The Consequences of Forever (1) (27 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

              The first day back at school after a break is never easy, but this time around it felt impossible. I usually never had trouble getting up in the morning, but for whatever reason, all I wanted to do after my alarm went off was curl deeper under the covers and sleep the day away.

             
I got out of bed twenty minutes late, and had to drag myself into the bathroom and into some clothes, and barely made it downstairs in time for breakfast, which Julia made me eat every morning, whether I was hungry or not. The ride to school was quiet.

             
“Everything okay?” Adam asked when school came into view. I glanced over at him. His eyes were focused on the road ahead of him, but I didn’t need to see them to know what he was feeling.              

             
“I’m just tired,” I replied with a slight smile. We hadn’t spoken much the day before. He’d spent literally all day finishing up his paper, and I’d proofread it for him and made suggestions, and that pretty much summed up our interaction.

             
I wasn’t mad at him. I wasn’t really sure what I was other than tired. Tired of my life changing, and knowing it was only going to change more.

             
“Mason and Cynthia are getting married on June fourteenth,” I said, making an attempt to be more social as he parked the car.

             
“Isn’t that around when the baby is due?”

I nodded. “Two days after, to be exact.”

              “That’s crappy timing.”

             
“Maybe. They’re staying all summer. I might have to miss their wedding, but at least they’ll be around.”

             
“All summer? How is that possible?”

             
“They’re going to run Bella Vista while my dad and Nora and maybe Hannah go away on this three-month long vacation. Mason works with his stepfather, so I guess he was able to arrange the time off and I can only assume my dad is going to pay him.” It wouldn’t surprise me if he expected Mason to do it completely for free, but Mason didn’t strike me as being stupid enough to fall for something like that. He knew he owed our dad nothing.

             
Adam was in the middle of opening his door, and stopped. “They’re going away?”

             
“I just found out yesterday, when I talked to Mason. I don’t even think Hannah knows yet.”

             
Adam released his hand from the door and turned to me. “They’re going away right after you have the baby?”

             
I didn’t know what was worse; the tone his voice had taken on, or the fact that he didn’t look surprised at all. “Maybe before, if he or she gets here late.” I didn’t think the arrival of the baby made a difference to their plans, but I didn’t want to admit that out loud.

             
“And that doesn’t bother you, at all?”

             
I looked down at my hands, clasped in my lap. “Of course it bothers me. But when you get used to being disappointed, it stops feeling so bad.”

             
“Your family really sucks.” He lifted my chin up and made me look at him. “I’ll never disappoint you like that, okay? I promise.”

             
I smiled. “I already know you wouldn’t.”

             
He leaned in and kissed me. “I love you.”

             
“I love you, too.”

             
We got out of the car, collected our book bags, and headed towards the school. “I really don’t feel like being back here already,” Adam sighed.

             
“At least you only have a few more months left,” I reminded him. I stared down the long hallway after we entered the building, realizing I still had two and a half years left here. How was I even going to manage that? I’d read in an article about some high schools building day cares on the property for the teenaged parents that went to school there, but I didn’t imagine Haven High ever needing something like that. Half the student body would need to have twins before they could even fill up the daycare.

             
Adam walked me to my locker and then kissed me again. “I’d better go grab my things and get this paper to Ms. Freeman before I lose it. I’ll see you later, okay?”

             
I nodded. “I’m not going home with you, though,” I reminded him. Hannah had called the night before and pleaded with me to go to Scott’s house with her after school. Apparently her grades for the last marking period hadn’t been spectacular, and Scott had agreed to help her start studying more, but she wanted me to be a part of it, too.

I knew Scott was probably the smartest kid in our class, maybe even the entire school, so there was really no need for me to help, but Hannah probably just wanted to spend a little extra time with me, so I agreed.

              “I remember,” Adam replied, not looking happy about it. “I’ll see you at lunch though, okay?” He kissed me again and then hurried down the hallway.

             
The rest of the day went by slowly, and not so quietly. Apparently Maggie hadn’t forgotten about the New Year’s Eve party at Nolan’s, and Hannah’s shove. She glared at both of us every chance she got in the hallway, and we could hear her snickering loudly across the cafeteria during lunch. By the end of the day, I was so sick of seeing her everywhere I went, I could scream.

             
When the day finally ended, I found Scott and Hannah already waiting for me at my locker, but no sign of Adam. I got my books, and we all piled into Scott’s truck, and headed to his house. It felt strange when we pulled up; I hadn’t been there in what felt like years, instead of a few months.

             
No one was home, so we all gathered into his father’s study, laid out all our books and papers on the floor, and started on our homework. “I hate math,” Hannah grumbled, and Scott leaned over her shoulder to analyze the problems.

             
“Hannah, I took this class last year. It’s not that bad.”

             
“Speak for yourself, Einstein.” She retorted. “We weren’t all born with off the chart IQs.”

             
Scott rolled his eyes. “I’m going to get something to drink. Want anything?”

