AllFreeNovel
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“I’m fine.” When she doesn’t reply straight away I ask, “Are you okay?”
A watery chuckle escapes her. “No. I’m not okay but what’s new.”
I’m not heartless enough to end the call so I ask. “What happened?”
“You don’t need to hear my shit, Lexi.”
“Distract me from my own drama… please.”
It takes her a second but she caves and talks. “I recently found out I was pregnant.”
My stomach sinks. “You saidwas.” A sob escapes her, I remain silent waiting for her to gather herself.
“I found out the week Cody… left. She was the only person I told. I had planned to tell the guys but then everything happened and I lost the baby.” Guilt washes over me, she called me the other day and I was a bitch to her. I’ve got a first class ticket to hell for being such a cunt to her when she was dealing with this loss.
“I’m so sorry, Katie.” I mean it, I am sorry because no one deserves to lose a child.
“I was happy, ya know. I wanted the baby, I know Saint and Crue don’t want kids and I would have raised it on my own without an argument. I never knew I wanted to be a mom until the option was ripped away from me.”
“Did… did you tell them?” She sniffs and when she doesn’t answer straightaway, I have my answer. “They found out, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, they came over and found the test.” She breaks down and I feel like an asshole. I’m sure that if Cody was here she would be there for her friend. I may hate Corvin but that doesn’t mean I have to project that hate onto anyone else.
“I’m so sorry, Katie. I wish there was something I could do,” I say honestly, meaning every word.
“Just promise you’re coming to the cabin for Easter so I can hug you.” A whoosh of air escapes me. Corvin told me about this trip and I really don’t want to go anywhere with him, but I also know if I do this it will bring me closer to reaching my goal.
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“Thank you, Lexi.”
“Uh, for what?” I asked, confused why she would be thanking me right now.
“For distracting me from… what happened.” Sadness laces each of her words. “I’m just a mess right now.”
“You have every right to be a mess.” She sniffles again and my heart aches for her.
“They’re so angry with me, Lexi. I fucked up so bad and now I’m scared I’ll lose them.” I’m not qualified to be giving any one relationship advice right now. I mean, I’m fucking my sisters ex.
“If they can’t understand why you didn’t tell them straight away, then make them understand, Katie. Life is too fucking short forwhat ifs.”
“They won’t even return my calls. I went to their dorm and they wouldn’t let me in. They have never raised their voices at me before, but I didn’t even recognize them. I know this is a lot for them as well but I just…”
“Needed them to hold you through the pain,” I whisper, knowing exactly what she means. Katie and I talked for a while longer until her friend Nathan showed up at her dorm. We ended the call with me promising to call her tomorrow and let her know how my first day went at WFU. I’ll admit, I got a wee bit choked up when she told me she was proud of me for doing this and not rejecting Corvin’s offer.
* * *
Nerves thrum through me as Corvin and I walk side-by-side out of the administration building after getting our class schedules. Students mill about the busy halls. Some guy runs past and knocks into me, sending me staggering, Corvin wraps his arm around my waist and draws me into his side while shooting a glare at the guy.
“Watch it,” he snarls, the poor nerdy looking guy pales and nods before dashing away. “You gonna be okay to find your way? I have to go meet the coach.” I look up at him and nod.
“Yeah, I’ll figure it out.” He pursues his lips to the side studying me for a moment before he reluctantly nods.
“If you need me just text or call and I’ll be here.” I feel like there is a double meaning to his words but he doesn’t elaborate further. We stand here awkwardly, just staring at each other for a while until he leans down, places a kiss on my cheek and whispers in my ear, “You got this, jail bait. If you can fuck with me and wreck my house and car, you can handle college.” Laughter burst out of me without consent. He pulls back, shoots me a wink and stalks out of the doors to go meet with his new coach. I should feel relieved that he’s gone and left me to do my own thing but… I don’t.
I feel like I can conquer this shit with him by my side, and now without him I feel lost. I shake my head and push those thoughts away. I cannot get attached or allow myself to feel anything but hatred for Corvin Williams, no matter how nice he tries to be or how kind he shows himself to be. I need to remain strong and make sure my sister gets her revenge on the man that broke her.
Corvin
