Chapter
3
Over
the next few weeks, things had changed for AJ.
Amanda was gone. She hadn't
called or emailed him at all. He had no
idea where she could be. He figured by
now that she really was finished with him for good. Normally, when they had a fight, and she
left, she would be back the next morning.
But it had been almost a month, and he had heard nothing from her.
He
hadn't heard from Tara either. He
figured she wanted to put everything that had happened behind her. He knew she probably hadn't even told anyone
what had happened.
That
was not the case for him though. He had
spilled what had happened to Howie, Kevin, Brian, and Nick, for they were his
closest friends, and they had wondered why Amanda had suddenly left. He knew he had to tell them the truth, so he
did. Howie was very understanding and
comforting. Nick and Brian just stared
at him, wide-eyed. Kevin looked at him
disapprovingly, but said nothing.
Eventually
though, they managed to forget about it and move on. AJ wanted to do the same thing. But a phone call a few months later changed
all of that.
***
AJ
was relaxing at his house one afternoon, watching a movie on TV, when the phone
rang. He jumped up and ran to the
kitchen to answer it.
"Hello?"
he said.
"Hi,
AJ?" came a voice. It was a girl.
"Yeah,
this is AJ," he replied, trying to place the voice. He knew it wasn't Amanda, but who could it be
then? "Who is this?" he asked.
"This
is Tara," the girl said.
"Remember me?"
AJ
drew in a breath. "Yeah, sure. How are you doing, Tara?"
"Not
so good," she said. He then
realized she sounded as if she had been crying.
"What's
wrong?" AJ asked, his heart pounding.
"Well,
first of all, I'm pregnant," she said.
AJ's
heart sank. It wasn't that he didn't
want kids, but he didn't want kids from a girl he barely knew. He didn't know what to say though.
"The
baby won't be due for another five months.
Not until December," Tara said.
"Ok,"
AJ said. Then he made a decision that he
knew was the right thing to do. "Listen,
Tara, I want to help you take care of the baby," he said.
"Really?!"
she cried. She sounded happy and
relieved.
"Yeah,"
he said. "I'm the one who got you
pregnant. Besides, I spent most of my
childhood without a father. I don't want
that to happen to our baby."
"Oh,
AJ, you are so sweet," she gushed.
"Thank you so much! You
don’t know how much this means to me."
He
smiled. "You're welcome," he
said. Then he remembered something she
had said before. "So, is that all
you wanted to tell me?" he asked.
"What?"
she asked.
"Well,
remember, you said 'first of all, I'm pregnant'. What else do you have to tell me?" he
asked.
"Oh,"
she said, sounding depressed.
"I…I…" Suddenly, she
began to sob over the phone, unable to finish her sentence.
"Tara?! What's wrong?" AJ cried.
Within
a few minutes, Tara regained her composure enough to talk. "I just found out last week that my old
boyfriend is HIV positive," she said.
AJ
was confused for a minute, wondering why she was telling him this. "I'm sorry," he said
sympathetically.
"No,
you don't understand!" she cried.
"I had sex with him!"
AJ
became icy cold all over. "You
what?" he asked, hoping he had heard her wrong.
"I
had sex with him," Tara repeated, her voice thick with tears.
"Did
you get tested?" AJ asked softly.
There was a long pause.
"Yes,"
Tara whispered finally.
"And?"
AJ asked.
"I
tested positive," Tara cried, beginning to sob again. AJ wanted to cry too, knowing what this could
mean. But he held it in, knowing he had
to be strong for her. "AJ, you need
to get tested too, as soon as possible," Tara said.
"I
know," AJ said. "I will."
"Ok. Make sure you call me when you get the
results," she said.
"I
will," AJ replied.
"Ok,
I have to go now," Tara said.
"I'll talk to you later."
"Ok,"
AJ replied. "Take care."
"You
too," she said. "Bye."
"Bye." They both hung up. AJ sunk down at the kitchen table and began
to cry silently.
***
