Chapter 12: Ex

Kelly POV

"Good morning Marc." I said, walking in, and taking a seat. He rolled his eyes, but didn't correct me. "Kelly. How are you?" He asked. "Fine." I answered. "How is Amy doing?" He asked. "As good as can be expected. I mean, she is due in two months." I said. "Yes, yes. I am aware of that." Marc said, I noticed an addition to his ring finger. "Did you get hitched over the weekend?" I asked. He glanced down at his ring. "Yeah, I did." He nodded. "Congratulations." I said. He didn't say anything. Interesting I thought. Aren't newlywed supposed to be happy, and so in love? "Well, are you still trying to get information out of me, or can I go now?" I asked. "Actually, I was wondering if you knew someone. Hold on." Marc said, sorting through some papers. "Do you know a girl named, Rachel Stanley?" Marc asked, by the look in his eyes, he already knew the answer. "Maybe, maybe not. Why?" I asked, avoiding the question. Of course I knew her, she just so happened to be my ex-best friend. "Ironically, she is my new step daughter." Marc said. Could this day get any worse?

"I feel your pain." I told him. "She seems like a sweet girl." Marc raised an eyebrow. "You don't know her like I do." I added. "That leads me to my next question. Does Rachel know you as well as you know her?" Marc asked. I didn't give a spoken answer to him, I just shrugged. Marc sighed. "Kelly, do you know why I am asking you all these questions?" He asked. "Because you feel the undying need to make my life hell?" I asked. "Funny, but no. it's because I want to help you. I know you may not understand that, but I sincerely do. It is, after all, my job." Marc said. I couldn't help but notice the large amount of honesty in his voice. I suppressed a sigh. I couldn't deny the fact that he was being honest, but that didn't mean I wanted to accept it either. "You can go back to class now, Kelly." Marc said, leaning back into his chair. I got up silently and left. The world must seriously be out to get me. Rachel and Marc knowing each other? That's a disaster waiting to happen. The truth is, Rachel Stanley was my best friend. Emphasis on the was. We became friends in the first grade, and we were inseparable.

After I found out I was pregnant, she was the first person I told. The next day at school, everyone knew. It was like I was living my worst nightmare. Then I find out that she had this huge crush on Braden, that I didn't even know about, and if I knew that she liked him, then I never would have said yes when he asked me out. I thought we were best friends, I also thought that best friends told each other everything. I told her I was pregnant, but she never told me she liked Braden. If she told me she had a thing for him, I would have never gotten pregnant, I wouldn't have had to change schools. The down side to all that would be, I never would have had Ryan, I never would have fallen in love with Braden, and I never would have met Amy. So maybe it was a good thing Rachel didn't see me as her best friend, because if she did none of these amazing things would have happened. Hell, maybe I should thank her.

"What Marc want this time?" Braden asked as I sat down at the lunch table. "Well, for one he recently got hitched this weekend. And he also has a new step daughter. Her name just happens to be Rachel Stanley." I told him. "Who is Rachel Stanley?" Amy asked. "My ex-best friend." I said. "Why the ex part?" Ben asked. "She told everyone at my old school I was pregnant." I explained. "Oh." Amy said. "Tell me about it." I sighed. "I'm sorry, love." Braden said, putting his arm around my shoulders. "You know what? I'm not gonna let this get to me. I am finally in a place where I am happy, and I wont let Rachel ruin that for me. I wont." I said. "Good for you." Amy smiled. "Braden, you excited for your first baseball game today?" I asked, changing the subject. "Yeah, I love baseball. But the coach is a total idiot." Braden said. "Good luck." I said. "Thanks." He smiled. "I'm seriously ready for this kid to come out." Amy groaned. "It's not bad. Trust me, I would know." I laughed. "I think she's gonna be a soccer star, or something." Amy said, rubbing a hand over her stomach. "Same with Ry, it was non stop kicking." I grimaced slightly, remembering. "Just think, one more month." I said. "Three weeks actually, but who's counting?" Amy said. The bell rang, and the four of us departed ways.

Braden's first game is today, Amy, Ben, and I plan on going. Apparently, the game is against our arch rivals, so it's a big game. The rest of the day passed slow. I couldn't shake the growing worry, that came with thinking about Rachel. I didn't tell my mom about Rachel, there was no need to get her worked up, about something that may not become anything. Maybe Rachel has changed, and she isn't that stuck up girl who betrayed me. Maybe she matured. I left the house around four to pick up Amy, and Ben for Braden's baseball game. I wont lie, baseball is my weakness. Sometimes I sit there scoring the game, but tonight I'm not because Amy and Ben are coming, and I don't feel like boring them. Ben was already at Amy's house, so that cut our time in half. "I don't care what you guys say, we are so going out to eat after the game." Amy said, as we found seats on the stand. "Fine by me. Braden usually eats a bunch after games." I said. "It's on me." Ben said. "You can try, but Braden will never go for that." I laughed. Amy laughed, and Ben shrugged. Before the game started, Braden came over to me on the stands. He kissed me, and pulled away. "Good luck kiss." He said, smiled a breath taking smile, and ran back to the team bench. "Wow." Amy said, fanning herself mockingly. "Shut up." I tried to say it in a serious voice, but the smile made that near impossible.