Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
ASTRID
“Okay,” I said, voice hoarse.
Calix grabbed my hand, but I yanked myself out of his hold. God, I hated being so mean to him, but this was not good! As far as I knew, Diya’s stepfather did not know about the baby he’d put into Diya’s stomach. What was I going to say?!
When I stood, the entire student body looked in my direction. Why was my life like a sitcom that wasn’t funny anymore?! I felt like I was jumping from one scandal to another, and I didn’t actually even have any scandals!
I grabbed my bag and headed out of the lunchroom, following him.
Of course, this looked like the baby was actually his. Not Vaughn’s.
“I’ll come with you,” Diya said, hopping up behind me.
“I just need to speak with Astrid,” he said sternly.
My eyes widened, and I scurried as quickly as I could to the hallway.
Out of all the teachers who could call me into their classroom during lunch, why the hell did it have to be him?! Why couldn’t it be my Physics professor, asking why I missed the exam?!
We walked to his classroom in complete silence. Each step felt heavier than the last, and my palms were beginning to sweat. A lot. Now I had to come up with an excuse for him too—something that Calix would believe.
Once we reached the room, he held the door open for me to walk in. I lingered by the door, my hands fastened around the straps of my bag. My mind was spinning with every possible excuse that I could give him.
“Take a seat,” he said, shutting and locking the door behind me.
“Fuck,” I murmured under my breath.
After I dumped my backpack onto the floor, I sat and knocked lightly on the wooden desk with my knuckles.
He pulled up a chair and sat right in front of me, crossing his arms over his chest and clearing his throat. “So?”
“So …”
“I heard the rumor.”
“Who hasn’t?”
He pressed his lips into a tight line. “Is it true?”
I blinked a couple of times. “I … it’s …”
While he didn’t react immediately, he narrowed his eyes. “Is it Calix’s?”
My mouth dried, heart hammering inside my chest. “Wh-what?”
“Calix. Is it his?”
When I opened my mouth, no words came out. I intertwined my sweaty fingers and looked anywhere but at him. Rush already knew that I wasn’t actually pregnant, and I couldn’t let Diya’s stepdad know either. It was his, for fuck’s sake!
“Maybe,” I said, voice wavering.
The silence stretched, and then his expression shifted. “Are you actually pregnant?”
“Yes,” I lied quickly so he wouldn’t think I was hiding something. “I am.”
I eyed him, unsure how or why he looked too controlled yet also concerned at the same time, as if he didn’t want to believe me—or maybe he didn’t.
He nodded slowly and pursed his lips. “And you’re saying it might be Calix’s?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure.”
“You’ve been getting around with The Crew.”
I swallowed hard. “How’d you know?”
“The same way I know that you’re not actually pregnant,” he said. “Diya.”
“Diya?” I repeated to buy myself some time. “Diya told you? About what?”
“About you seeing The Crew.”
“What about seeing Calix?”
“She doesn’t know about that.”
I blew out a breath. “Good.”
But that doesn’t erase the fact that he knows I’m not actually pregnant!
“Diya has been withdrawn lately, and now I hear this rumor about you,” he said.
My throat tightened, and I tried to keep my expression neutral. Was he really that observant, that calculated?! I wiped my palms onto my thighs and looked away from him, heart racing inside my chest.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He hummed in response.
“Really,” I said, grabbing my backpack. “I don’t.”
After a moment, he stood and moved his chair back to its original position, giving me space between him and the door. “You can go.”
Fuck! Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
Deciding not to stay because I couldn’t convince him otherwise, I shot up from my seat and headed straight for the door. I stepped into the hallway, and the door clicked shut behind me.
Diya is going to hate me!