bleachers at her sides.
“I gotta say, Chloe looks unreasonably hot for someone in her delicate condition,” she said casually.
I choked on my own saliva. Shannen and Faith both ceased to breathe. I could feel them staring at Annie and I slowly, slowly, closed my eyes, waiting for the explosion.
“Her what ?” Shannen hissed.
“Chloe’s not … you don’t mean she’s …” Faith watched from the corner of her eye as Chloe went back to the sideline with the other backslappers to cheer on the team. For the first time, I thought her butt looked maybe a teeny bit wide in her denim shorts. “She’s pregnant?”
“Omigod. That’s why she scarfed that entire bacon cheeseburger yesterday!” Shannen exclaimed, her eyes wide as she grabbed Faith’s arm. “I thought she was just depressed.”
Annie was almost transparently white. “You guys didn’t know?”
I dropped my head into my hands. There was a crushed Wendy’s cup in the dirt below the bleachers, Wendy’s face mashed down the middle so that her eyes had combined to make one big Cyclops eye.
“How do you know?” Shannen demanded.
“Ally? A little help here?” Annie said.
Their heads swiveled slowly to look at me. So slowly I could practically hear their neck bones creaking.
“Ally? What the hell is going on?” Shannen demanded.
“Annie knows because I told her,” I said quietly, checking around to make sure no one was listening in. “And I know because …” God. This was going to hurt. “Jake’s the father.”
“What?” they screeched in unison.
Now everyone in the bleachers was watching us, either intrigued or annoyed, depending on their age range. Plus some of the backslapper girls, the assistant coach, and a pair of grade-school kids playing tag. Chloe, at least, hadn’t noticed us yet. She was too busy screaming for Connor, who’d just blocked a great shot.
“Can we just keep it down, please?” I said through my teeth.
“No. No way.” Shannen’s eyes darted around the field, the trees, the garbage cans, the fences, as if some inanimate object held the answer. “When? How has Chloe’s father not killed Jake? How has Hammond not killed Jake? How have you not killed Jake?”
Out on the field, Hammond slammed into Jake’s side as if he was blocking out the other team.
“Well, at least one of us is trying,” I said, lifting my chin toward the action.
Hammond stuck out his leg, tripped Jake, then shoved him with both hands into the dirt. The ref blew the whistle, but then looked around, confused. Could he red card a player for fouling a member of his own team? Instead, Coach Martz shouted for Hammond to come out and replaced him with my friend David Drake.
“Yeah! Go, David!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, mostly because the inner tension was about to kill me. I had to let it out somehow. Jake had pushed himself up from the dirt and was dusting off his uniform. He didn’t look hurt, but he did look pissed.
“What’s she going to do?” Faith was so pale I was actually a little concerned she might faint. “She’s not going to have an abortion, is she?”
“I love how you only turn religious when babies come into the picture,” Shannen said snidely. “Of course she’s gonna have an abortion. She’s seventeen!”
“You guys, it’s none of our business, so can we just drop it?” I blurted. The last thing I wanted to admit here was that I had no idea what Jake and Chloe planned to do, because he hadn’t told me. This huge thing, and my boyfriend hadn’tfelt the need to clue me in. And I was afraid to ask him about it. I turned to narrow my eyes at Annie. “Thanks a lot, by the way.”
She lifted her black-clad shoulders. “Sorry. I figured they knew by now.”
I sighed and shook my head, feeling suddenly exhausted. Jake was going to be so mad when he found out Faith and Shannen knew. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but first I’d slipped and told Annie and now she’d slipped and told
“I gotta say, Chloe looks unreasonably hot for someone in her delicate condition,” she said casually.
I choked on my own saliva. Shannen and Faith both ceased to breathe. I could feel them staring at Annie and I slowly, slowly, closed my eyes, waiting for the explosion.
“Her what ?” Shannen hissed.
“Chloe’s not … you don’t mean she’s …” Faith watched from the corner of her eye as Chloe went back to the sideline with the other backslappers to cheer on the team. For the first time, I thought her butt looked maybe a teeny bit wide in her denim shorts. “She’s pregnant?”
“Omigod. That’s why she scarfed that entire bacon cheeseburger yesterday!” Shannen exclaimed, her eyes wide as she grabbed Faith’s arm. “I thought she was just depressed.”
Annie was almost transparently white. “You guys didn’t know?”
I dropped my head into my hands. There was a crushed Wendy’s cup in the dirt below the bleachers, Wendy’s face mashed down the middle so that her eyes had combined to make one big Cyclops eye.
“How do you know?” Shannen demanded.
“Ally? A little help here?” Annie said.
Their heads swiveled slowly to look at me. So slowly I could practically hear their neck bones creaking.
“Ally? What the hell is going on?” Shannen demanded.
“Annie knows because I told her,” I said quietly, checking around to make sure no one was listening in. “And I know because …” God. This was going to hurt. “Jake’s the father.”
“What?” they screeched in unison.
Now everyone in the bleachers was watching us, either intrigued or annoyed, depending on their age range. Plus some of the backslapper girls, the assistant coach, and a pair of grade-school kids playing tag. Chloe, at least, hadn’t noticed us yet. She was too busy screaming for Connor, who’d just blocked a great shot.
“Can we just keep it down, please?” I said through my teeth.
“No. No way.” Shannen’s eyes darted around the field, the trees, the garbage cans, the fences, as if some inanimate object held the answer. “When? How has Chloe’s father not killed Jake? How has Hammond not killed Jake? How have you not killed Jake?”
Out on the field, Hammond slammed into Jake’s side as if he was blocking out the other team.
“Well, at least one of us is trying,” I said, lifting my chin toward the action.
Hammond stuck out his leg, tripped Jake, then shoved him with both hands into the dirt. The ref blew the whistle, but then looked around, confused. Could he red card a player for fouling a member of his own team? Instead, Coach Martz shouted for Hammond to come out and replaced him with my friend David Drake.
“Yeah! Go, David!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, mostly because the inner tension was about to kill me. I had to let it out somehow. Jake had pushed himself up from the dirt and was dusting off his uniform. He didn’t look hurt, but he did look pissed.
“What’s she going to do?” Faith was so pale I was actually a little concerned she might faint. “She’s not going to have an abortion, is she?”
“I love how you only turn religious when babies come into the picture,” Shannen said snidely. “Of course she’s gonna have an abortion. She’s seventeen!”
“You guys, it’s none of our business, so can we just drop it?” I blurted. The last thing I wanted to admit here was that I had no idea what Jake and Chloe planned to do, because he hadn’t told me. This huge thing, and my boyfriend hadn’tfelt the need to clue me in. And I was afraid to ask him about it. I turned to narrow my eyes at Annie. “Thanks a lot, by the way.”
She lifted her black-clad shoulders. “Sorry. I figured they knew by now.”
I sighed and shook my head, feeling suddenly exhausted. Jake was going to be so mad when he found out Faith and Shannen knew. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but first I’d slipped and told Annie and now she’d slipped and told
Similar Books
