Suddenly, her stomach turned, and she rushed into the bathroom, barely making it in time. She sat for a few minutes, allowing her stomach to settle. Then the phone rang, and she bolted out to answer it. Maybe it was him. The caller ID said differently though. It was just Shauna.
“Hello?” Beth said glumly.
“He didn’t call yet?” Shauna said. It was more of a statement than a question.
“No, he didn’t. I thought maybe you were him, but you’re not. I’ve given up.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. You deserve so much better than him. Have you made any decisions about the baby yet?”
“I told my mom. She wasn’t happy, but she’s supportive. We decided the best option would be to give it up for adoption. I can’t abort it, and there’s no way in hell I can raise it.”
“And you’re still not gonna call Nick?”
“Not a chance. He doesn’t deserve to know if he doesn’t want to be a part of my life anymore.” She paused. “God, how could we have been so stupid? How could I have been so blind? The whole time, all he wanted was to get into my pants.”
“Come on, you’re being way too hard on yourself, and you know that isn’t true.”
“Then why hasn’t he called me?” she whimpered.
“Long distance relationships are almost impossible to maintain, especially when you’re only in high school. I’m not saying he’s right in not calling you, but it’s still difficult.”
“I got a letter from him today.”
“What did it say?”
“Basically the same stuff the last one did. Hi, how are you? I’m fine. I miss you. Blah, blah, blah.” Another wave of nausea hit. “Shit, I gotta go. I’m gonna be sick.”
“Okay. Bye, honey. Call me back when you get a chance.”
Beth hung up the phone and ran to the bathroom. It was getting worse every morning. When she finished, she went back into her bedroom and picked up the letter. Instead of rereading it like she had originally wanted to do, she crumpled it up and threw it across the room into the wastebasket, which only reminded her of basketball. If he hadn’t been playing basketball that day, they probably wouldn’t have met. That probably would have been for the better. Still, they had been so happy together. What made him forget about her? She burst into tears.
Yet another guy had screwed up her life. This was the last straw. She was never getting married. If this was all relationships had to offer, she was giving up because it hurt too badly. She’d been through quite enough, and she didn’t know if she could take anything more. “Dammit, Nick! You ruined everything!”