Storymania - Eric And Mandy by Meagan Minor

Eric And Mandy
Meagan Minor

Eric and Mandy

It was the first day of finals and I was freaking out. All I could think about was what if I fail? My parents would disown me. I wouldn’t be able to keep my scholarship and I wouldn’t graduate and I wouldn’t become a lawyer like I always wanted and…Owe! Just then I realized that all of my books were lying on the ground. Not to mention all of my study guides for my classes. As I looked up I noticed that I had run into a gorgeous guy. He said, “I’m so sorry I’m really clumsy.” He helped me pick up my books and apologized once more and walked away. Then, all of the sudden I found my self thinking of this guy. He was so nice and polite. Not to mention a total hottie.
Finally I made it to Sociology and scrambled through my backpack of clutter and pulled out my book. But, where was my study guide? Oh my god, please tell me that hot guy didn’t accidentally pick it up. After reading that he’s going to think I’m a control freak. Well, wonderful now the teachers passing out the tests. Okay here I go I’m taking my first final and I’m going to be fine…breathe Mandy just breathe. That wasn’t so bad. But, why was it that all I could think of was my paper and that guy seeing it?
Kari wants to take me to a frat party. I’m not really into that scene, but what the hell you know I deserve a night out with the girls because of all of the hard work I’ve done. As I walked up into the house there were people everywhere. You couldn’t even sit anywhere. All of a sudden a guy grabbed me and said, “Hey baby, haven’t I seen you before?” I told him that I had never seen him and I really wouldn’t want to again. I caught up with Kari and the girls and they were sitting around talking to some of the frat guys. Just then, I saw him! The guy that ran into me at school! He looked so cute. At that moment he spotted me and walked over. He said, “Hey remember you, I ran into you the other day right?” “Right.” I said. He told me that his name was Eric and I proceeded by telling him my name. We hit it off right there at the party. We talked and talked about everything. I could have talked to him all night. I didn’t even pay attention to what was going on with my girlfriends. Just then Kari came up to me and told me that they were leaving because the party was getting boring. As I looked around there was hardly anyone there anymore. I looked up at the clock and we had been there for five hours! It didn’t seem that long though because of Eric. Eric told me that it was nice talking to me and he hoped that we could do it again real soon. He also asked for my phone number! Oh my god, I’m so excited.
Okay so it’s been 3 days and Eric still hasn’t called me yet! I don’t want to seem desperate, but come on he seemed interested right? Or at least I thought so…maybe he doesn’t like me after all. Oh well I guess. About 20 minutes later my phone rang. “Hi. Is Mandy there? This is Eric.” He called finally!! Yay!! I said in a very cool voice, “Yes this is she.” We started talking about the party and how much fun we had while we were there. Then, we talked about maybe going out on a date sometime. But, after we started discussing it we found that our schedules conflicted. I was very upset. Eric then told me that he had a lot of homework to do and maybe we’d run into each other again at school. At this point I know what you’re thinking; he’s not ever going to see you again. You were wrong! After two days of not talking to Eric I saw him by the library talking to some of his friends. He asked me to come over and say hi. After we left his friends we started talking a little more. I told him that I had a sudden opening in my schedule if he wanted to go out that day. He said, “Oh I’m glad that I’m good enough to be fit into your schedule now…” I said, “Shut up you know it’s not even like that. We talked about it…” He said, “I’m just kidding chill out a little bit.” “Where do you want to go?” I told him, “I don’t know it’s your choice since my schedule screwed it up the first time.” He told me then that he would just pick me up at 7 and we’d go to O’Charlies because that was his favorite restaurant in town.
When I got home that day I told Kari about what I had talked to Eric about and she got this look on her face like something was wrong with that decision. I asked her what was wrong with that and she said, “He’s just got kind of a player’s reputation.” “I just don’t want to see you getting hurt.” I told her, “You know that I’m careful with this kind of thing, and you also know that I wouldn’t rush into anything if I knew it wasn’t a good idea.” She proceeded in telling me some of the stories that she had heard and assured me that she was just letting me know so I would know what I was getting into.
The next day I spent all day with butterflies in my stomach about that night. I thought about what Kari had said and didn’t know what to expect. What was he going to act like? Was he going to be a complete asshole or was he going to be a better person that what she had said. That night I got ready to go and started waiting for him to come. It was seven o’clock on the dot. Ding Dong. There he was, right on time too. Oh my god I’m so nervous. I opened the door and saw him standing there looking just as good as he did at the party. He said, “Wow you look absolutely beautiful.” I said, “Well thank you, you don’t look so bad yourself.” With a smile on my face I turned around to grab my jacket. Just then Kari walked out of her room. She said jokingly, “Now, you kids have fun and Eric you have my girl home by midnight!” He said, “Ok I’ll make sure of it.” I told her I’d talk to her after a while and tell her about how it went in the morning.
