Blane’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying,” he said flatly. “And I’m not in any kind of mood to be playing games with you. What did she say?”
Suddenly, it was all too much, and I snapped.
“Oh, now you’ve decided that you care? Listen, Blane, I don’t give a shit what kind of mood you’re in! It’s my life and you made it quite clear that you’re no longer in it. So don’t threaten me, and don’t push me!”
Blane’s face could have been carved in stone as my words echoed in my head. I was breathing hard, my fists clenched at my sides, as I stared up at him. I took a couple of steps backward, then turned and hurried away. I saw other people in the hallway staring, but I kept my gaze straight ahead and didn’t stop until I was locked safely inside the steamy oven of my car.
I started the engine but paused as I went to shift into drive. My hands were shaking, and it hit me all over again.
I was pregnant.
Leaning against the steering wheel, I started to sob.
CHAPTER FIVE
I drove home mechanically, everything on autopilot. My head throbbed from crying and my stomach was rolling. I trudged up the stairs to my apartment and unlocked the door.
Like a robot, I started sorting through the stack of mail sitting on my kitchen table, tossing three bills in a row into a separate pile. Two ads and a coupon book later, I saw an envelope that jerked me from my stupor. I’d been dreading this.
My grades had arrived.
I’d missed all my finals. I’d been kidnapped, then had attended Blane’s hearing, all of which forced me to skip the exams. The money I’d spent on the classes had been wasted.
I opened the envelope, steeling myself for what I’d see, then sat staring in astonishment.
Straight As.
But that was impossible! The final exam counted for half my grade in some of these classes. By all rights, the highest I could have possibly gotten was maybe a C, if the professor had been kind. They must have gotten things mixed up in the computer or something—wait.
Computers. Of course.
Kade had done this. That’s what he’d meant when he’d told me not to worry about it.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I disliked cheating, but what was I going to do? Go in there and tell them my friend had hacked their computers and changed my grades? Right.
Tossing the paper onto the kitchen table, I heaved a sigh. I’d just have to ask Kade to change them back, that’s all. But later. Not right now. Not until he was better.
My bed beckoned, so I lay down and shut my eyes. I didn’t want to think, didn’t want to face the fact that I was pregnant.
So I slept, not waking until the insistent buzzing of my cell phone on the table beside me wouldn’t stop. I glanced at the caller ID. Alisha.
“Hey,” I answered tonelessly.
“Where are you?” she asked immediately.
“Home.”
“Well, come let me in then. I’ve been banging on your door for ten minutes.”
Obediently, I ended the call and climbed out of bed. I walked through the kitchen and living room to the front door, then opened it. Alisha stood there.
“You’ve had me worried sick,” she complained, following me inside. “You didn’t call me back after you talked to the doctor. I’ve been imagining all kinds of horrible things.” She plopped down next to where I’d settled on the sofa. “So what did he say?”
“She,” I automatically corrected.
Alisha rolled her eyes. “Just tell me.”
Part of me, the irrational part that still hoped this was all a nightmare, didn’t want to tell her because that would mean it was real. I forced myself to speak.
“She said . . . she said I’m pregnant,” I stammered, my eyes filling with tears again.
Alisha looked as stunned as I still felt, but when she saw me start crying, she wrapped me in a tight hug.
“It’ll be okay,” she crooned to me as I sobbed.
“N-no, it w-won’t,” I sputtered through my tears.
“Of course it will,” she soothed, patting me on the shoulder as I eased back from her. She grabbed a tissue box from the coffee table and handed it to me. “So, do you, um . . . know . . . who the father is?”
“Geez, Alisha!” I said in exasperation. “Please tell me you did not just ask me that.”
“Hey, no judgment,” she said, putting her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m your friend here, remember?”
I sighed. “I know. And yeah, I know who the father is.” I swallowed. “It’s . . . it’s Kade.”
“Yes!” Alisha hissed, squeezing her eyes shut and pumping her fist.
I laughed a little at her antics. “Nice,” I said dryly, though she smiled innocently at me.
My smile faded. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. What’s Blane going to say? And Kade—he’s just going to totally freak out.”
“What does Blane have to do with anything?” she huffed.
“They’re brothers, Alisha,” I sighed. “It’s bad enough I fell in love with both of them. Slept with both of them. When I think of how they’re going to react to this news . . . ?” I shuddered, unable to finish the thought aloud. I swallowed. “Blane’s going to hate me. Kade will pretend he doesn’t care what Blane thinks, but we both know that’s not true. Not to mention the fact that Kade and I haven’t discussed anything long-term, and now I have to tell him he’s going to be a father. The longest I’ve ever seen him stay in one place is a few weeks.”
Alisha seemed to digest this before asking, “So what’re you going to do?”
“I have absolutely no idea.” My throat closed up again, but I forced the next thought out, putting my worst fear into words. “What if he leaves, Alisha? What if he just leaves me?”
She took my hand. “Hey,” she said, forcing me to look at her. “You’re not alone, no matter what Blane and Kade do or don’t do. You have me. You have your friends. You won’t be going through this alone.”
I couldn’t speak through the lump in my throat, so I squeezed her hand, hoping she understood what I was unable to say.
“I’m hungry,” she said, sitting back and abruptly changing the subject. “I think I have a pizza in my freezer. Want to come help me eat it?”
My stomach growled and I realized I was famished. I hadn’t eaten all day and frozen pizza sounded like heaven.
“Yeah, let me just run a brush through my hair and I’ll be over,” I said.
She agreed and left after making me promise I wouldn’t take longer than a few minutes. I was just finishing brushing my teeth when my cell rang.
It was Kade.
I took a deep breath before I answered. I wanted to sound normal. I wasn’t ready to tell him yet, especially not over the phone.
“Hey,” I answered, making my voice bright and forcing a smile.
“I hope you’re taking it easy tonight,” Kade said.
“Um, yeah, I . . . uh . . . was going to visit with Alisha for a while, maybe go to bed early.” I winced, remembering how I’d practically begged him to let me come back to the hospital tonight. Now I knew there was no way I could see him. I wouldn’t be able to hide this from him. He’d see through me immediately.
“Good,” he said. “I’m worried about you.”
“No need,” I replied, keeping my voice light. “I’m fine.” And I was. The doctor said I was perfectly fine . . . for a woman growing another person inside her.
I smacked my palm against my forehead. Stop thinking about it stop thinking about it stop—
“Doctor says I get to blow this joint tomorrow, finally,” he groused.