A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews!


By the time Maya had finished telling the whole story, Zay was left utterly speechless. She'd said that the situation was complicated, but he couldn't believe how far in over her head she really was.

"You hate me now, right?" Maya looked down at the floor. "It's okay. It can't possibly be any more than I hate myself."

Zay shook his head. "Come on, I could never hate you. I'm not even mad at you. It's just hard to wrap my head around all this. You and Josh, Lucas and Riley."

"Except there wasn't a Lucas and Riley. I didn't even give them a chance to explain. I just assumed the worst. That's why I'm here right now."

"What were you supposed to think?" Zay wondered. "Maya, you saw them kissing. Any normal person would've assumed the same thing you did. No, you definitely didn't handle it the right way, but people do dumb things when they're upset."

Maya stood and began to pace the room. "Yeah, they do. They yell. They scream. They throw a vase at the wall. I got pregnant, Zay. I mean, what am I supposed to do now? I'm sixteen! How can I possibly take care of a baby?"

Zay stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, you just need to breathe for a second. You do realize there are other alternatives to you raising this baby?"

"Not for me," she said, sighing. She could never go through with an abortion. The thought of taking the life of her own son or daughter—she would never be able to look at herself in the mirror again. Adoption was a better option, but she didn't like the idea of knowing she had a kid out there and never knowing where they were or if they were happy or being taken care of. She also couldn't stand the idea of them wondering why they weren't wanted. Maya had wondered that enough herself.

"This is my baby," she said, quietly.

Zay nodded. "Okay. If that's what you want, then we'll all be there to help you. You can pencil me in as a babysitter right now. I'll be like the cool uncle that takes him to basketball games and gives him a bunch of candy when you're not around."

"What if it's a girl?" Maya asked, slightly curious.

"A mini-Maya? As cute as she would be, I don't know if the world is ready for two of you. I'm just gonna choose to believe it's a boy for now."

Maya sat down. "It doesn't really matter. I'm gonna have the same exact problems either way."

"You're worried about how Lucas will take this," Zay said.

"I don't know if he'll forgive me. But even if he does, I can't ask him to deal with this."

"What if he wants to?" Zay wondered. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he's crazy about you and has been for a very long time. What if he wants to get past this?"

Tears began to well up in her eyes. Of course she wanted to believe that Zay was right, that Lucas would understand and still want to be with her. But even if that were true, he deserved so much better than to be embroiled in this mess she had made.

"Maya? You do still want to be with Lucas, don't you?"

She nodded as she brushed away her tears. "But it's not that simple anymore. Do you really think he's gonna look at me the same when he finds out that I'm having a baby with another guy?" She closed her eyes. "Josh. Oh God. How am I going to tell him about this? He doesn't even remember what happened!"

"Well, look on the bright side. Once he finds out that he got you pregnant, he isn't likely to come within ten feet of any form of alcohol ever again," Zay pointed out.

Maya didn't disagree. She couldn't see Josh ever walking away from his baby, but she also couldn't see him being the least bit happy about having a kid at nineteen—and with her of all people. This was going to turn both of their lives upside down.

"And one little piece of advice," Zay said. "You'll probably want to tell Josh about this before you tell Lucas. Otherwise, your kid's daddy is gonna get a serious ass-kicking, and he won't even see it coming. Southern guys don't play when it comes to their girl."


Later that evening after Zay had left, Maya was curled up on the couch next to Lucas as a movie played on the TV. She wasn't paying any attention to it. She was just trying to soak up every moment that they had together, because she knew that these moments would likely end soon. And it was no one's fault but her own.

"You've been really quiet," Lucas noted.

Maya sat up, slowly. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Like finals?"

"What else?" she said, forcing a small smile.

Lucas smiled back. "Well, at least you won't be sick when we have to start studying. I'm actually surprised you haven't thrown that in my face—that I was wrong and you were right."

"Oh, Huckleberry. If I gloated every time I was right, I would bore myself."

"There are a lot of words I have used to describe you over the years. I can honestly say that boring has never been one of them." He took her hand in his. "I never know what's coming next with you. And you might be surprised to hear this, but that's one of the things I love most about you—about us."

She looked into his green eyes and shook her head. "I don't deserve you."

"What? Why would you think that?"

Maya took a shaky breath. "Because I messed up. And I should've told you about it a long time ago. I just thought I could pretend like it didn't happen, but I can't. Not anymore."

