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“What’s going on?” I asked, heart hammering. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
She gave me a hard look. “I noticed something odd on the ultrasound the other day,” she said. “The fetus is a little smaller than it should be at the ten week mark. Because it’s so early, it can be hard to tell the exact age, so it’s possible that it just happens to be smaller than average. There’s always some variation in size. But this one is much smaller than expected. Almost as if it’s a couple of weeks behind schedule.”
“We thought we had the right ovulation dates for you, because Piper told us when you had your period,” Zara added. “But now we think there’s a chance we got it slightly wrong. So your most fertile days of the month could’ve been a bit later than we assumed.”
I bit my lip and twisted my hands on my lap. “So you are saying what I think you’re saying.”
“Yes, Amerie,” Zara said stiffly, gesturing toward my abdomen with one hand. “That baby could be Jensen’s.”
Jensen
I stepped out of my car and into the pouring rain, smothering a yawn with one hand. It was the kind of morning that made me want to curl up in bed and refuse to leave the house, but I had no choice. I had to go to school.
Firstly, I had to keep up the pretense that everything in my life was normal. If anyone noticed me going into a total fucking tailspin over Amerie’s disappearance, they’d start to suspect that something was up with me, and then I’d get dragged before the Rosmerta council before I could carry out my rescue plan.
The second reason was fifty yards ahead of me, dashing toward the entryway under a black umbrella.
Piper.
I strode toward the entrance, pulling up the hood of my jacket to shield myself from the rain and gusting winds. The sound of raindrops hitting the pavement echoed around me, and the gloomy sky cast a gray pall over the entire campus.
I took a deep breath and slid my hand into my pocket to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything as I stepped through the entryway. Other students rushed past me in the hall, shoes squeaking on the slick tiles as they frantically hurried toward their destinations. I maintained my unhurried pace and kept my gaze fixed on Piper, watching her long brown ponytail swing as she trudged down to the junior locker hall.
I half-expected her friends to be waiting for her at her locker, but no one was there. That made things a lot easier for me.
I strode up to her as she dumped her bag inside the locker and slammed it shut. “Hey, Piper. I have to show you something,” I said, yanking my phone out of my pocket, along with a pair of AirPods.
She turned her weary face to mine. “It’ll have to wait,” she said. “I have to get to homeroom.”
“You’re skipping homeroom today.” I took a step closer and grabbed her left arm with my free hand. Right on cue, the bell rang.
Piper scowled and attempted to shake me off. “What the hell are you doing?” she said hotly. “I’m going to be late!”
“Too bad. You need to hear this,” I said, sticking one of the AirPods in her ear. Dumbfounded, she stared at me as I stuck the other one in and pressed play on my phone.
Her blank face contorted with confusion five seconds later, followed by a mix of shock and fury. After ten seconds, she yanked out the left AirPod. “Why the fuck do you have this?” she hissed.
I smirked. “I’ll give you one guess.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait… it was you?”
“Yup. Just me. The society didn’t send me.”
“You fucking asshole!” she shrieked, hammering at my chest with her fists. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Excuse me. What’s going on here?” a sharp voice called out.
We whipped our heads around to see one of the math teachers standing in the hallway, eyes narrowed and arms crossed.
I flashed an amiable grin in her direction and casually shrugged. “Piper’s mad at me for texting other girls. But I never said we were exclusive, so I don’t think I did anything wrong.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “Just get to class. Both of you.”
“Sure. Sorry, Ms. Wilson,” I replied, grabbing Piper’s arm again. I dragged her around the corner and dipped my chin toward the nearest empty classroom. “Room 12 is free. We’ll talk in there.”
I wrenched open the door and pushed her inside. She stood there glowering at me as I locked the room behind us.
“Was it all you?” she said, folding her arms. “All the shit that’s been happening to me lately? The rumors and the stalking?”
