It was a cold December night with frosty windows and brisk air when 15 year old Lillian Arnott found out. Recently she went to a Christmas party with her boyfriend, Chase Kiner. The Christmas party was so much fun for both of them, but they did a little more than they had planned. Now, Lillian sit in her bathroom crying not wanting to believe what she saw. She was looking at a pregnancy test. Lillian kept looking at the box she had in her hand and then back at the test on the counter.
“Blue means negative, pink means positive,” She kept saying to herself through the tears streaming down her face. She stared at the test seeing the thin line on the end of it. It was pink. There was soon a knock at the door.
“Lillian are you alright? You have been in there for a while,” Lillian’s mother Mandy called through the door. Lillian quickly put the test in her pocket and put the box back under the sink where she found them. She then opened the door and exited the bathroom trying to hide her face, which was wet with tears and her eyes were blood shot.
“I am fine, I was just in the shower,” Lillian had to lie to her mother because she did not know how to tell her, that she was pregnant. Lillian went to her room and shut the door. She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she reached Chase’s contact. She clicked on it but could not make herself text him, so she tried calling but she hung up. Lillian decided to text him, but all she said was that they needed to talk and meet her at her house at 3:00 tomorrow. Lillian stayed in her room for the rest of the night. She wrote a letter to her mom that she planned to put in the mailbox for them to find. It read:
Mom,
I have recently discovered something that could change my life forever. It is also a possibility that it could change yours too. I have always been careful, and I have followed the directions you have given me throughout life. But I have to tell you that I was not careful at the time and I am…. Pregnant.
Lillian finished the letter and sealed it tightly in an envelope. She planned to wake up early the next morning and put it in the mailbox before Mandy left for work at 5 a.m.
Lillian had so many thoughts racing through her mind. How could she have let this happen? How could she take care of a baby? How will she tell Chase? Will Chase be okay with it or will he leave her? These questions went through her head many, many times and yet Lillian didn’t know the answer to any of them. She went to bed not knowing how the following days would go, but all she knew right now was that she needed to talk to Chase.
The next morning Lillian’s alarm clock started going off at 4:30 a.m. She almost forgot why it was going off so early. She also forgot that she had to go to school. Lillian quickly got dressed by putting on an Denver High sweatshirt on and a pair of jeans. She exited her room not knowing what the day would bring.
When Lillian got to school, Chase instantly ran up to her.
“What is going on? What happened? Are you okay?” Chase rambled off these questions but Lillian did not plan on answering.
“I do not want to talk about it here, just meet me after school,” She said this calmly and walked away with her head down. Lillian went through the day quieter than usual. She sat with Chase at lunch like normal but did not speak. When the final bell rang at the end of the day Lillian did not ride the bus, she decided to walk home.
“Lillian wait! Let me at least walk you home,” Chase ran up beside her. He needed some explanation on why his girlfriend was practically mute and avoiding him today.
“Chase, I need to think. Just meet me at my house at 3:00, okay?” Lillian started to tear up even thinking about what was going on inside of her. This did not help Chase’s anxiety at all.
“Babe, what is going on? You have to tell me something!” Chase did his infamous puppy dog eyes that Lillian can never resist. Lillian still didn’t tell him everything but this made her smile.
“At the Christmas party last week. It kind of... didn’t go as planned,” Lillian did not want to say anymore in fear of bursting into tears right then and there. Chase knew he would not get any more information about the subject until three o’clock so he did not press the matter any further.
Lillian arrived at home and she was not expecting to see her mother sitting on the couch in the living room, but she was.  Lillian knew that her mother would eventually have this talk with her sometime after she found out, but she wasn’t expecting it now.
“Lillian sit down,” Mandy calmly said this as she gripped Lillian’s note in her hand.
“Mom, I…”
“Lillian don’t. I know this is not what you wanted, but it happened. I never wanted this to happen so soon either but it did. Now go to your room and we will figure something out later,” Mandy said this very calmly, you could tell she was trying not to yell.
“Yes ma’am,” Lillian started to walk down the hall but was stopped.
“Lillian, is it Chase’s baby?”
“Yes ma’am,” Lillian went to her room and shut the door. She ran to her bed and burst into tears. Why her? Why now? Lillian did not stop crying until she could cry no more. It was only 2:30 when Chase arrived. He did not come straight to Lillian’s room though, he was stopped by Mandy at the front door.
“Chase, have you heard the news?” Mandy said.
“What news? Is Lillian alright? She has been acting strange all day,” Chase needed to know more.
“Nevermind. I will let her tell you,” Mandy let him go to Lillian’s room by simply stepping out of the way. This did not help Chase whatsoever. He walked quickly down the hall and knocked on the door to LIllian’s room.
“Lillian? Can I come in?” Chase called through the door.
“Yah, come in,” Lillian had been crying but she also was thinking about how she was going to tell Chase.
“Okay. Now tell me what is going on. Your mom just asked me if I had heard the news. What news?” Chase walked over to Lillian’s bed and sat down next to her. Lillian inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh.
“Chase listen,” Lillian really did not know where to start, “I have something to show you,” She quickly decided not to tell him but show him. She stood up and went to her desk and pulled a little box out of the top drawer. The box was wrapped in tissues so he could not see what it was the box to. Lillian sat down next to Chase and opened the box and took out the pregnancy test. Chase was not sure what it was at first but he soon caught on. He took it from Lillian and then looked at her square in the eye. Lillian started to tear up.
“Pink means positive,” This is all Lillian said as the tears started to flow more rapidly. Chase did not say a word. He stood up and started pacing. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh.
“How could this have happened?” Chase said. Not really to Lillian but more to himself.
