Free Anything but Normal by Melody Carlson Page A

that. I mean, yes, I had sex. But it was the first time. I mean, I’d been a virgin until then.”
    “You got pregnant the first time you had sex?” Mary looked dubious.
    “I’d heard you couldn’t get pregnant the first time.”
    Mary shook her head. “That’s not true.”
    “Oh.”
    “So you got pregnant the first time you had sex?”
    “I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t think it was possible. And then I had sex again.”
    “So you were sexually active.”
    “No. I only did it twice.”
    “So . . . ,” Mary looked slightly impatient, “. . . you’re saying you had sex twice and you got pregnant?”
    “That’s what happened.”
    “Okay.” Mary picked up a pencil and fluttered it between her fingers. “So, can I assume that you didn’t use protection?”
    “Not the first time.”
    “The second time?”
    “He had a condom . . . but it broke.”
    “And he didn’t have a spare?”
    Sophie just shook her head.
    Mary wrote something down on a little pad. She ripped it off and handed it to Sophie.
    “What’s this?”
    “A prescription for birth control.”
    “I don’t need this.” Had Mary even been listening to her? “Maybe you don’t need it right now, but after—”
    “No. I won’t ever need it. I don’t plan on having sex again.”
    “Ever?”
    “Not until I get married. And I don’t plan on getting married until I’m . . . at least thirty.”
    “You don’t say.”
    “Seriously.” Sophie shoved the paper back at her. “I don’t need this.”
    “You didn’t need it before . . . before August?”
    “No. I just should’ve stuck to my pledge.”
    “Let me guess—you made an abstinence pledge?”
    “A purity pledge.”
    “Would you be surprised to hear that a lot of girls make and break that same pledge? And that a lot of girls end up sitting right where you are telling me the exact same story?”
    “The exact same story?”
    “Well, not exactly. But they don’t plan on having sex. They’re committed to wait until marriage. But then something happens. A boyfriend pressures them. They have an irrepressible urge. Even date rape.”
    Sophie sat up straighter. She could feel tears coming on again.
    “Then they’re pregnant. And scared and desperate.”
    “Like me.”
    “Yes.” She held out the prescription again. “You’re sure you don’t want this?”
    “I’m positive.”
    “It’s your choice.”
    “My body. My choice.” Sophie heard the sarcasm in her voice.
    “So you’re positive you want to terminate this pregnancy?” Sophie nodded, trying to appear confident. And trying to shut down that little voice that was inside of her, screaming, Stop! Stop! Stop this nonsense and get out of this place NOW!
    “Because adoption is an option.”
    “Not for me.” Sophie resisted the urge to cover her ears with her hands—not that it would make any difference, since the words she wanted to block were on the inside, not the outside.
    “I understand.” Mary made a note on Sophie’s form, then looked up. “Do you have any questions about the procedure?”
    “I read the brochures.” Okay, that was a lie. But then, wasn’t everything about her life a big fat lie now?
    Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Had she actually said those words aloud?
    But Mary just nodded. “Good,” she said. “I’m glad you took the time.”
    “So is that it then?”
    Mary sighed. “I guess that’s it. Unless you have any questions.” She waited while Sophie tried to think of something to ask. “But if you don’t . . .”
    “I don’t.” Sophie wanted to tell Mary to hurry it up, that if they waited one minute longer, it could be too late and that inner voice would have its way. Or else Sophie might lose her mind. Unless she’d already lost it.
    “Okay then. I’ll pass this information on to the doctor. We’ll schedule you for a physical and—”
    “ Schedule me?”
    “Yes. That’s how it works.”
    “You mean I can’t have it today?” Sophie’s hands fisted so tightly