             
Hannah ignored him, frowning down at her homework like it had just insulted her in the worst way possible.

             
“Water, please?” I requested. He nodded and left the den. I glanced over at Hannah. “Do you need any help?” I offered.

             
“Yeah, but I think getting switched out of the class before I totally bomb would be better.” She groaned and pushed the papers away. “I seriously hate math.”

             
“Is anything else bothering you?” It was my somewhat-sneaky way of trying to get her to confess, in case she did know about the trip.

             
Hannah looked hesitant. “I’m not supposed to tell you.”

             
“About the trip?”

             
“You know about that?”

             
I nodded. “Mason told me yesterday when he called.”

             
“You probably knew before I did. They told me at dinner last night.”

             
“You’re not excited about it? I thought you always wanted to see Los Angeles and California in general.”

             
“I’m excited about that part, but it’s the worst timing ever. We’re leaving right around when your baby is going to get here. I kind of wanted to be around for all that. Plus, being stuck with Mom and Michael for three months? No thank you.”

             
“I’ll try to convince her to come early,” I promised.

             
Hannah grinned. “You said her.”

             
“Strictly for your benefit,” I insisted. “I’m still saying it’s going to be a boy.”

             
“Maternal instinct or wishful thinking?”

             
I smiled. “The latter.”

             
“Thought so.”

             
The door to the den opened, and Morgan Foster walked in. I was surprised to see her at first, having forgotten that she, like Greg, must have come home for the holidays. She grinned at us.

             
“Long time, no see.”

             
Hannah jumped to her face and practically threw herself at Morgan. Though they were never exactly close, Hannah seemed to idolize her in a way. Morgan was attending college for fashion design; something Hannah seemed to think was the most amazing thing she’d ever heard of.

             
“I’ve missed you!” Hannah exclaimed.

             
Morgan laughed good-naturedly. “I’ve missed you too, believe it or not. Hi, Lainey.”             

I pulled myself to a sitting position and instinctively wrapped my arms around my stomach. I hadn’t seen Morgan since my breakup with Scott, and didn’t know how she felt about the situation. She was protective of Scott, the way I was with Hannah, but maybe even a little more so. “Hi, Morgan.”

              “How have you been?” She asked. She didn’t sound or look angry, so I let my guard down a bit.

             
“Okay. How is school?”

             
“Awesome,” she grinned. “It’s great coming back to see my family, but I miss it when I’m gone.”

             
“New York is probably amazing, huh?” Hannah asked dreamily.

             
“You’d love it,” Morgan confirmed. She walked over to her father’s desk and sat at his chair. Scott came into the room, two water bottles and a plate of cookies in hand.

             
“Brain food,” he said, holding the tray up.

             
Morgan reached out for some. “So, are you guys having a study group or something?”

             
“Something like that,” Hannah replied. “I need to get my grades up before I flunk out of sophomore year.”

             
“Let me see.”

             
Hannah handed Morgan her homework, and Morgan analyzed it for a minute before raising her eyebrows. “No idea. That’s why Scott is the brains in the family.”

             
Scott rolled his eyes and took back the paper. “She’d be doing a lot better if she could pay attention for more than five seconds at a time,” he pointed out. Hannah stuck her tongue out at him, but then turned back to the paper.

             
I could feel Morgan’s eyes on me. “So, Lainey; Scott told me about your situation with Adam and everything. Okay, that sounded a little weird, but I didn’t know if it was okay to say Scott told me about you being pregnant.” She laughed, as if she were talking about something not much more serious than the weather.

             
I forced a smile. “It’s okay.”

             
“Are you happy about it?”

             
How was I supposed to answer a question like that? No, I wasn’t happy to be pregnant at sixteen, but I wasn’t exactly miserable, either. “It is what it is,” I said instead, forcing another smile.

             
“I was pretty surprised,” Morgan admitted. “I mean, not just that it was you, which was pretty shocking, but that Adam didn’t learn the first time around.”

             
I felt my blood freeze in my veins. “What?” The first time around? I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Even Scott and Hannah stopped doing what they were doing and looked up.

             
“You don’t know?” Morgan’s eyes widened. “Whoops.”

             
“Know what?” Even after I asked, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

             
Morgan looked nervous. “He probably didn’t tell you for a reason,” she replied. “It’s not really my place.”

             
“If it isn’t your place, you shouldn’t have said anything to begin with,” Scott pointed out. I looked at him in surprise. I didn’t expect him to stick up for me, if that was even what he was doing.

             
Morgan sighed. “I figured she knew, okay? It’s nothing.”

             
“Tell me,” I said, almost on the verge of pleading. Morgan and Scott exchanged a glance and she turned back to me.

             
“You’re not the first girl Adam um, I don’t know how else to word this… impregnated?”

             
“What?” A million thoughts crashed around in my head, none of them making any sense. That wasn’t possible. I immediately thought of Maggie.

             
“It was a long time ago,” she said quickly. “When he was like, your age. He really never mentioned it?”