Five days.  Five whole days.  That was all it took for her to be truly sick of the house.  After the first two, she concluded that their mom knew.  After the first two, she didn't even attempt to hide it anymore.  Every time they were in the same room, she felt her eyes on her, watching her.  Neither of them said anything to each other.  Kith was the five months' pregnant elephant in the room, which meant she wasn't the nice girl she'd seemed all those years.  She knew their mom was judging her.  She saw it in her eyes at the table, in the hallways, and pretty much everywhere else.  She probably thinks the same things that the girls at school do, Kith thought.

    Leaning against the wall outside of the kitchen, she eavesdropped on Cameron and his mom cleaning up after dinner.  Their mom did a wonderful job of acting like she wasn't even there.  If it wasn't blatant ignorance, she put on her fakest smiles and laughs and masqueraded around the boys.  Cameron didn't notice, and Austin said a maximum of zero words to her.  He clearly still remembered what Cameron had threatened to do.  They were near each other, but it couldn't he helped.  They all had to eat in the same room in order to maintain some hint of normalcy.

    "I'm telling you," his mom started off. "She was such a nice girl. And if she's this big now, that means she was pregnant the last time you two were here. Did you know that?"

    "Yeah," Cameron said lamely.

    "She's seventeen years old. She's throwing her whole life away," she continued.  Kith heard the sink come on. "Girls these days have no qualms about anything. When I was in school, teenage girls weren't getting pregnant left and right like they are today."

    "Mm-hm," he said absently.

    "Kith never struck me as the kind of girl who'd end up pregnant either," she carried on.  The water shut off. "She's a smart girl; she was heading somewhere. Obviously, she's not as smart as I gave her credit for because... well, look at her now." Kith swallowed the emptiness rising in her throat and ground her teeth together.  Cameron's mom had plenty to say, just not to her face.  She was quite the riveting conversation piece when she wasn't around. "Does she know who the father is at least?" 

    "Could you stop?" Cameron said sharply.  Kith's ears perked up at his change of tone.

    "What?"

    "Just... stop," it sounded like he wanted to throw an f-word in the middle of that demand. "Stop it, Mom. You keep talking about her like she's some kind of slut. She's still a nice girl even though she's pregnant. She's still smart, she's still... everything. It happens. Her whole life isn't over just 'cause she's gonna have a kid."

    "I'm just trying to figure out whether she's carrying a random baby or-"

    "No!" Cameron cut her off and sounded ten times more aggressive than he did previously. "She's not. I just told you she's not like that. She's not carrying some random dude's baby, okay?! It's mine! So stop talking about her, stop giving her those weird looks, and just... leave her alone! It's not her fault, goddammit!"

    Silently, Kith swore.  Telling his friends and the doctor that the baby was his was one thing.  Announcing it to his mom in the middle of an argument was another.  She knew the looks wouldn't go away.  If his mom thought so poorly of her now, her reputation certainly wasn't going to rise.  Even with those thoughts going through her head, she couldn't hide the smile on her face.  Cameron had defended her once again.

    A few hours later, he appeared in his room as she perused the internet on her laptop.

    "Let's go do something," he pulled a straw out of his mouth and leaned against the wall.  Reaching his hand backward, he cracked the door.

    "What?" she glanced up.

    "I wanna go out and do something," he answered.

    "I'm tired," she replied.

    "Come on," he coaxed. "You have to be hungry. Let's go get dinner or something."

    "Isn't your mom making dinner?" she countered, tucking hair behind her ear.  Cameron faltered and dug the toe of his sock into the carpet.  Exhaling, he chewed silently on his straw and studied the floor.

    "She's pissing me off, alright?" He sounded agitated. "Let's just go get dinner." Tossing the straw on his desk, he continued. "I don't even want to be here right now. Let's just leave them to eat by themselves. Let's do something."

    Glancing up, Kith could tell from the look in his eyes that he was serious.  He wanted to leave.  And if he left, she definitely didn't want to be alone with his mom and Austin.  Her stomach involuntarily grumbled.  She would've much preferred staying in, like they'd done since arriving.  Sliding her laptop to the side, she closed the lid and reached for a hair tie.

"Fine," she relented.

    After grabbing coats, they headed outdoors.  Light oranges and reds painted the sky as the sun descended.  Cameron turned the radio up a little loudly, but she kept her mouth shut.  She knew he was in a mood, one she'd never seen before.  Either way, she felt it unnecessary to complain about how loud the music was.  After twenty-five minutes on the road, he pulled into a parking lot of a decently packed restaurant.

    "This is nice," she commented, somewhat astonished, while removing her hands from her pockets.  She thought they were going to get fast food and eat in his truck.  They'd arrived at a fancy restaurant.  Looking past the hostess, she stared at the bar with the glittering bottles and glasses hanging upside down.  Behind the racks of alcohol and liquor, a tv showed one of the football games.  The hostess behind her tiny podium wore a crisp, white shirt, a black skirt, and a smile.  After making small talk with Cameron, she led them to one of the tables near the back.  Sliding into the booth was a little difficult, but Kith found that if she sucked in enough, she was able to sit somewhat comfortably.

