The Variations by Jones M (iphone ebook reader TXT) 📕

"Oh my gosh," Kate sighed into her hands, shocked by what she was hearing.

"I told my parents, and they decided to move us out of that town," Emma continued. "Things were not going great for them anyway. And that is how I found myself starting my junior year in Stonedale."

Kate's mind worked to process all that she had heard from Emma. She also mixed it with what happened after her enrollment at her high school, and it all clicked at that point. It made her understand why she brought the gun to school.

"It did not help that Darcy's blonde hair reminded me of Nathan," Emma added with a distant expression. "They were alike in habits. All he had done to me, and having it coupled with what she did to me... I snapped."

"What happened to you afterward, Emma?" Marie asked softly.

"Kate, I think you know what happened after I shot you."

Suicide.

Kate remembered it very well. She had been close to passing out after she had been shot when she had heard another gunshot sound. She had turned, seeing Emma collapse on the floor with her gun in her hand.

"You didn't die," she said.

"But I wished I did," Emma countered with a sigh. "I even aimed the gun at my heart, but I missed by a couple of inches. It also did not help that I was shaking before I fired that gun."

Emma breathed before continuing, "Anyway, I was rushed to the hospital, and they treated me. They planned to take me to juvie after undergoing a mental analysis."

Kate had heard about what had happened to Emma after the whole shoot-out incident.

"What about your parents?"

"They didn't go to see me in the hospital, and I was glad. It was better that way. I didn't want to face them, knowing what they would say when they saw me on the bed. Maybe then they wouldn't have to put up with a monster their kid is."

Kate's eyes turned teary again, but she blinked them away. She looked back at Emma, seeing the faraway expression in her eyes. Her skin had considerably paled. It was as if she had lost all of her life as she relived the memories of her past.

Kate did not know what to do. A part of her wanted to stay away from Emma, especially after hearing what happened to Vanessa. But another part felt bad for all the things that had happened to her afterward. They seemed to be too much of a punishment for a kid who felt horrible for what she did.

"I have to go," Marie said, standing up before making a quick exit towards the library doors. 

She knew it seemed inappropriate and mean, but she had not known what else to do after the motherload of revelations Emma had dumped upon her. She needed time and space away from her to think about all she had been told. It made her wonder if their friendship could recover after that.

It had been a couple of days since Kate had talked to Emma, and she was still shaken by what she had been told. She was in her room, her focus of typing an essay being disturbed by the chat she was having with her boyfriend and the thoughts of Emma.
She still could not believe it. Kate felt like she understood her after the talk they had in the library, but it made her wonder how she would approach her. Especially after hearing she had killed a child.

'Can I come over? We could finish the assignment much quicker when we are together.'

Kate rolled her eyes at the message that pinged on her phone. She knew that if she agreed to Chris' suggestion, they would do anything but study.

Her form still shuddered when she remembered what they had done on the previous weekend. She still felt Chris between her legs, even though a week was close to passing by. Even if she wanted to study with him, they wouldn't have the time because their semester exams were approaching.

"Hey, Kate," Gwen greeted, making her way into the dorm.

"Hey," Marie greeted back, focusing on the assignment she was typing.

"Just came by to get my phone. Ben and I are going out for a date. Would you like us to bring you anything?"

"Bring takeout," she said.

"Bye," Gwen said with a roll of her eyes, moving to exit the room.

Kate smiled, turning to type on her laptop when her phone buzzed. She reached for it, thinking it was another text from Chris, but then she was surprised when she noticed it was an app notification.

She had an app that monitored her menstrual cycle, and the notification from the app said that she was about to start her period.

'That's strange,' she thought. She was sure that something like a week was left before it started.

Kate moved away from her laptop to delve into her thoughts. Either the app was right or she was certain her time of the month had not yet reached.

It made her frown.

'What's wrong with my calculations?' she wondered, moving to the bathroom. She checked for her pads that she stored there as she went through her memories of the past four weeks.

