Embittered Ruby by Nicole O'Dell

fingers in his. He hadn’t protested when Tiffany opened her big mouth. Didn’t try to intervene when she said her hurtful words. What a weak-willed jerk. Plain and simple.
    Mom deserved better.

    Industrial landscape flew by the car window as they hurled toward home past street construction and office buildings. “You okay, Mom?”
    “Yeah. I’m fine.” She gripped the steering wheel, her thumbnail scratching marks into the black rubber. “I’m reminded. That’s all.”
    “Reminded?”
    “Yep. Of why we’re divorced. That man—your father?” Her knuckles turned white from her grip. “I don’t even know him. Apparently never did. Marrying him has proven to be the biggest mistake of my life.”
    All my fault
. Mom would have never made the choice to marry Dad if she hadn’t been pregnant. And really, it was right he’d married her—not every guy would have come through in such a big way—and they did have some good years together, and they were a happy family, or at least Carmen had thought so. Why couldn’t Dad have been more like Nate? Now there was one to hold on to. If Mom had had a guy like Nate, she wouldn’t be in this predicament.
    But Nate was all Carmen’s. Wait just a second. Maybe she’d stumbled upon the answer. Carmen and Nate should get married, get a place to live, start a family of their own—just the two of them. Do it right. Forever.
    Nate would never marry her right now though. He had college to finish then law school. He’d never want to get saddled with a family at this point in his life, even though other people sixteen and eighteen did it all the time—all throughout history. Even in the Bible.
    He would if he had to trade places with Carmen and live her new life. He’d want out just as badly as she did. Dad married Mom at exactly Nate’s age, and Mom had been Carmen’s, so why couldn’t she and Nate get married, too? But Mom and Dad hadn’t decided to marry for no reason. Mom had been pregnant, so Dad probably felt like he didn’t have a choice.
    Those words played in Carmen’s mind again. Dad hadn’t had a choice.
    She had her solution.
    Carmen could get pregnant.
    The words hung in her brain as if suspended in a cartoon thought bubble.
    Then Nate would be forced to take her in, marry her, be with her forever. No more Hackensack. No more stupid high school. No more smelly apartment over a nail salon. She’d miss her sisters and her mom—but not enough to stick around the mess Carmen had no part in creating. No more loneliness.
    But what if Nate wouldn’t do it? What if he pushed for an abortion?
    No, he’d never ask Carmen to even consider terminating the pregnancy. His family would want him to face his responsibilities. Judge McConnell’s political career and upcoming senate race couldn’t withstand the scandal of abortion or Nate having an illegitimate child out there he didn’t take care of.
    They’d get married. They’d be a family. How great would it be to have a real family with Nate?
    Mom and Dad had been happy for a long time. They had built all of the good stuff that comes with being a family because of a baby. So could she.
    Nate would do the same thing if he were in her shoes. Wouldn’t he? If he really knew what she endured, if he really got it, he would have thought of this already. So she’d just be helping him along a little bit. Every guy wanted to be a knight in shining armor or a Prince Charming. Right? A little prodding couldn’t do anything but help him out.
    “Earth to Carmen. We’re home, sleepyhead.”
    Making no effort to correct her mom’s assumptions, Carmen floated from the parked car to the apartment entrance and then up the stairs, eager to get to her bedroom so she could think. The street noises provided background music to mask her thundering heart.
    Could she actually do something so treacherous? Would it make her the worst girlfriend on the planet? Did people actually do this kind of thing? Technically it would be