    "I think we need a table," Cameron commented after catching the look on her face.

    "No, we don't," Kith said quickly.

    "Yeah, you do," he answered. "She's pregnant." As if the woman hadn't noticed.

    "Sure," the woman beamed and picked up the menus. "There's a table right over here. Not a problem."

    Rolling her eyes, Kith grabbed her bag, sucked in again, slid out, and then flopped down into one of the chairs surrounding a small table.  It was topped with shiny glass and outlined with opaque, white flowers.  Their cheery hostess waltzed off back to her post, leaving them alone.  Biting one of his nails, Cameron opened his menu and started mumbling to himself about what to order.

    "I thought we were going to get fast food," she commented and straightened up in her seat.  The plush backing was actually quite comfortable.

    "What?" his eyes appeared over his menu. "You don't like this?"

    "No, I mean-I do," she corrected herself so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. "But... it's... I mean, isn't this expensive?"

    "No," he waved that idea off. "I've eaten here plenty of times. It's fine."  Flattening his menu on the table, he combed over the items listed. "You can't have fish though."

    "What?"

    "It might have mercury in it," he said plainly. "Baby." Without looking at her, gestured to the general direction of her stomach. "I read it online."

    "I was just going to get a salad anyway," she answered.  When had he been reading baby information online?

    In five minutes, they ordered.  In another twenty, they were eating.  Kith plunged her fork into her salad, while Cameron stabbed his steak.

    "So, you'll have to forgive me for this, but," she piled salad into her mouth before continuing, just so he'd pay attention.  It also gave her more time so she could plan out how her admission would go. "I listened to you and your mom earlier."

    "Oh yeah?" he seemed unfazed.  Cutting another chunk off, he thrust his fork into his mouth and chewed while making direct eye contact with her.

    "Yeah. And I heard what you said."

    "Yeah?" he repeated.

    "Yeah," she nodded, mildly annoyed at his unenthusiastic responses. "And you have to take back what you said."

    "Why?" 

    "Because it's not true," she reasoned.  Using her fork, she scraped carrots off part of the lettuce.

    "That's not exactly something you can take back," Cameron shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Once you say it, it's done, Kith."

    "It would be different if you were actually telling the truth," she argued.  She'd already moved into his room and basically consumed his life with her problems.  He didn't have to go around telling people that he was the father of a child they both knew wasn't his.

    "I already said it," he said calmly. "It's done."  That was his justification?  It wasn't done.  It was far from done.  In fact, it would never be done. "And besides, you didn't... well, you did hear. But she's been doing it this entire time, talking about you like your some kind of whore or something. I hate that shit. Nobody deserves that, least of all, you."

    "Okay, well if she didn't hate me before, she definitely does now," Kith argued further. "In her mind, you brought home a pregnant seventeen year old. No mom is ever proud or happy with that situation."

    "She'll have to get over it then," he said staunchly, drinking deeply from his coke. "You're my friend, which means you're my problem."

    "Your problem?" Kith narrowed her eyes.

    "Get your hormones together," he sighed. "You know what I mean. If she doesn't like it, too bad. This is it now. There's no going back." He studied her quietly. "You don't want me to keep telling people?"

    "No, it's not that," she wiped up excess ranch with her lettuce and crunched slowly.

"I mean," he smiled a little. "I could be... someone's dad. Hell, I think I'd be awesome. You know? Kids, especially babies, all they do is play, sleep, and poop."

    "It's not that easy," she shook her head.  Raising children was anything but easy.  If it was as simple as Cameron made it sound, people would have kids all the time.

    "How do you know?" he raised an eyebrow. "He's not even here yet."

"Cam, there's more than just playing and sleeping and the occasional diaper," rubbing her forehead, she exhaled.  There was no reason for her to be explaining this to him. "There are diapers and feeding and teaching and... all kinds of other stuff. There are gonna be sleepless nights, vomit, screaming, crying, and annoying trips to the mall. There will be everything you never wanted to deal with, at least not right now."

    "You sell it so well," he answered sarcastically, tipping up his glass to get the ice at the bottom. "You don't have to talk to me like I'm an idiot. I know I'm not the smartest, or most motivated guy, but I know there's more to babies than the fun stuff. But you're my friend, and I'm gonna help you. I got this, Kith. You'll see." Tapping his fingers on the table, he glanced around the empty restaurant.  Digging his phone out of his pocket, he checked the time. "Let's get ice cream."

    Cameron paid for them both without hesitation, and within ten minutes, they were seated at an outdoor table, eating ice cream in the freezing night air.

    "What'd you want to be?" he questioned, licking his cone.

    "Huh?"

"Before this," he clarified. "You're smart. I know you were gonna go to school. But for what?"

    Squashing her dreams in her throat, she shrugged and pretended to be idealess.

    "Come on," he encouraged. "You heard about my stuff. Tell me yours."