“Chase, I know this is a shock. It was an even bigger shock to me. But we can’t take back what we have done now. What are we going to do?” Lillian wiped away her tears as Chase came to sit back down.
“Well, it wasn’t really planned but we will raise this baby and get married and...” Chase was now in way over his head.
“Chase stop! We are fifteen we can’t get married! Let alone have a baby!” Lillian did her best to convince him that it was not the best idea, but she also needed to convince herself.
6 months later
As Lillian and her baby progress, Chase starts to get the idea of getting a job.
“Chase, you need to finish high school. Don’t let me interfere with your future career,” Lillian says as she and Chase are sitting on the couch in the living room.
“You’re not interfering. I need to provide for my family.”
“Chase no. I have been thinking and I think that it is best that we give the baby up for adoption,” Lillian felt mature saying this and being pregnant and all but she knew this was the right thing to do.
“What? No.”
“Chase we are fifteen. We need to. There really isn’t any other option,” Lillian stood up and hobbled to the kitchen doorway. The weight change for her was difficult,“ think about it,” Lillian left the room and waited to hear the front door shut after Chase left. Eventually Chase got up and left but as he was doing so he kept asking himself, is she right?
Lillian and Chase soon decided to give the baby up so they met with the adoption agency to interview who the baby was going to. Lillian went to one room with the women and Chase went into another with the men.
“So, can each of you tell me what you do and your name?” Lillian didn’t know how to start the conversation.
“I will start,” says a woman with dark curly hair. She had thin red glasses and a red polka dotted dress on, “ My name is Shannon Mint and I am an art teacher.”
“What does your husband do?” Lillian finally felt like they were getting somewhere.
“He is a barber at Hickmans Barbershop. We now own it,” Shannon says.
“Do you have any other children?” Lillian asked
“Yes, Erin. She is two years old,” Shannon says and a little smile comes onto her face. After interviewing a few more, Lillian knew that nothing could top Shannon’s.
“Well, I think I have made a decision,” Lillian stood and walked out of the room. As she emerged into the main room Chase sat on a nearby chair with a man next to him.
“Honey, this is David Mint,” Chase says to Lillian and she smiles.
“Excuse me sir, are you the spouse of Shannon Mint?” Lillian asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” David says
“Chase we picked the same couple from to completely different rooms!” Lillian leaned into the room that she came out of and ask Shannon to come there. As Shannon came out Chase was shocked that they picked the same people. They both now knew that their baby was going to a great family.

3 months later
It is now August, 28. Lillian’s due date is September 5th. Lillian awoke feeling strange. She got up and and decided to go to the bathroom. She tried not to awake Chase who was sleeping next to her. Chase had been staying there ever since they found out she was pregnant. Lillian proceeded to the bathroom. She sat down and instantly her water broke. She then quickly hobbled back to her room to awake Chase.
“Chase! Wake up!” Lillian was pushing him side to side to speed up the process.
“Yuh? What? WHAT?” Chase was now awake.
“It’s time,” Lillian had a giant smile on her face. Chase how ever did not.
“What? This can’t be happening now! You still have another week!” Chase frantically got up and threw on a t-shirt and jeans.
“Chase, calm down. I am going to go wake up my mom,” Lillian went to her mom’s room and knocked on the door.
“Mom? Are you awake?” As soon as Lillian knocked Mandy opened the door with a bookbag and a pillow in her hand.
“Off to the hospital are we?” Mandy said.
“Mom, how did you know?” Lillian was shocked.
“A mother always knows. Plus, you have never knocked on my door so I knew something was up,” Mandy walked past Lillian and went to the living room, Lillian followed.
“Is Chase up? Mandy asked.
“Yep,” Lillian rolled her eyes as they saw Chase run past both of them and out the front door. He soon came back and looked at them both, with wide eyes.
“Um… We might need the pregnant lady to have a baby,” Chase says.
“That might be useful,” Mandy says. They all exit the house and get into the car. Mandy was driving, Chase was in the passenger seat and Lillian was in the back. It was about an hour and a half drive to the hospital, so they had a while. As the time went by Lillian felt more pain and Chase grew more anxious.
“How much longer mom?” Lillian asks as she rolls her head back and forth in pain.
“About half an hour sweetie. Hang in there.”
“Lillian you can do this,” Chase said. He wasn’t really sure what to else to say.
“I don’t really have a choice! It’s gotta come out some how!” Lillian yelled.
“Don’t worry, women get irritated easily, especially when they are giving birth,” Mandy tried to calm down the young father and mother.
They soon reached the hospital when Lillian was close to giving birth in the car.  They got to the room and the doctor finally came in.
“Hello Lillian, I am Dr. Williams,” The doctor says as she walked in.
“Hi, can you get this thing out of me now?” Lillian was in full on pain now.
“Hahahaha, of course,” The doctor checked Lillian and she was about to have a baby in just a couple of minutes.
“You are ready to push so when you feel like you need to go ahead,” The doctor said.
“This is it!” We are going to be parents!” Chase could not contain his excitement.
“Honey, I just got a text from Shannon. They are down in the lobby,” Mandy says as she stands by Lillian’s side.
Lillian gave birth at 7:37 a.m. to a healthy baby girl, Vanessa Rose Mint. They had the doctors put the last name under Mint since that is the name their daughter was going to be raised by. Lillian and Chase said goodbye to their daughter and Vanessa was put into a carseat in the back of the Mint’s car.
“Maybe, when we are older. We can start our own family, on purpose,” Chase says as they watch the car drive away.
“Of course,” Lillian says leaning against Chase,“but at least we know,  the right thing has been done.”