Quatre

Our parents were sitting opposite Mrs. Morris and explaining to her that I had a mental illness and that Erica couldn't do anything wrong.

At this point, I felt like I was reliving a horror movie. I'd seen this scene a thousand times. They always chose Erica. She was their darling child, after all.

Erica was sitting next to me, sobbing and acting as usual.

I was completely unaware. All I could think about at that moment was the sex video everyone kept talking about. Once again, shame overwhelmed me, and I felt tears welling up again.

"I think she should be placed in a psychiatric facility before she injures another student," said Principal Morris.

I chuckled at my own misery. She had never seen all the bullying from the other students. Would I be wrong to lash out at those who bully me?

My mother burst out laughing as if the whole situation were a joke. "Of course she wouldn't. I mean, has she ever? She rarely shows it. She usually stays by herself and is very quiet. But if she's that disruptive, we have no problem changing her school."

It wasn't as if I had a life here. All I had here were my books, and I could find more elsewhere. Thinking about all this in Mrs. Morris's annoying office was giving me a headache.

"Furthermore, did you both see this?"

I watched the principal show her phone to my parents. The colors gradually faded from their faces.

"Oh my God. You son of a bitch!" my mother yelled, leaping to her feet, disgust and hatred burning in her eyes as she glared at me. "So that's why you came home late that Friday two weeks ago!"

My father grimaced and shook his head, deeply disappointed. "You're just embarrassing us in public. Why can't you be like your sister Erica for once in your life and make us proud? All you're doing is tarnishing our name and making us look like crazy parents!"

My mother was even more dramatic. "Why did you do that? You didn't even show an ounce of shame! Look at you, bothering that poor innocent boy with all that fat!"

His words pierced me deeply and brought tears to my eyes again, but I kept my head down.

"You're grounded for life!" my mother yelled at me.

I saw Erica smile out of the corner of her eye, as usual. My hatred for her increased even more. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me and I jumped up to rush outside and empty the contents of my stomach in the nearest toilet.

I could hear my mother continuing to moan behind me while I vomited up all the food I had eaten earlier.

"Oh my god! I'd be damned if another human being grew inside you. Tell me Ashton used a condom!" she yelled so loudly the other girls in the bathroom could hear her. Their murmurs started again, and I sighed.

"I'm not pregnant, Mom. Does it even work like that!" I replied, suddenly frightened.

Pregnant? I couldn't possibly be pregnant! How could that have happened?

Oh, damn, I did sleep with Ashton, but that didn't mean I was pregnant. Did people even get pregnant the first time?

Tears welled up in my eyes for the umpteenth time. I hadn't expected this. I didn't want this. This should never have happened.

"You're going to be tested immediately. You, this child. You've killed me!" my mother continued to cry as she pulled me towards the school health department.

"Please check her. I think she's pregnant!"

My father watched silently with utter disapproval, shaking his head. "And you wonder why I prefer Erica? She doesn't bring me shame like you do. What a childish mistake."

His words stabbed me in the heart like a knife, but I refused to show it. I had heard it so many times, after all.

The nurse was quick with the tests. She gave me the kit and asked me to follow all the procedures. Waiting for the results felt like waiting for an imminent death sentence.

I hoped and prayed desperately that the result would be negative.

The nurse approached us in the waiting room with a solemn expression that betrayed nothing.

"I'm afraid your daughter is indeed pregnant, Mrs. Johnson," she announced. Her gaze fell upon me with pity. "You will need to rest a great deal and take care of your health from now on, Miss Sofia. No more fighting or trouble."

The way she said it, as if I were a serial fighter, made my blood boil, but I said nothing.

It was my destiny now. I had a little being growing inside me, and that was something to live for. Maybe… just maybe, life was starting to get better.

Or maybe not.

"We cannot have a pregnant student. It does not reflect well on our school. Sofia Johnson will have to be expelled."

My heart leaped at Mrs. Morris's words. Her expression was neutral as she spoke to my father. He didn't even bother to argue.

"That's fine. We'll work it out."

But my mother was furious. Whether it was at me or at the school, I didn't know.

"How can she be expelled?! Oh my God! It's shameful and dishonorable! What do you want us to do?! My God, Erica would never do that!"

I stayed in a corner, letting her scream. Some students were starting to listen, and I didn't like that.

"Let's go, Mom."

"You! Shut up! You've already brought me enough shame and reproaches. I regret the day I conceived you! Look at you dragging our family name through the mud. Ugh!"

Without waiting for them, I left the office to avoid any further humiliation.

Ashton was walking down the corridor, chatting and laughing with his friends. Just seeing him, something inside me broke.

He met my gaze and I made sure my gaze was as hard as possible.

He would never know about this pregnancy. It didn't matter if rumors circulated. They would only be rumors.

I would leave that cursed school and build myself up to become the person I wanted to be. I would rise from the ashes of that defeat.

This would be the last time he broke me. This would be the last time he saw me so weak. I could promise him that, and everyone who had ever walked all over me.