We got to the restaurant and he opened the door for me. He opened the door for me how sweet! Once we got seated we started talking and looking at our menus. “What are you going to get?” Eric asked. I said, “I’m not really sure yet I don’t come here that often so I’m not really sure what I want, what’s good?” He told me that he liked the prime rib with baked potato. Which I really like but, you know I would feel like a hog if I ate all of that in front of him. The waitress came around and asked us what we would like. I quickly replied, “Salad and Water thank you.” She said alright and for you sir. He said, “I’d like to start off with a salad and then I’d like the prime rib medium and a baked potato along with an iced tea.” I thought that sounds so good. He said, “You don’t eat a lot.” “Are you on a diet or something because you don’t need to be you’re perfect the way you are.” You are a girls dream come true. Throughout dinner we talked about our families and we talked about our home towns which we figured out weren’t that far apart. Then, later at the end of the meal he asked me if I would like to come back to his place for a while. Ok here’s the part Kari warned me about. He is going to want to sleep with me. I told him that I wasn’t sure and he said, “Please I would just like to continue our conversation with just us and not all of these people around.” I said, “Ok that sounds good but I can’t stay for too much longer because I have a 9 o’clock class tomorrow. He assured me that I would be home at a decent hour. So we got in the car and started driving back to his apartment. Once we got there we talked until 12 and then I told him that I really needed to get home. He drove me home and walked me to the door. He said, “I had a really great time tonight and I hope we can do it again real soon.” “There’s a party on Saturday you and your friends should come it should be great.” I said, “That’s sounds fun I think we can make it, I’ll see you there.” He said, “Great!” He then proceeded to give me a kiss on the cheek. He’s supposed to be a player right?
Saturday came quicker than I expected it to and when we walked into the party I didn’t spot Eric right out. About an hour later I saw him in the kitchen getting a beer. I walked up to him and said, “Hey I’ve been looking for you when did you get here?” He said “I’ve been here the whole time maybe you weren’t looking hard enough.” Then, he walked away. What the hell just happened here? It told Kari what he said and she said, “Is he drunk?” I said, “Yes, I think so.” She said, “Well that’s probably it then, I heard he can be a total jerk if he’s drunk.” I ignored him for as long as possible. Then, he came up to me and tried to dance with me. I said, “You’re drunk and being an ass so please don’t touch me.” He said, “How am I being an ass all I was trying to do is dance with the person I like and have feelings for.” You have feelings for me…right…ok buddy. Right then and there I told Kari I wanted to leave so she took me home. I thought the whole way home…how could I have been so stupid?
The next week went by really slow for some reason. On Thursday night I got a phone call from Eric, but I didn’t answer. His message said: I’m not surprised you didn’t pick up the phone I was an asshole last Saturday. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am. I never usually act that way. So if you would accept my apology and except my invitation and go to dinner this Saturday. Please call me back. I thought alright this guy wants something. I waited until the next day and called and told him that I would go out with him on one condition. That he would never ever act that way towards me again. We went out to dinner and he talked to me about Saturday and why he acted that way. He told me that he has a problem with drinking sometimes. He also told me that he doesn’t get drunk that often because of it. He assured me that it would never happen again.
The next couple of weeks Eric and I spent together pretty much all the time. We went out on walks around the park near the school and I went over to his apartment and we watched T.V. and did whatever. It was so nice to be able to get to know someone like that. Someone who I felt like I could trust. I was really starting to trust this person. I had never truly trusted a person since my boyfriend in high school who I had a two year relationship with. Then, he cheated on me with my best friend and acted like she came on to him. After that it was kind of hard to trust someone again.
Oh my gosh, what did I just do. What time is it? 11:00 AM Oh no. I turned over and saw Eric laying there next to me. We were both naked. Did I have sex with him? Oh my gosh I’m so hung over right now. I don’t even know what I did! Ok Mandy don’t freak out everything’s going to be ok. I shook Eric, “Wake up…wake up…” Eric rolled over and said, “Yah babe what did you need?” “Eric did we sleep together last night?” Eric said, “You don’t remember?” I told him, “Remember? I barely remember what I put on to wear last night.” I looked down and said, “Obviously nothing.” Eric I’m sorry I have to go Kari is going to be worried about me.
When I got back to my apartment Kari asked me where I was last night. I told her that I was over at Eric’s. I also told her that we had slept together. She said, “You what? You slept with him? Mandy he has HIV.” “Didn’t you know that coming into this?” I said, “No, of course not you didn’t tell me that, what you think I should do?” Kari said, “You need to be tested.” So I waited a little while because I was really nervous and didn’t tell Eric what I was doing because I didn’t want him to get upset with me for the reason why I was going to the hospital. So when I went in I was really nervous and they ran a couple of tests and told me just to wait a couple of days and I would get my results back soon. Sure enough, a couple of days later my test results came back. The letter stated that I was HIV positive and that I was going to have a baby. A baby! I didn’t even think about that happening! I didn’t want to tell Kari that I was HIV positive because I didn’t want to worry her anymore other than the baby situation. I also wasn’t about to tell my parents about the baby to what was I going to do? I went home and told Kari and she said, “Whatever we have to do then we’ll do it to take care of that child.” After Kari and I talked for a while I called Eric and told him that I needed to talk to him and asked him if it was alright if I came over to see him. Once I got to Eric’s house I sat him down and told him the news. He stood up and walked around for a while and said, “Ok we can do this, we handle this.” “We’re going to have a baby; I’m going to be a father!” “We’ll get him/her the best treatment money can buy for the HIV treatments.”
