The ringing phone filled her with dread. Every time it rang Melanie’s heart stopped. She took a taxi cab into the city. All she had was a twenty-dollar bill she stole from her mother’s purse and a jar of change she had kept since she was young. She was sick to her stomach in more ways than one.
The taxi driver asked, “Where to miss?”
She thought to herself. Miss. Miss? Tears formed in her eyes as she thought of her youth. Miss.


“932 W. Bittersweet Road.” she said.
She had lied. She couldn’t even bear to have the taxi driver know where she was going.
Melanie stared out the window as the radio played in the background. Over the fuzzy speakers in the yellow taxi cab she heard the words, “You’ll never forget your first love.”
But this wasn’t how she wanted to remember her first love. The tears that formed slowly trickled out of her eyes, down her cheeks, and fell upon her trembling legs. She had never been more nervous. Her first day of high school, her first kiss, her first detention, never. She saw her entire life flash before her eyes. College gone. Weekends gone. Trust gone. Respect gone.
Melanie kept her focus on the taxi meter, with ever cent and mile she felt sicker. She wasn’t ready for this, it. And how could she be she was only eighteen.
“Here we are mam, 932 W. Bittersweet Road. That’ll be $27.50.” he said.
Melanie counted change and then placed the jar into her backpack.
“Thank you.” she said.
For Melanie the two blocks she walked down Bittersweet Road was a walk of shame. Thoughts raced through her head. Why me? Why now? What would my mom say? She walked with her black hood up and reached in her pocket for her cell phone. There was a text from her boyfriend Josh.

“Hey, u there yet?”


She text back, “Almost, I’m sooooo scared .”

“Dude, I’m freaking out. I can’t take this s*** anymore, hurry.”
She cried. He didn’t understand. What was he so worried about? No one would judge him. No one would look at him like he had two heads. Melanie took a deep breath and walked in. She walked out. The lady at the front desk said they would call her tomorrow with results. She walked two blocks down Bittersweet Road and hailed a cab home. She walked into her house, went to lie in her bed, but couldn’t fall asleep.
The next morning the phone shook in her trembling hand. She waited for the phone call, morning passed and the sun sank into the horizon. The ringing phone filled her with dread. Every time it rang Melanie’s heart stopped. The phone rang at 5:48 p.m. it was Josh’s mom. He had hung himself. She hung up the phone and burst into tears. She began to run upstairs as the phone rang. She quickly turned around.


Her mom answered, “Hello Smith residence.”

“Hi Ms. Smith this is Joanne from Planned Parenthood, would you leave a message for Melanie that her test results were negative.”