Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Lily
Stacey isn’t in the outer office or the main hallway. I run out the back door and across the quad, making a beeline to our dorm. Her room is one floor up from mine, and when I get there, I find her door ajar.
I knock first, then push it open.
She’s lying on her bed, facing the window.
“Can I come in?”
She doesn’t answer. Which is not a no, I guess.
Stepping inside, I close the door behind me so we have some privacy. “Did you… hear something today?”
“Go away.”
“I will. But can I say something first?”
She flops onto her back and glares at me. “You lied to me.”
“I couldn’t tell you the truth.”
“You shouldn’t be sleeping with him.”
“You wanted to!”
“That was stupid!” She swipes at her eyes. “You’re pregnant with his baby?”
“It’s complicated.”
“How?”
“We met before he was my headmaster,” I whisper. “We’ve been keeping a secret this whole time. I couldn’t tell you.”
“This is so embarrassing.” She groans. “You let me tell you I wanted to give him my virginity? How gross is that?”
“It’s not. It was awkward AF, but it wasn’t gross. And I felt bad. Oh my God, so much, and I couldn’t tell you the truth.”
“No, I get it.” She gives me a rueful look. “You’re having his baby?”
I nod. “Mm-hmm.”
“Holy crap. I thought you slept with some townie and didn’t know his name.”
That makes me laugh so hard I snort. “When I met him, that’s what I thought Sebastian was.” I take a deep breath and decide to trust her. A leap of faith. “We met at a truck stop.”
“Shut up.” She shifts and makes room for me on her bed. “What? Tell me everything. Except the sex parts.”
I sit next to her, my body a twist of emotions. Excited to confide in someone but nervous that to do so could throw everything into peril. “You can’t tell anyone. I swear up and down that Sebastian would never have touched me if we hadn’t met outside of school first.”
She holds out her hand, baby finger extended. “Pinky swear. I was sad for a hot minute because I’m going through some kind of sexual awakening or something—”
“You’re horny all the time?” When she nods, I lean in. “Me too, I get it. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find someone to help you with that just as soon as you leave this place. I promise life will get better once you graduate.”
Her eyes go wide. “Which you get to do in a few weeks. Are you the reason he’s leaving at Christmas?”
Warmth blooms in my chest. “Yeah. I am.”
It’s the first time in my entire life anyone has ever put me first.
“Where are you going to go?”
“I don’t know yet. Far away from here. We’re going to settle somewhere near a college, and I’ll enroll in a school after I have the baby.”
“I can’t believe it.” She glances at my belly. “You’re going to get fat.”
I laugh out loud. “Maybe. That’ll be okay.”
“He’ll love you no matter what.” She says it wistfully. “I’ve heard him say that, too.”
“How do you hear these things?”
She chews on her lower lip. “Uh… There’s a hole in the office wall behind the filing cabinet. When the file drawers are open, it’s like a wind tunnel of information.”
“Holy shit.”
“I never heard him talk about a woman like the way he talks about you. Except I didn’t know it was you until today.”
“Wow.”
“Does he know… about my crush?”
I shake my head. “No. And that will be our secret forever.”
She throws her arms around me. “You’re such a lucky bitch.”
I squeeze her into a tight hug. “Because I have a friend like you, maybe.”
“Shut up.”
I hug her even tighter. I will not shut up about being lucky to know her. Not ever. “I’ll tell you where we land,” I whisper in her ear. “If you feel like heading west at some point, too.”
I don’t go back to Sebastian’s office. Instead, I go downstairs to my room and text him.
S is okay. I’m going into town for some fresh air.
I need to clear my head. But when I get to my car in the parking lot, Sebastian is waiting for me. “You can’t leave campus.” His face is drawn tight with concern.
“Why not?”
“It’s not safe.”
“What’s going on?”
“Come into my office; let me explain everything.”
“Your office has a hole in the wall,” I tell him. “Behind the filing cabinet. So anyone can overhear whatever we talk about in there if putting student files away.”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “Great.”
Instead of going inside, we walk around the main building to the quad.
To anyone watching, we probably just look like a headmaster and student talking about school things.
Nobody knows that he’s explaining that my grandfather’s lawyer has had to hire a private investigator to look into my parents’ misuse of my trust fund resources.
And now they’re angry—with me, who had no idea.
“They haven’t tried to contact me,” I point out.
“Your phone's been restricted to only accept incoming calls from a certain set of numbers.”
I pull it out of my purse. “No, it’s not….”
His face is tight, his arms taut as he crosses them over his chest. “It is now.”
“Since when?”
“Thanksgiving.”
“Sebastian!” I bark his name out loud, and he raises an eyebrow. Right. “Headmaster Craig,” I say sarcastically. “That’s something you should have told me. Or asked my permission to do.”
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I’m not worried,” I snap. Except… I shiver, and Sebastian rakes his gaze down my arms, which I wrap around myself.
“We can leave early. I’ll pack us up tonight, and we can hit the road.”
I glance around the beautiful green space. “This has been the best school experience I’ve ever had. I kind of want to finish it properly. And maybe not leave a scandal in our wake, you know?”
He nods. “Just don’t leave campus. Promise me?”
“I promise.”
“Two weeks, Lily. And then you’re going to get one hell of a graduation present.”
“What are you talking about?” I drop my voice to a whisper. “Is that a dirty thing? Because I like it.”
He chuckles. “Oh, well, yes. You’ll get the celebration of your life that night.
Our first night on the road. Daddy’s going to book the best hotel suite he can find.
But no…” he trails off, his eyes warm. “There will be a surprise. That’s all I’m saying.
So get your work done and prepare to be rewarded. ”