Caught In A Riptide
Chapter Nineteen
Lakely
Smoothing my hands over the soft cotton dress I slipped into this morning, I try not to look as terrified as I feel.
The doctor's office looms in front of me, and it might as well be a torture chamber, I'm that nervous.
"It's going to be fine, sweetheart," Bella soothes, running her hand over my hair with a gentle smile that immediately takes the edge off my nerves. "The doctor will just ask a few questions and probably run some tests."
"What kind of tests?"
"Probably bloodwork…" Her smile turns sympathetic when I wince. "I'll be right here with you, honey." Checking the clock on the dash, she ushers me out with the reminder that Dr. Eddison is seeing me before hours and we don't have long before I need to be at school.
Apparently, the promise she and Edward made to take care of me includes putting an end to skipping school.
"You'll probably be missing plenty later in the year, so we need to keep your attendance up now," Bella had pointed out, reminding me just how naive I am, how little I know about the coming months and what I can expect.
Dr. Eddison is waiting in the waiting area, long legs crossed with his ankle on his knee, newspaper spread over his lap. He looks up with a grin when the sliding doors glide open and we step inside.
"Good morning."
Handing over the coffee I assumed was for her, but secretly wished I could steal, Bella smirks. "Your payment, Doctor."
The doctor's boisterous laugh calms the jagged edges of my fear, his double-dimpled smile putting me at ease.
"You know me too well, Bella." Turning his attention to me, his smile softens. "Lakely, right? We've met a few times at this one's place."
Bella scoffs, quietly protesting being called 'this one,' as I nod.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Well, if you weren't family before, this definitely seals the deal. Come on back and we'll take a look at you."
In lieu of a nurse, Bella coaches me through the check-in steps, kindly averting her gaze when I step onto the scales with flaming cheeks and guiding me down the hall to meet Dr. Eddison in his office once she's helped me measure my height.
Eyeing the exam bed and sonogram machine beside it with a lump in my throat and a rock in the pit of my stomach, I swallow hard and rattle off the answers to the questions he asks.
By the time he tells me to hop up onto the bed so we can take a look at what's going on 'in utero,' I'm a trembling mess.
Just as I climb onto the bed, there's a soft tap on the door before a face I'm more than relieved to see appears.
"Sorry, I wanted to grab you a smoothie," Arlo says with a bashful grin, setting the drink down on Dr. Eddison's desk before perching on the edge of the bed. I don't expect the rush of warmth that hits me the second he twists his fingers around mine. "I didn't want to miss this," he whispers, and it's like we're the only two people in the room, his dark eyes on mine.
Dr. Eddison snorts. "How you two have gone this long without getting together beats me."
My cheeks flame crimson as heat rushes to my face. "We're not—"
"Just took me a while to get my head outta my ass, that's all."
My breath whooshes out of me. What did he just say?
Dr. Eddison says something about checking gestational age as I numbly tug up the hem of my dress and roll down the waistband of my leggings.
Just took me a while to get my head outta my ass, that's all.
"Oh!"
"Sorry," Dr. Eddison laughs. "It's cold."
With the wand, he spreads the gel around while I stare up at the ceiling, squeezing Arlo's hand as hard as he's gripping mine.
"O-kay. It's definitely not a food baby," the doctor teases, flashing me a wink when my eyes dart to his face with a surprised giggle. "Do you two know roughly when…?"
"June twelfth," I whisper, eyes returning to the ceiling as Dr. Eddison looks around my uterus.
Weirdest Monday morning ever.
"That works," he mumbles. "And based off of your other details...it puts you right around ten weeks."
"Oh, wow…" Arlo breathes, and my lungs seize.
"What? What is it?"
Chuckling, he squeezes my hand. "Look, Lakers." His voice is thick, and when I glance at his face before following his gaze to the screen, I see his awe before my eyes land on a fuzzy gray and black blob.
"Is that…?"
