She smiled.
"Yeah, I'm two inches taller and about forty pounds smaller. I would hope I look different," she said. He nodded.
"You look different too," she said. "A little bit older. Not much," she added quickly. "I mean..." She frowned and bit her lip, wrinkling up her nose. "I'm gonna quit talking."
He smiled and walked closer. "Do you want a drink or something?"
"Um, no."
He nodded and turned back to face her. "Okay, so...don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?"
Her smile waned again and she looked down, then back up at him. "Um, I sort of...I find myself in...something of a predicament."
He raised an eyebrow.
"You?" She had always been a geeky little straight-A student who spent her weekends at home or following him and John around. He never pictured her getting in trouble. Then again, he had never pictured her blossoming into a girl he'd think he might have brought back to his place one night. "Uh, what kind of trouble are you in?" he asked. "Legal trouble, or...?"
"Oh, no," she said, her eyes widening. "No, nothing like that."
"Okay. Well...why didn't you go to John? I thought you guys were really close."
She started playing with the hem of her shirt again. "He's my brother. He's very protective of me."
"Yes, I know."
"That's sort of why I'm afraid to tell him."
"What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything. That's actually the problem."
He sat down on the couch and stared up at her. "You've lost me," he said.
She fiddled with her shirt and sat down next to him on the couch.
"I'm going to tell you something very important, and I haven't told anyone about this yet, and...I mean, is it okay if I tell you?"
He frowned and nodded. "Yeah."
"It's serious. I've been so scared, and I don't know what to do, and I didn't know who to tell. I couldn't very well tell John and I was so embarrassed. I just wanted it to go away. Then I found it wasn't going to go away, ever, and I didn't know what to do or what to say, so I didn't say anything." She took a breath.
He frowned more and sat up. "What is it?" he asked warily.
She swallowed. "Well, see, you know how John's in college right now?"
He nodded.
She nodded. "Well, I went to visit him one weekend a few months ago...about three months ago." She frowned and twisted the hem of her shirt. "I—" She broke off. Her voice was unsteady. She took a breath and tried again. "See, the thing is...I...I'm sort of...I'm, um...I'm pregnant," she finally blurted.
Jess let out a big breath and his eyes widened. "Have you told the father?" he asked.
Janine's eyes filled with tears and he wished he could take the question back. He wasn't good with weepy females. "There—" She stopped again, clearing her throat and trying to gather her composure. "There is no father."
He frowned. "Excuse me?"
She tilted her head back slightly to clear the tears then lowered it again, still twisting at her shirt. "I don't even have a boyfriend. I didn't—" She stopped and shook her head. She stopped playing with her shirt and covered her face with her hands. When she was fully composed, she looked up, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes, so instead she spoke to his arm.
"I went to see Johnny at college and there was this party that some of his friends were having. I didn't want him to have to miss it. Well, some girl ran into him and was talking. She wouldn't stop talking and talking and talking, so I decided to wander around and see what everyone else was doing." She rolled her eyes. "There was this guy. I have no idea who he was, but he sort of gave me the creeps when he looked at me. As soon as I could, I got away from him. But he had offered me a drink. I should have known better than to drink it! I don't know where my head was..." She trailed off and hid her face again.
By now, Jess was sitting forward at full attention and staring at her. He already knew the rest of the story.
"But I...and he..." She had to stop talking again and pressed a hand against her mouth, trying not to lose control.
Jess sighed sympathetically. He pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and dissolved into tears. He rubbed her back and tried to murmur reassurances. The sweet little girl who used to follow him around like a puppy dog had been raped. Janine wasn't the only one feeling sick to her stomach anymore.
Chapter Two
Janine finally stopped crying after a few minutes, but stayed in his arms, enjoying the comfort and warmth of his embrace.
"Are you okay?" he asked.