After you have had sex with your boyfriend for the first time, the absolute last thing you want to hear him say is, “Shit.” Well, maybe “I have herpes” would be slightly higher on the list, but this isn’t good either.

“What?” I say. “What’s wrong?”

Shane rolls off of me, sweaty and flushed. I had been so scared before, but there was nothing to be scared of. He was sweet and considerate, always making sure I was okay and that everything felt good… or at least not bad. I don’t know if I would say it was mind-blowing, but it was pretty good for my first time. And now this is the part where he is supposed to be holding me and telling me how much he loves me and still respects me, but instead, he looks decidedly perturbed.

“What?” I press him.

“I think…” He frowns. “I think the condom came off.” “What?”

“I’m not sure,” he says quickly. “But… well, it’s off. And I didn’t take it off. So I’m kind of wondering when it came off and…”

“Shit,” I say.

My head is spinning. I’m seventeen years old. I can’t be pregnant at seventeen years old. I have plans for the next ten years of my life, none of which involve a screaming child. I want to go to college. Graduate school. I want to travel the world. Oh my God, this is bad.

“Don’t freak out, Brooke,” Shane says. “It’ll be okay.”

I feel like I can hardly breathe. “How exactly will it be okay?”

“Look.” He grabs my arm, which is trembling. “It was just one time.

I’m not even sure if it came off. I’m sure it will be okay.”

“You’re kidding me. Girls get pregnant all the time from ‘just one time.’”

“All right,” he says with maddening calm. “Then we’ll figure it out.”

“How?”

“I don’t know,” he admits. “But whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you.”

My mouth falls open slightly. I look into his eyes, and I can tell he means it. Shane has plans for the future too. He’s hoping for a football scholarship to college, so he can have a better life than the one he grew up with. Those eight words are capable of destroying all his plans. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you. But he said it anyway.

At that moment, I know I chose the right guy to lose my virginity to. “I love you,” I blurt out.

He runs his fingers along my cheek. “I love you too.”

Even though I’m still freaking out about it, I force myself to calm down. Shane is right. It was just one time and the chances are small that I got knocked up. And if I somehow did, he will support me. No matter what I decide.

Despite the thunder outside and my racing thoughts, I fall asleep in Shane’s arms. And I don’t wake up again until I hear the screams.