"That's your baby," Dr. Eddison confirms, huffing a laugh through his nose when Bella loudly sniffles and tries to pass her tears off as allergies.
That's our baby.
My heart thrums in my ears, goosebumps rising over my body.
It's a blob.
Right now, the...the baby...is a small gray blob with tiny arms and legs and a big, round head.
"Is it okay?"
Dr. Eddison nods slowly as he tells us he's taking some measurements, but everything looks good. "This is the heartbeat," he finally points out, finger tapping the screen just below a flickering dot.
I feel my own beating faster in response, and I hold my breath when Bella asks if we can hear it.
The fast, hummingbird-like sound fills the room seconds later. Gripping Arlo's hand so tight my knuckles are white, I stare at it and let the sound wash through me.
As Bella reaches around her son to squeeze my shoulder and mouth, "Are you okay?" I plaster a smile on my face and lie.
"I'm fine."
~ oOo ~
After a week hiding out above Burger Co. courtesy of one self-declared honorary uncle, I probably should have been better prepared for what people at school would say when I returned.
The eyes of my fellow students burn as I hurry into school with Arlo just before the bell. Their not-so-quiet whispers tear at my already battered heart.
"Did you hear?"
"What a slut."
"Apparently it's Cullen's."
And the one that fills my eyes with tears.
"I bet it's Tyler's and she's just trying to trap Arlo."
I don't share first period with Arlo so we split up almost as soon as we walk in, but by the time I make it to class, I wish I still had him beside me. A human shield. A barrier between the curious whispers and judgemental stares.
Luckily, I do share AP biology with Charlotte. She's waiting for me at our desk and drags me into a hard, sideways hug as soon as soon as I drop onto my stool.
"You're back!"
"Unfortunately."
Her rueful smile makes me realize I didn't just think that, and the sympathy in her eyes tells me she knows why I'm less than happy to be back.
"I'm sorry, are people being assholes?"
Mr. Banner strolls in then, pretentious white lab coat and all, so I just give Charlotte a nod-shrug combo and try to focus on the teacher instead of the heat of so many eyes on my back.
~ oOo ~
When I drop into my usual seat at lunch, my friends already there and a tray of my favorite lunch food on the table, I could cry.
"Hey, you okay?" Heidi asks, all dark frowns and deep concern as she jumps up to round the table. Winding her arms around me from behind, she presses her cheek against my crown. "You look all pasty."
"Throwing up five times in one morning will do that to you," I sigh, tentatively sipping some water. The rest of my lunch will go untouched. The thought of eating…
"You have to eat," Arlo murmurs, correctly interpreting my scrunched-up expression when I glance at the food. His dark eyes are soft as he reaches for the pudding cup, holding it toward me with a hopeful smile. "At least try something, for me?"
The bastard knows I can never deny him, and when I finish the chocolate pudding and admit I do feel a little better, the grin he shoots me is almost enough to distract me from the sonogram image burning a hole in the backpack at my feet.
~ oOo ~
The restaurant is kind of busy when I finally trudge through it after school. Arlo drops me off since his mom picked me up to take me to the doctor this morning, and when he drives away, he yells out of the window that he'll pick me up for dinner at his place later.
Trying not to grimace, I nod and hurry inside, offering Sullivan a quick wave when he grins at me from behind the bar.
Once I've cranked the windows open and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, I bypass the leather couch which will doubtlessly stick to my legs and flop on the bed upstairs instead, listening to the slow thump-whir of the overhead fan when I switch it on.
"That was hell."
There's nobody here to talk to, so I'm just speaking out loud into an empty space, but it helps. It makes me feel a little better.
Rolling onto my back, I reach out with trembling fingers, touching my stomach as my heart starts to race. I've gained enough weight over the summer that I'm not showing yet, but it probably won't be long. Pizza and donut weight won't hide it for long, though.
Not that it matters, I think wryly. Everyone knows now, anyway.
I didn't expect the looks, the vile comments. I knew people would be curious and shocked, but I didn't know they'd be so judgemental and cruel.