    "I wanted to work for the government," she said after pausing.  Holding her ice cream in one hand, she wiped her mouth off with the back of her opposite hand.  Cars whizzed up and down the street.  Momentarily, she got distracted by the taillights and the traffic colors. She'd wanted to work for the government since seeing her first spy film in middle school.  Instead of being the spy dodging bombs and assassins, she wanted to be one of the people behind the scenes, one of the brains of the operation.  Now, that was never going to happen."Maybe the CIA or something."

    "Damn," he whistled. "That's cool."

    "I want to be like the people in all the movies I've seen. The person in the background who calls the shots."

    "You could still do it."

    Snorting, Kith wiped ice cream off the end of her nose. "That's hilarious, Cameron."

    "What?"

    "You and I both know that I can't."

    "You can have a kid and still be the bureaucrat," he replied, confused.

    "No," shaking her head, she bit into a small portion of her ice cream to reduce the chance of brain freeze. "It was a dream, and that's all it will ever be."

    She hid her frown behind the calming taste of the ice cream.

    "You wanna hear something funny?" Cameron changed the conversation topic, detecting that she didn't want to keep talking about the dreams that had become fallen satellites. "When you first moved in, I would sometimes hear you throwing up. And obviously the first thing that popped into my head was that you were pregnant. But then I told myself that that was stupid. And look now. You are pregnant!"

    Mouth half open, she turned and just looked at him.  Noting that she wasn't mirroring his smile, he turned down the wattage of his and cleared his throat. "Maybe it's not that funny," he mumbled and licked the flattening top of his ice cream. "You ever had a boyfriend?"

    "No."

    "How?" he said incredulously. She looked at him again to meet his stare.

    "What?"

    "You're...." he cut himself off and bit his top lip. "Never mind. I think I meant to say why."

    "My dad said I couldn't," she replied softly, remembering.  There was one guy in particular that she'd wanted to date so badly.  His name was Sam and he was on the soccer team.  He had the thickest black hair, the greatest smile, the most beautiful eyes, and eyelashes that went on for miles.  Every time he smiled at her, she melted.  They used to talk all the time, but once her stomach appeared, he acted like she had the plague.  She still saw him around school.  He gave her the head-nod of acknowledgement if they actually made eye contact, but it wasn't the same.  He'd gotten a girlfriend too, which only made her feel worse. She hadn't any illusions about how it could've been her, but still, it just served as a reminder for things that wouldn't ever happen. "And I don't really have to count on anyone coming into my life anytime soon."

    "That's not true."

    "I'm having a baby, Cameron," she said roughly, licking some of the beads pooling around the top of the cone. "No guy my age is willing to have a girlfriend with a kid. No guy's parents would want that either."

    "Don't  be so hard on yourself."

    "I can date when this one, "she rested a hand on her stomach, "turns eighteen. So I'll be thirty-six."

She masked her depression well.  Thirty-eight.  That was horrifying; that was her worst nightmare.  She wanted to date and go out and have fun just like everyone else.  She'd spent so many nights fantasizing about finally going off to college and meeting guys and hopefully going on that sought after first date.  She wanted experiences just like everyone else.  It wasn't fair.  The situation and life itself wasn't fair.  Everything had gone downhill so painfully, so quickly. "How many girls have you slept with?"

    "What?" he almost choked.

    "You heard me. How many?"

    "I...." clearing his throat, he glanced up the road and didn't say anything.

    "Is it more than one hand?" she inquired.

    "Yeah," he answered instantly.

    "More than two hands?"

    "What?" He rubbed his neck and looked everywhere but her face.  Silently, she wondered why he was suddenly being so weird. "I mean... why?"

    "You've slept with more than ten people?" His avoidance was clear confirmation.

    He hesitated. "I don't want you to think I'm some kind of...."

    "Man-whore?" she offered.

    "It's less than four hands," he replied, finally making eye contact with her.

    "Why?" It was between two and four hands.  Ten to twenty. She wondered if that was average for guys his age. But Cameron was attractive, so maybe it was better than average.

    "I like having sex," he said after a minute or two. "And I like it with different people and... why are we talking about this?"

    "Just wondering," she finished off her cone.

    "You think differently of me now," he claimed after the conversation stalled.

    "No," she lied.

    "Yeah you do. I don't know exactly what you're thinking, but I know it's bad," he carried on. "You think that's too many people, don't you?"

    "No," she repeated, shaking her head from side to side.

    "Eleven girls," he admitted. "I've had sex with eleven girls."

    "You didn't have to say the exact number," she muttered.  She knew that he frequently slept around, but she hadn't expected such a number.  It definitely wasn't the highest, she thought. Not for a cute guy in college where everyone's experimenting and tasting their first bit of freedom away from home.

    "I would take some of them back if I could," he said defensively. "A good five of them were drunken hook-ups. So, counting girls I actually wanted to sleep with, like hardcore, we're looking at six."

    "Shut up, Cameron."

    "Okay," he agreed.

Kith putting Cam on the spot there, huh.