I didn’t have the slightest desire to go to school today. Like, zero. I just wasn’t ready to face reality. Because, yeah, I’m the nerd. The quiet girl. The one who gets straight A’s, never breaks the rules, has married parents who are stable, who make you breakfast and ask how you slept as if that’s some big deal. The one who never gets into trouble.
Except now, I’m in way over my head. And it’s all because of HIM.
The bad boy. The guy who’s always in some kind of mess, with millionaire parents, a loud motorcycle, and a smirk that says, “I know I’m a trainwreck, but you’re into me anyway.” And yeah… I fell for it.
The worst part? We weren’t even dating. Not even friends. Not even acquaintances who say hi out of politeness. We were… something else. Two strangers with a connection no one could figure out, not even us.
And how does that story end? I’m pregnant. Yup. P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T.
“Anny, breakfast is getting cold!” my dad yelled from the kitchen.
Breathe. Stay calm. You’re just going downstairs to eat breakfast like every other day. Act normal. No one suspects a thing. Not yet.
“Anny!” my mom, Andrea, called out this time.
“Coming, Mom!” I replied, trying to sound less like I was falling apart.
I finished getting ready (if you can call brushing my hair like a soulless zombie ‘getting ready’) and headed downstairs.
My parents were already at the table. Breakfast was steaming, perfect as always. See what I mean? They’re those kinds of people. The ones who have their lives together.
“How’d you sleep, sweetheart?” my dad asked with a smile.
“You look a little tired. Everything okay?” my mom added, giving me that maternal radar stare that sees everything.
Tired. Ha. If only they knew I barely slept, obsessing over how to tell the father of my little surprise that… well, he’s gonna be a dad. Or will be.
“Slept… fine. I guess,” I lied, shoving a piece of toast into my mouth to dodge more questions.
I ate on autopilot while they chatted about work, the neighbor’s cat sneaking into our yard again, and the latest grocery store deals. Nothing out of the ordinary. Everything in order. Everything except me.
When I finished my juice, I got up to grab my stuff. Then Mom said:
“I’m driving you to school today. Your dad has to swing by the office first.”
Oh no.
That. That I did not see coming. Mom never drives me. It’s tradition for Dad to drop me off every morning with a kiss on the forehead and a “take care.” But not today. Today, Mom’s behind the wheel. And I, emotionally wrecked, hormonal, and a nervous mess, am riding shotgun with my worst “nothing’s wrong” face on.
Perfect. My day just keeps getting better.
As we headed to school, I pretended to stare out the window, though what I was really seeing were mental replays of my bad decisions.
Cody.
Yeah, that’s his name. The bad boy, in case that wasn’t clear.
It’s not like we didn’t know each other. We’ve been in the same school for four years. But we’ve never spoken. Hellos don’t exist between us. He’s noise, I’m silence. He’s chaos, I’m order. We’re not on the same wavelength. Or so I thought…
Until that crazy night. That cursed (okay, maybe blessed, depending on how you look at it) night when my best friend dared me to crash a private party. And I ended up in his bed.
Yeah. The bad boy’s bed. And, you know what? I liked it. And even though I swore it’d be a one-time thing… it wasn’t. It happened more times than I care to admit. We’re that kind of disaster no one gets. Not even us. All I know is, when we’re alone, sometimes we end up with no clothes on. And no answers.
“We’re here,” Mom said, parking the car in front of the school.
I swallowed hard. I felt like I was about to take a pop quiz… on how to ruin your life in three easy steps.
I got out of the car, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest. And then I saw him.
Cody.
Getting off his motorcycle in his leather jacket, greeting his crew with that cocky smile that, for some reason, made me forget how to breathe.
And there I was. With a tiny chaos growing inside me. And news I had to break to him. I just didn’t know how. And, worst of all… I had no clue how he’d react.