Chapter12

First day of senior year. Two full months later.

"You look exhausted."

I laughed and shut the door. "I know."

"I'm sorry I kept you up."

"It's ok. I'm used to it."

He kissed me softly. "So, what did your mom say about letting you move in?"

"She's still… on the fence. She doesn't want us to… you know."

"She should trust me by now. I mean, we've been dating for a while now."

"I know." I said softly. "I don't think she trusts me all to much. With a guy, I mean. I'm having a baby."

"I can talk to her. So can Lacey."

I sighed.

"Look, I think Lacey's starting to feel different about you. She knows that nothing bad would happen."

I gave him a questioning look. "Really? Things can't get any worse."

"Ky, you're just having a baby. It's not like you've been sentenced to death."

"I know but… I'll have to miss so much when I have the baby."

"I won't let you fail, Ky, you know that. And Lacey can watch over the baby."

"But-"

"Kylie, trust me on this."

I sighed.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

I nodded and looked out the window.

"She's just having a baby, Derek. No big deal."

"No big deal? It's senior year. You shouldn't be worrying about this sort of thing."

"Before the baby, I didn't have anything to look forward to after high school. Now, I can have a family. Something I didn't have before."

"Kyle, you're crazy. Just ditch her and move on."

"What? And you say I'm crazy? She's my girlfriend and that's my baby. I'm not just gonna leave her when she needs me." Kyle growled out, slamming his locker shut.

I jumped.

"What has gotten into you, Kyle? After you left and decided to be friends with her, she changed you. You don't care about your friends or… or the team anymore. We need you back, Kyle. The old Kyle."

"Forget about it, Derek. I like the new me. And Kylie didn't have any reason in why I changed. That was all me. Look, I don't care how pissed off you get. I'm not leaving Kylie." Kyle said, walking off down the hall.

"Kyle, wait! Look, I'm sorry!" Derek yelled down the hall.

I tried to walk across the hall without being caught but it was a failed attempt.

"This is all your fault." Derek said, walking towards me.

I looked up at him but didn't say anything.

"I bet you got yourself knocked up on purpose. You know they make condoms to prevent that."

"Derek, leave her alone." Kyle growled from the other end of the hallway.

He pushed me up against the wall and got in my face. "You aren't even worth my time."

"Neither are you." I whispered, pushing him away from me.

Instinctively, he slapped me in the face.

I fell to my knees, tears springing to my eyes, and my hands flying up to the forming red mark on my cheeks. I looked up just in time to see Kyle slam into Derek, sending him flying to the floor.

Next thing I knew, fist were flying everywhere. Kyle was yelling at Derek, anything and everything. Derek was too stunned to do anything.

Meanwhile, one of the teachers came out of his classroom and pulled Kyle away. The nurse came down the hall quickly, following the no running rule, and stopped at my side.

"Let me see." She took my hand away, looking at my bloodied nose. "You'll be fine. Come with me."

As I stood, I looked over at Kyle. No scratches, no bit marks, no bruises, no sign of any hit. I relaxed a little but I still had a bad feeling in my stomach. I couldn't get his attention. I needed to talk to him.

The nurse bustled me down to her office and handed me a towel. She walked out of the room and left me where I was.

Before she was even out of sight, Kyle was rushing into the room. He walked over to me, tears in his eyes. "A-are you ok?"

I nodded and gave his hand a light squeeze.

"He didn't…"

"The baby's fine. I'm fine. He didn't hurt you… did he?"

"No, not really."

"Did you get in any trouble?"

"Not any. Someone said they saw what was going on and told the principal."

"Kyle, if you're going to be in here, you might as well stay out of the way." The nurse said, handing me a bag of ice.

I smiled.

He jumped up beside me and wrapped his arm around me. "Want me to take you home?"

I laid my head against his side and nodded. I pulled the towel away from my nose and gently laid the ice over the red mark on my face and nose.

"I'm sorry he hurt you."

"It wasn't you fault."

"I know but I wish I could've done something."

"You did." I said, sliding my fingers with his.

He sighed and wiped my cheek gently. "I hate seeing you cry."

"I know." I said softly.