'Maybe I gained some weight. I think all that food I ate when I was with Chris has messed up--'

Kate's thoughts ceased as a feeling of dread overcame her.

'No...'

Kate had forgotten to factor in Chris. Their relationship had gotten physical from the month of April. They had sex like rabbits ever since, and that fact did not ease her worries.

The last time she had had sex with Chris had been on the weekend that had passed. It had felt different that time. It was more intense, and she remembered feeling Chris inside her like there was no protection between them.

Was there protection in the first place?

'Kate, calm down. Maybe it's just a bug,' she thought, moving to the cabinet in the bathroom. For some reason, her roommate stored a couple of pregnancy tests in the bathroom. Marie had found it weird and awkward, but at the moment, she was glad that Gwen had stuck with the habit.

She soon found a couple of tests, and her hands trembled with anxiety. She took three before reading the instructions and following them as requested. Then she left the bathroom to head to the dining area to wait for the tests to be clear after a couple of minutes.

'Crap, crap, crap...' she thought, her heart thudding faster as she worried. She paced around the room with her hands in her hair, tears threatening to flow down her cheeks.

Her thoughts were mainly focused on the prospect of being pregnant.

'I'm not ready to be a mom. It's too early. I mean, I'm still in college!'

The requested minutes for the tests soon ended. Kate went to them to view what the results displayed.

Two read positive while one read negative.

Kate stood frozen on the floor for a moment as what she saw was slowly processed in her mind. She soon collapsed on the floor in tears, wrapping her arms around her knees as sobs wracked her form.

She was pregnant. A baby was actually developing inside her at the moment.

'What the hell will I do?' she wondered, worried about her future. Being pregnant was not a small thing, and it threatened to ruin her college life. Kate had already missed some of her high school years because of her tumor. She did not want to ruin her college attendance as well.

Kate remained in the bathroom for two hours, sobbing and then going silent for a while before starting all over again. She did not know how long she stayed there, but it did not matter. She was pregnant. Her life was ruined.

The sound of the door opening slightly startled her.

"Kate?" Gwen called out. Marie did not answer, hearing her friend's footsteps approach the bathroom.

"Oh my gosh! Kate!" she called out, settling herself next to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Kate did not reply. Gwen's eyes moved to the tests on the ground, reading them.

"Oh, Kate," Gwen said, wrapping her arms around her. It had her crying all over again.

Kate sighed, looking around the waiting area of the hospital. She had sat near a couple of people on the plush, blue cushions as they waited for their names to be called out.

She had called in sick at the university that following day, and fortunately, the professor did not press for further information. Marie was uncertain about him needing proof, but she was prepared to ask the doctor for documented proof just in case.

'You have to go to the hospital to be sure. Sometimes these tests can mess us up,' she remembered Gwen telling her on the previous day once she had calmed down. Kate had already gotten it in her mind that she was pregnant, even though there was a little hope that the tests had been faulty. Two had read negative!

Her phone buzzed for the thousandth time that morning. She turned to it, seeing another missed call from a person she was not ready to talk to.

Kate had forgotten about Chris. It made her wonder how she would break the news to him if it were confirmed she was carrying his child. She was already having a hard time ignoring him. She had even made sure to leave her dorm very early that morning. She did not want him to find out about her situation yet, and she was certain that he would look through her lies if he was to confront her and ask if she was okay.

'Kate, talk to me. What is going on?  Are you okay? Please, call me back,' she listened to the other voicemail that he sent. She sighed, feeling hurt and guilty for putting him through her silent treatment. She was also angry at him for putting her in such a situation.

She worried about his reaction to her being expecting. She wanted to be sure about it before she told him. Until then, she planned not to talk to him. Maybe she could even lie and tell him her phone was broken.

But what if he decided to show up at her doorstep?

"Miss Velias?" the nurse called out. Having heard her name, Kate walked to the woman. She talked to her, verifying her details.

"Go through that door, please," she instructed. Marie muttered a few words of thanks before turning to the white door on her right.

She grabbed the knob, sighing