Coercion by Lux Zakari

Scott Bartels and had to drop out because her parents made her keep the baby. She’d planned to move to California. Now her whole life is screwed up.”
    “Okay!” Valerie wrenched her wrist out of her friend’s grip. “I get the point.”
    “I hope so. Babies smell like powder and pee, and my sister’s kids are at the age where they’re using their toy trucks as toilets. You definitely don’t need that.”
    “Shannon, please.” Valerie massaged her temples. “Enough.”
    “I can’t believe this. Not only did you finally lose your virginity, you lost it to Michael Vartanian and didn’t tell me about it. I feel so betrayed.”
    “Really, we haven’t slept together.”
    “Wow.” Shannon rubbed her eyes with her hands. “I don’t even know where to begin with any of this information. I can’t believe you’re screwing around with Kim Breza’s boyfriend.”
    “Her ex-boyfriend,” Valerie said weakly. “Sort of.”
    “How did this happen?”
    “He just...approached me one day.”
    “You surprise me, Val.” Shannon shook her head as she picked up her fork again and stabbed a turkey slice. “Settling for hot fooling around without some kind of commitment doesn’t sound like you, no matter who the guy is. I would’ve figured you’d rather be his girlfriend.” She looked at her friend, who had gone silent, and groaned. “Oh, no, you would!”
    “Is that so bad?”
    Shannon took a small bite of turkey and made a face. “Yes, if you’re expecting to become the girlfriend of a guy who already has one.”
    “I told you, they’re not boyfriend-girlfriend.”
    “Whatever. The point is we’ve all heard about Michael and Breeze’s chaotic relationship. Aside from how gorgeous he is, I honestly can’t imagine why you’d want to be with him. It doesn’t sound like he’s that great of a catch anyway.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “I’m sure you’ve heard the stories. I have a statistics class with Breeze, and she just goes on and on, talking to anyone willing to listen about how Michael always shows up late, never pays for anything, never wants to do anything except grope her or get wasted...”
    Valerie concentrated on the dry, crumbling biscuit that came with her meal and poked a few holes in it with the tip of her knife. “Maybe there’s a reason Michael treats Breeze like that. Maybe she’s a bad girlfriend. Maybe he’d act different with someone else.”
    “Maybe. But has he said anything about wanting to be your boyfriend, let alone your good boyfriend?”
    “Well, no...”
    “And how long have you guys been having your ‘encounters’?”
    Valerie bit her lip. “Just twice since October.”
    “You’re killing me. How could you have kept this a secret for so long?” Shannon held up her hand and inhaled deeply but briefly through her nose. “All right, that’s not the point. The bottom line is if you’re expecting more from the guy, you need to tell him. Don’t let him jerk you around and treat you so casually. You’re better than that.”
    “I guess it can’t hurt to tell him how I feel,” Valerie said slowly.
    “Absolutely. You owe it to yourself.”
    “I do.” Valerie gave her friend a firm, confident nod. “Besides, maybe I even stand a chance. I heard Breeze in the bathroom today, talking about how she’s seeing Marie Bacall’s dad.”
    “Well, there you go.” Shannon raised her eyebrows. “You may be right. It could be you really do stand a chance with him.”
    * * * *
    Michael pushed the peas around on his plate during dinner that evening and stifled a sigh. His knees bounced impatiently beneath the table as he stared at the grandfather clock ticking against the dining room wall. His father sat to his left at the head of the table, ignoring the empty chair and placemat across from Michael as he kept his sad, bloodhound-shaped eyes on his meal and chewed his steak.
    The room was heavy with disappointment and depression, and the only sounds were the