I've always hated confrontation, but the people who just came up to me and asked me outright if I'm having a baby and who the father is were, surprisingly, the easiest to deal with. With them, I could just nod and tell them 'yes' when they asked if Arlo is the dad.
The ones who whispered behind my back all day and laughed as they loudly accused me of trying to wreck Arlo's future...they're the ones responsible for the tears that run over my cheeks now.
When Arlo shows up two hours later, he calls up to me from downstairs, brows furrowing when I drag myself off the bed and peer over the railing.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm just tired," I lie, although it's not really a full lie—I am tired.
"I can tell Mom you're not up to dinner, if you want?"
For a second, I consider it. Then I force myself to shake my head. "No, she's doing a lot for us, and she was excited to have me over. I don't want to be a let-down."
"Lakers…" he sighs, jogging up the stairs to the loft bedroom. "You wouldn't be a let-down. She's been preggo, she knows the drill." Tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear, he smiles. "If you're too tired, we can stay here. I could run down and grab us some food from Burger Co."
As tempting as that is…
"It's all right, I'll be fine. I need to get changed quickly though."
He eyes me for a moment or three before nodding. "Okay, as long as you're sure."
While he heads downstairs to wait, I change into a swimsuit with shorts and a tee over the top. The humidity today is insane, so I'm definitely going to want to take advantage of the Cullens' pool.
Looking at myself in the bathroom mirror, I scrape my hair back into a messy bun and tell myself that this is no different from any other time I've had dinner over at the Cullens'.
Except it is.
It's way different.
And when we get to the house twenty minutes later, I feel like I'm going to puke all over Bella's gorgeous flowerbeds.
"Hey, chill. It's just dinner, okay? Dad is at work so it'll just be us, the sixers, and Mom for most of it."
Swallowing hard, I nod and flash him a grateful smile when he twists our fingers together as we make our way up onto the porch.
Stepping into the house, a home as familiar as my own—or, what used to be my own—is always comforting.
I don't expect it this time, but it's like being wrapped up in my favorite blanket.
Mackenzie and Oakley thump down the stairs and yell their "Hello's" as we join them in the huge, open-plan living area. Bella is in the kitchen telling River to quit sneaking snacks from the pantry while Rylee, Asher, and Caben are playing what looks like some kind of Mario game on the big TV.
It's...normal.
The only ones missing are Edward and Max; I still expect the fluffy brute to skid around the corner any second.
"Hi, Lakely," River says as he hops up onto a stool at the breakfast bar, done with his lecture and not looking the least bit repentant.
"Hey, River."
"Are you eating with us? Ooh, did you bring any cakes from the bakery?"
My cheeks heat as I shake my head and Arlo tells him to go play with the other kids.
He shrugs and hops down to do just that, demanding Rylee give him her controller so he can take over her turn.
I wince as the sixers start squabbling, but it's a familiar sound, one I'm sure the rest of the family hears plenty with six nine-year-olds in the house.
Bella just rolls her eyes and waves me over with a warm smile. I feel a twinge of unease when Arlo slips his hand out of mine to take the seat River just vacated, but he offers me a wink and gets comfortable, letting me know he's not going anywhere.
"Arlo said you're struggling with strong smells and flavors, so I thought I'd make us some mac and cheese and the others can grill some meat we had left over at the restaurant. I hope that's okay?"
When Bella says 'mac and cheese,' she doesn't mean the kind that comes in a box. She means fully homemade, gourmet style mac and cheese with crispy bacon, a bunch of different cheeses, and probably some homemade bread to dip in the cheese sauce.
I'm nodding before she even finishes speaking, reaching up to make sure I'm not drooling when she laughs and hugs me into her side.
"Do you want to help me? None of my kids like helping me anymore."
Arlo scoffs as I nod and tell her, "I'd like that."
"Why don't you go play with the sixers, Lo? Give us girls some time to hang."