Lucas frowned. "What are you talking about?"

She looked away. She hadn't meant to say that much—not yet. But this secret had been weighing on her for weeks, and she needed it to go away. She would leave Josh's name out of it for the time being, but she had to lay the rest of it out there.

"Do you remember when I confronted you because I thought you were cheating with Riley?"

He nodded. He still felt badly about that.

Maya sighed. "I was a mess that night. I was angry. I was hurt. I felt like I had lost two of the most important people in my whole life. I thought you and Riley had betrayed me. And I know that it wasn't what it looked like. I get it now. But that's how it felt at the time."

"Maya, I am so sorry about that."

"No. Don't apologize. I have to say this. There was a guy that I ran into that night. I wasn't thinking straight, and he wasn't thinking straight. And he ended up kissing me. It helped get my mind off of you and Riley, so I didn't stop it. Lucas, I made such a big mistake."

Lucas shook his head. "It's okay. You don't have anything to feel guilty about. If I had seen what you saw, I wouldn't have been thinking straight either. I mean, I hate the idea of you with some other guy, but it was just a kiss, Maya. It's not that big of a deal."

She closed her eyes. "You don't understand…"

But as she was trying to finish explaining, Lucas' mother walked through the front door and Maya realized that the rest of the story would have to wait.


A few days later, Maya and Zay were walking over to Riley's for their study party. Well, if one could call it that. Farkle and Smackle had canceled at the last minute in favor of having a night with just the two of them, and Lucas was going to end up climbing through the window an hour or two late because of a family thing he had gotten roped into attending. But that at least gave Maya a chance to talk to the only person who knew what was going on in her screwed-up life.

"So you only told him like forty percent of the story?" Zay said, when she had finished her rant.

"I was thinking it was more along the lines of thirty percent."

He sighed. "And I'm assuming you still haven't talked to Josh?"

"If I had talked to Josh, I'm pretty sure that would've been the first thing I told you," Maya replied. "Look, he's going on this Florida trip with us. I'll tell him then."

"Oh, okay. Your grand plan is to blow up our entire vacation with your baby drama."

She crossed her arms. "Fine. Then I'll tell him when we get home. Is that better?"

"Better than Florida, yeah. But it sounds to me like you're just looking for a way to procrastinate," Zay noted. "And I hate to tell you, but your little bundle of joy isn't gonna stay hidden forever."

"Zay, I may have never been pregnant before, but I know what a pregnant woman looks like. Everyone will be well aware of this train wreck by the time I start showing, trust me."

By that point, they had come to Riley's bedroom window. Maya started to climb, but Zay grabbed her hand and led her a few feet away.

"What are you doing?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm looking out for your kid, that's what I'm doing. You can't be climbing through windows when you're pregnant!"

Maya groaned. "You mean I have to use the front door for the next seven and a half months? And I thought the morning sickness sucked."


They proceeded to take the long way around to the front door. But Riley wasn't the one to let them in; Josh was. And needless to say, Maya was caught off guard by his presence. She'd forgotten that his classes had already ended, so he must be staying there now.

"Hey guys," Josh said, smiling at them. "I think Riley's in her room waiting for you."

Zay turned to Maya. "And I just remembered that I need to talk to her about your Christmas present. So you just stay and chat with Josh here for a few minutes."

Maya glared at him, but he left the room anyway.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that buys Christmas presents in May," Josh commented. "Not a bad idea though. It would take a lot of the stress out of December."

Maya forced a smile, but she knew nothing could take the stress out of this December. Her due date was New Year's Day. God, Zay was right. She had to find a way to tell Josh about this. He was so blissfully unaware of the mess that the two of them were now in.

After Florida. I'll tell him then. I will. I don't have a choice.

"Maya, are you okay?" Josh asked. "You seem kind of distracted."

"Yeah. I just have a lot going on right now. Finals, Florida, my mom's wedding. Nothing I can't handle."

He smiled. "I'm sure it isn't. You're one of the toughest people I know. You always have been."

"I've always had to be," she said, quietly. "I don't see that changing any time soon. But it's easier when you know you won't be alone."

"I don't think you ever have to worry about that. I won't even take the time to name off all the people I know that care about you. But just so you know, that list definitely includes me."

Maya fought back tears and hugged him. And for a brief moment, she allowed herself to think that things could somehow turn out okay. An idea that would be shattered in a few days' time on Florida's beautiful sandy beaches.