As she closed her hazel eyes and took in a deep, shaky breath, Jadyn let a single, fearful tear slide down the length of her cheek. Her heart felt as if it were about to pound its way out of her chest and her hands trembled fiercely.

“Please, God…” she pleaded in a whisper, “Please let it be negative…”

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat with a painful gulp, Jadyn opened her eyes and forced herself to look down. Her heart stopped when she saw two clearly visible pink lines flashing across the tiny window. Letting the stick fall from her fingertips, Jadyn slid slowly to the cold tile of the bathroom floor, burying her head within her hands. It took a few moments for reality to set in and for her to grasp the reality of the situation, but once she did, the tears begun to fall freely and quickly.

Raking her fingers through her dark, silken auburn hair, Jadyn left them there, her face looking downward for what seemed to be eternity. A million thoughts were racing through her mind at what felt to be the speed of light, but she couldn’t bring herself to really comprehend any of them. The whole thing had to be a nightmare, right? After all, she was only 14 years old and a freshman in high school. Things like that couldn’t happen to girls her age…could they? After all, it had only been her first time, and only time, she'd vowed, until she was older. Having sex had only been meant to be an experiment with her boyfriend of seven months.

“What…am I going…to do?” Jadyn hiccupped through her sobs of distress.

A numb feeling came over her as her tears continued to fall. She wanted to wish everything away and continue on with her life as if none of this had ever happened. It was though, and the harsh truth hit her like a tropical storm. In the last five minutes Jadyn came to realize that she’d grown up far faster than she in all reality should have, going from girl to woman before her time.

“Jade, are you okay in there?”

Her head whipped up as she wiped the tears quickly from her eyes, forcing herself to become composed. On the inside, she was panicking though, knowing her father was waiting for her to respond. How long had he been there? How much had he heard? Feeling on the verge of an anxiety attack, Jadyn knew that he couldn’t find out. Not now. Not this way.

Not ever.

“Jadyn?”

“I’m fine, dad…” she called back with an uncertainty in her voice which she hoped that he couldn’t pick up.

“Alright,” the man replied, missing the stress in her wavering tone, “Don’t forget it’s a school night. Don’t stay up too late.”

“I won’t…promise.” Jadyn replied, wincing. She’d completely forgotten about school. How was she going to face her friends with this huge secret? How could she act normally around them knowing what she did? More yet, how could she concentrate on anything knowing that there was another life building up inside of her? All of these questions brewed in her mind, nagging on her thoughts like a plague. Jadyn didn’t have enough time to dwell on them though, for her father was waiting for her. She could feel him on the other side of the doorway, “I’ll be out soon.”

“Okay,” he replied, “Goodnight, sweetie. Love you.”

“Love you too, dad,” Jadyn willed the tears away, knowing how disappointed he would be in her. Daddy’s little girl getting knocked up at fourteen. She snorted silently, “Tell mom I said goodnight.”

Waiting until she heard the floor creaking, signaling that her dad was walking away, Jadyn quickly scanned the bathroom for any signs of the pregnancy test, shoving the box, the stick and the instructions into the white plastic bag from the drug store. She didn’t know how she was going to discard of them without anybody in the house noticing, but knew that she had to find away. Burning them would be the safest way to rid of the evidence, until she figured out what she was going to do. Clutching the bag to her chest tightly and protectively, she closed her eyes. Taking in a few deep breaths, Jadyn knew the struggle had just begun. This was one hole that she knew she’d have to dig herself out of alone.

Standing up, Jadyn slowly opened the door, seeing that the lights were all turned off. She breathed a sigh of relief as she quietly yet quickly tip-toed her way across the hall to her bedroom closing the door behind her. Shoving the bag under her bed, Jadyn slipped beneath the covers and closed her eyes, hoping to get some rest. Despite her efforts though, she already knew that she wouldn’t be getting and sleep that night.