"If you stop trying to be cool by saying things like hang, I'll go," he laughs, rounding the counter to kiss her cheek, hesitating before kissing mine, too. Winking at me, he loudly whispers, "Yell if you need saving."
Swatting at him with a towel, Bella rolls her eyes and tells me to grab an apron.
Working side-by-side with Bella is...fun.
She gives me instructions and guides me through her coveted mac and cheese recipe, the one that replaced Edward's at Burger Co. because after she made a batch there once and it stole the show, it's the only one Edward wants on the menu.
I feel guilty comparing, but Mom isn't someone you can be in the kitchen with. I always feel like I'm getting under her feet or that I'm in the way. With Bella, it's easy to relax and just enjoy the process.
Arlo and the sixers amuse themselves by playing Mario Kart until it's time to set the table, and then there's a mini army of kids carrying cutlery and plates outside while Arlo gets to work grilling ribs.
It isn't until I carry a big wooden board covered in slices of still-warm bread out to the patio that I get a good whiff of the ribs, and…
Oh.
Arlo catches my eye as I veer over toward him after dumping the bread on the table. "You okay?"
"What sauce is that?" I ask, pointing at the sticky glaze he's brushing over the meat. It looks almost done, and the smell...it's divine.
Amused, I think, he says, "It's Papa's barbecue sauce recipe. You've had it before. Why, does it smell different?"
"It smells amazing." Glancing through the big windows at Bella, I wonder, "Will your mom be mad if I have some of this, too?"
The rack is enormous, more than enough meat on there to feed Arlo and the sixers once they add the sides I helped Bella make while the mac and cheese was in the oven; there's salad, potato salad, slaw, fries...all the stuff.
"Of course not," Arlo laughs, eyeballing the meat for a second before mumbling that it's done. "Can you hand me that tray?"
I'm buzzing when we all sit down at the table and Arlo cuts off a few ribs for me before dishing some out to his siblings.
Eyeing me with a knowing grin, Bella holds off on heaping mac and cheese onto my plate. "See how you feel once you've had those," she says gently, obviously amused by something, although I don't know what.
It becomes clear when I lick my fingers of barbecue sauce fifteen minutes later, having cleaned my plate of my own ribs and stolen some of Arlo's. On top of that, I polished off a double helping of mac and cheese.
I've never felt so full or so content.
Rinsing dishes and stacking them in the dishwasher after dinner is one of the sixers' chores, so while they get to it, Bella points at the loungers by the pool and tells me to go relax. Arlo flops down first, eyeing me shrewdly for a second before nodding at the space he makes between his legs.
With rosy cheeks, I settle into a spot I've occupied many times before.
But it's different now.
Everything is different with him.
The warmth of his chest seeps through my thin tee and swimsuit when I lean back into him. When he sighs and comments on what a nice evening it is, I get flashbacks of waking up with his chest pressed against my back, his breath on my neck.
Swallowing hard, I nod and stare at the wispy clouds drifting across the sky, wondering if I'll ever be able to feel comfortable around my best friend again as I drift off into a food-induced coma.
~ oOo ~
School is…
Truthfully? It's awful.
Between feeling like I'm going to throw up every five minutes, worrying about whether my parents will ever forgive me, and trying very hard not to think about the reason I'm in this mess, I catch up on my schoolwork and ignore the whispers and giggles that follow me wherever I go.
Heidi and Charlotte become my guard dogs, keeping most of the intrusive questions at bay with their stink-eyes, but it's when they're not around, when I'm alone or with Arlo, that it's the worst.
Swallowing hard as I approach the same lunch table I've been eating at since I started here, I consider sneaking back out before anybody notices me.
What are they doing there?
The Russos have steered clear of Arlo since the night Tyler accidentally dropped the bombshell news that I'm pregnant.
Apparently, that embargo has lifted.
"I warned you, Cullen," Alec says with Renata at his back, leaning over Arlo, who remains sitting in his chair. He doesn't look the least bit intimidated, but maybe he should.