So we went into the whole thing very open minded. We moved in together and started going shopping for things for the baby. Kari said that if I needed anything at all that she would help me as much as she could. So with everything that I needed in hand I started thinking about what I needed to do for myself to me healthy and happy. Eric and I talked later about what we should think about with ‘us’. He said, “I’m not so sure what I want to do yet.” I said, “Well we’re having a child together are we going to be married at some point or another?” He said, “I don’t know if we should be thinking that far ahead yet.” I thought about what he had just said. You don’t want to even think about marrying the person carrying your child? I told him, “How could you not even think about marrying me?” He proceeded in telling me that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore and that the conversation was over. I don’t know if I can be with someone who isn’t going to be in this for the long haul.
After only two weeks of living together Eric and I weren’t making it. He said that he was always late getting home because he was working overtime. Well, the job that he has I know doesn’t have overtime. So he’s either out with the boys or with other girls. On top of everything he’s come home 4 times now drunk and acted like a complete jerk. He doesn’t deserve me or this baby. So I packed my things and told him I was through for good and I didn’t want him to come near me or my baby again. He told me that he would be glad not to get near me again. He said, “Don’t you dare try to take my child away from me, it’s partly mine and I want to be able to be with it.” I told him that we would settle it later.
I went back to Kari and my old apartment. I put all of my things back in my old room. I gave out a sigh on relief as I sat back down on the bed. She said so what happened. I told her that Eric and I were just too different and he was too much of a selfish jerk to be in a relationship. The next couple of days passed and no sign of Eric I thought that would have been the last time I ever saw him. I finally ran into him at school and he didn’t give me a second glance. Asshole. I can’t believe I ever thought that he would be a good father and that he would actually want to be with me.
The next couple of days I thought long and hard about what I was going to do about this baby. I could give it up for adoption and give it a good home. Oh my gosh I forgot completely about telling my family. They are going to disown me. What am I going to do? I could have an abortion. There’s still time for that. No, I can’t do that to a poor innocent baby, but on the other hand my parents can never know about this. I sat Kari down and told her what I was thinking about doing. She said, “Are you truly sure that this is what you want to do?” “You know you have other options.” I said, “Yes I know, but this baby is not something that I want really anyone finding out about.” Not to mention the fact that it’s going to be born into an HIV infected body, which is something you don’t know about. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Kari that I have HIV. I knew that was a totally different subject and day. Alright, that’s it then I guess I’m going to do it. I’m going to have an abortion.
Kari went with me to the hospital and told me that she would be right outside waiting on me to get finished and that she would be there when I woke up. I’m so lucky to have a friend like her that cares that much about me. I went into the room and got prepared for my surgery. I just layed there rubbing my stomach and talking to the baby. I explained why I was doing what I was doing and that it was the best for the baby. I said, “I know you can’t hear me, but I don’t want to do this to you…it’s complicated.” “I just want you to know that I love you and I will never stop loving you no matter where I’m at in life.” Just then I broke down and started crying my eyes out. I couldn’t stop crying about it. Then, I thought about my future. When I get married I’m going to have to tell my husband that I have an STD. How is he going to take that? Is he even going to want to marry me? I couldn’t believe that one night put me in this position. I was so mad at myself for doing this and not taking any precautions like I normally do. Then, I was mad at Eric for taking advantage of me when he knew I was obviously drunk. He acted like everything was fine. Then, he had the nerve to walk passed me and act like he’d never seen me before. I couldn’t think anymore my head felt like it was about to explode with even more anger so I just let it all go and tried not to think about anything. The doctor came in and wheeled me into surgery. I was ready to do this. I came in here knowing what I was doing and was sure about it. Then, that way my parents wouldn’t ever have to find out and I could also keep my HIV a secret.
Today I’m doing a lot better I don’t really think about Eric anymore. I do think about my baby all the time and wonder if she is watching over me. Kari and I are still living together and she still doesn’t know about my little secret. I’ve decided to just keep it to myself until I find someone who needs to know about it. It’s been a rough year this year. I think about sometimes if I had never met Eric where would I be right now? Probably in the same place I was, hiding and feeling lonely. Although it’s not like I don’t feel like now. I hope I never go through anything like this again. Now, I’m just trying to live my life from day to day being careful with anything and every person I run into. You never know when you’re going to meet Mr. Right or Mr. Wrong.