Chapter 127

She thinks you’re pregnant!

As soon as Nicole told me the newest rumor about me, I totally froze up. My eyes went wide and my breakfast was totally forgotten.

Nicole continued to laugh, until she realized I wasn’t joining her. Then she stifled herself. “Cynthia?”

I was totally blindsided. So the girl who had walked in on me had seen enough to know I was pregnant, just as I had suspected initially. But why did she wait so long to say something? Why didn’t she accuse me right away?

Unless she waited until I left. Or she didn’t understand what she saw until she thought it over.

Either way, I was in deep trouble.

Nicole’s smiling face fell farther the longer I was silent. Soon, her own eyes went wide and she leaned over the table, whisper-yelling, “It’s not… true?”

I had no idea what to say. I didn’t want to lie to her anymore. I wasn’t sure she would believe me now even if I did! My reaction had given far too much away.

“Oh my God.” Nicole snapped upright in her chair. She covered her mouth with her hands. “Is that why you’ve been putting on weight?”

“You can’t tell anyone,” I said at once, returning to myself.

“Is it Asher’s?” she whispered.

I shook my head. “It was before Asher.”

“Before Asher…?” Her eyes went even wider. “Joseph!”

I shushed her. “Please, Nicole. You have to keep this a secret. I made mistakes, but… I’m trying my best.”

“Okay,” Nicole said, though her gaze remained wild. “Okay, wow. But how did you get through the physical?”

“My cousin is a nurse…”

“We should tell Aimee,” Nicole said. “She can help. Does Asher know?”

I nodded. “Asher knows, and Aimee knows.”

Nicole paused. She blinked. “Aimee already knows?”

“Yeah?”

Hurt flashed across her face. I didn’t notice right away.

“But… we’d been friends for longer than you’ve known Aimee…”

Uh, oh.

“I thought we were friends. Good friends.” Nicole crossed her arms. “You’ve been going through all this, and you haven’t even trusted to tell me. But you’ve told everyone else…”

“I was going to tell you at some point, Nicole. I swear.”

“When you told everyone else, maybe? Or when it became too obvious to hide?” The hurt drove Nicole’s voice to anger. I winced at her tone.

She threw a tip down on the table. “I’ll keep your secret, because that’s what friends do. But this makes me wonder how many other things you aren’t telling me.”

“It’s not like that –”

“How would I know? You don’t share anything with me!” She stood up from the table. With a deep breath, she said, “Just give me some time, okay? This hurt my feelings. I… I’m…”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I should have told you sooner.”

She gave me a sad, pitiful look, then turned and walked away from our table.

I pushed my half-eaten croissant away from me. I thought I might be sick.

I’d hurt Nicole, but she said she would keep my secret. I knew I could trust her, even with the betrayal I’d done by not trusting her sooner.

Yet how long could I expect to keep this secret if the rumor was already spreading through the squad?

The qualifying exam was in only a few days. Could I keep the secret even that long?

Not knowing what else to do, I texted Asher to ask if we could meet up. He said he was between classes and to meet him at his dorm room. After leaving my own tip, I rushed out of the café.

Asher was waiting for me by the time I got to the dorm room. I burst through the door and immediately explained to him the situation. I paced back and for across his room.

Eventually, he stepped into my path forcing me to stop walking.

“Slow down,” he said. “Nicole said this was just a rumor, right? And everyone must still remember how the last rumor about you turned out to be grossly untrue. Surely they would be less likely to blindly accept anything new they hear about you.”

“But they know I’ve put on weight, Asher. And the girl who started the rumor. It’s not Elena. This girl doesn’t have anything against me. She’s mostly neutral all the time.”

“Yeah, but that’s still no proof. If you play it cool, they’ll have no way of knowing if it’s true. And if Nicole keeps the secret…”

“She will.” I wouldn’t doubt her again.

“Then it should all be fine.” He rubbed his hands up and down my arms, offering comfort. “You just can’t panic if it comes up. Pretend like you don’t know what they are talking about.”

That was easier said than done. “But what will happen when Elena gets her teeth into this new rumor? She doesn’t have the best track record of needing facts to assume things are true.”

“She might be still embarrassed from being so wrong last time.”

I shook my head. “Elena has no shame, Asher. If she thinks it can get her ahead, she’ll go straight for the jugular.”

“Don’t worry about Elena.” Asher looked away from me, up and off like he had traveled some great distance from himself. “I can take care of her.”

Fresh fear shot through me. I hated that thought!

Last time he had tried to talk Elena out of spreading rumors, she had insisted that she would, only if they hooked up! Would she make the same offer this time? Would Asher feel so protective that he would actually do it?

After all, this time wasn’t just protecting my reputation. This was about my future, and the future of my baby.

Asher blinked and focused back on me. He must have noticed the sudden tension in my body, and the way I crossed my arms protectively around myself.

“Cynthia?” he asked.

“Leave her alone, Asher. I don’t… I can’t…” Tears welled in my eyes. I hated how emotional I’d become over these past few months. My hormones felt out of control, especially in these stress-filled situations. I felt like I was losing my mind, sometimes.

“Hey.” Asher cupped my cheek, urging me not to hide my face from him. “Talk to me.”

“She’ll want something from you, and I… you can’t.”

If he had sex with Elena, I didn’t think I would ever recover. Even if it had only been to protect my secret.

“It will be okay,” Asher said. “I’ll do what I can to keep you safe.”

Did he not understand how that made everything worse?

I slammed my eyes closed, hiding from the earnestness in his expression.

“Please…” My voice trembled. “Please don’t sleep with her.”

He stilled. “…What? Why would I…? Oh.” He must have remembered. “Cynthia. Look at me.”

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter.

“Cynthia,” he said again, more sternly.

When he demanded like that, it was near impossible to ignore. His firm voice never failed to send a shiver down my spine. I longed to hear him talk like that, and wanted to please him.

So I peeked open one eye.

“There you are,” he said, and brushed his lips across the bridge of my nose.

Slowly, more comfortable now, I opened both eyes.

“I will never sleep with Elena,” he said, holding my gaze prisoner. “There is only one woman I want, and it is decidedly not her.”

He brushed his lips across my cheek, kissing a path to my ear. There, he whispered.

“Maybe you need me to prove to you who I really want.”