt Alex squeeze my hand in support, giving me the strength to finish. “Brian, I’m two and a half months pregnant,” I blurted out.

It took awhile for what I said to sink in, but as soon as it did, I saw Brian’s mouth drop open in surprise and Leighanne’s face turned a bright red as her scowl grew even deeper. “You’re what?” Brian asked.

“Pregnant,” I repeated with more confidence.

“But… how?” he questioned dumbly.

I just looked down at my lap, not even wanting to think about that night. He had been so loving, so honest, but that was no longer the case.

“I think we can guess how,” Leighanne hissed. “How do you even know it’s Brian’s?”

“Because, Leighanne, I’m not some slut who sleeps with every guy she sees,” I refuted. “Unlike you,” I whispered under my breath. Alex heard it, however, and gave a slight chuckle, which he covered with a cough.

“No, you only sleep with married men,” she continued to jab at me.

“That’s enough, Leighanne,” Brian and Alex said together.

Then Brian turned to me and asked, “What are you going to do?”

I looked into his eyes, tears filling mine instantly. “What else can I do? I’m going to keep it. Despite the situation now, this child was created out of love, and it is a part of both of us. There’s nothing else I can do,” I honestly replied.

He nodded in agreement. We all sat in silence before Leighanne spoke up once more. “I have an idea.”

“What now, Leighanne?” Alex sighed in obvious annoyance.

“If news ever got out that Brian had an affair, the group would be ruined, right?” she asked, ignoring Alex’s tone. At both the guys’ nods, she continued. “Well, why don’t I pretend like I’m pregnant, using a stunt bump, and then, when the baby is born, Mel can sign her rights over to me. That way, everybody wins and nobody has a clue.”

“Leighanne, that’s insane!” Alex exclaimed for me.

I couldn’t believe she had even suggested it, but what shocked me more was the fact that Brian didn’t even say anything in response to it. I chanced a peek at him and saw him staring at the carpet, lost in thought. He couldn’t actually be considering it, could he?

“Alex is right, Leigh. That would never work. Plus, I could never do that to Mel,” Brian finally spoke.

I watched Leighanne’s face contort in anger as she stood up with her hands on her hips. “Well I suggest you find yourself a good divorce lawyer, then, Brian,” she huffed.

At that, Brian’s head jerked up and I watched him scramble to his feet to stop Leighanne from leaving the room. They conversed quietly in private, while I held my breath in hope that maybe Brian would leave her. When they both came back to the couch together, I knew what he had decided.

Leighanne looked at me and spoke to me as if I were a child, “Honey, you made a mistake. I am just trying to clean up the mess so that everyone comes out looking good. I don’t want you to get into any more trouble than you have already found yourself in. Trust me, this is best for everyone.” Her condescending tone made me just want to reach out and slap her, but when I looked at Brian, noticing that he refused to meet my eyes, sadness replaced the anger immediately.

I spoke in the barest of whispers, when I finally found my voice. “Brian, is this what you want?”

I waited with baited breath for his response, and when I saw his head nod ever so slightly, I felt my heart crumble into a million pieces. Nothing could have prepared me for this, and immediately, I knew that with that one confirmation, I had just lost my will to live, my passion, my soul, my heart, my everything. If I thought that Brian had hurt me all that he could when he left the first time, I was wrong. This final rejection sent me over the edge, and I didn’t know if I would ever recover. Still, I refused to break down in front of him again, so I just nodded before standing up and walking out the door. Alex followed close behind me, and as we drove away, I glanced in the rear view mirror, praying that Brian would be standing there watching me go. But all I saw was a street matching the way I felt inside: empty.