Just as Charlotte spots me, I spot the guys watching us from the Russos' usual table over in the corner. They're both on the football team, both much bigger than Arlo, and definitely not to be messed with.
"Here, Lakely," Heidi says, patting the empty seat next to her. Demetri is out sick today, but that's normally his spot. I always sit next to Arlo, but...Alec sort of has that spot right now.
Alec's eyes swing over to me, his lips twisting into a sneer. "This is all your fault, you little bitch. You just couldn't let Vicky be happy, could you?"
Before he can say a word, the screech of chair legs on linoleum yanks his attention away from me.
"Shut the fuck up, Russo. You don't know what you're talkin' about."
He isn't the only one looking at Arlo now. Our whole table is watching him, shoulders tense, fists clenched at his sides, jaw ticking.
I can feel the eyes of some of our other classmates, too. The ones who've noticed that drama is unfolding right here in the cafeteria. The ones who smell blood.
My heart starts to race as Arlo closes the gap between himself and Alec. Standing, he's got a few inches on Alec. More muscle, too.
Glancing over at Alec's back-up, I realize they're on their way over.
"Arlo…" I whisper as my throat starts to close up in panic.
His dark eyes flick over to me for a second, just a second, but it's enough time for Alec to take advantage of his distraction. Chaos erupts around us with some students cheering Alec but most on Arlo's side.
A squeak pushes free of my lips as Alec's fist hits Arlo's cheek, but before I can yell at Arlo not to take a swing back, a familiar face appears, a hand I'm used to seeing kneading bread kneading Alec's face, instead.
My eyes are wide as Tyler pins Alec to the floor with a fist on his chest. "Don't you ever speak to her again, do you hear me?"
Mrs. Meyer pushes through the ring of students hooting and hollering, Mr. Stuart right behind her. They drag the boys apart and order them both to the principal's office.
Mrs. Meyer searches the crowd before landing on me. "You, too, Miss Samuels."
"She didn't even do anyth—"
"Don't think you're getting out of it, either, Mr. Cullen," she snaps as Arlo tries to interrupt. "You can go, too. And the rest of you—either get back to your lunch or meet me in detention after school! Which will it be?"
As everybody rushes away, I'm herded toward the principal's office along with Alec, Arlo, and Tyler.
Principal Greene calls Alec in first.
Dropping my head into my hands and heaving in a big breath, I slowly count to ten, waiting until my heart starts to return to a normal rhythm before looking up again.
When did my life get so freaking crazy? I've never been sent to the principal's office before.
Tyler is grimacing, shaking out his hand, while Arlo silently fumes beside him.
"You should have let me handle it," he finally sighs.
Rolling his eyes, Tyler shoots me a wink and mouths for me to hush when I start telling Arlo not to be an idiot.
"You have to maintain a good school record, right? Good GPA, no screwing up, no fighting?"
The fight drains out of Arlo as he realizes the same thing I do, gratitude flooding my body.
"You did that for me?" Arlo murmurs, cocking his head like an adorable puppy.
Tyler shrugs. "You were gonna get yourself in a heap of shit. I didn't see any reason for you to do that when I've been dying to get my hands on that dickhead for weeks. I care about Lakely, too, all right?"
I know Arlo, so I can tell that he's embarrassed as hell and struggling to find words when he rakes a hand through his hair before rubbing the back of his neck. Blowing out a big breath, he eventually huffs, "I, uh...yeah. I didn't think about that, but you're right. If I hadn't been kicked off the team, I would have at least had a lot of explainin' to do when Coach found out."
I smile, almost enjoying how uncomfortable he is right now.
Who'd have thought it would be Alec Russo that finally built the bridge to get those two over their issues?
"Thanks, man. I, uh, I appreciate you sticking your neck on the line for me back there."
Shrugging again, Tyler shoots me a grin. "I didn't just do it for you. I knew Lakely would feel guilty if you got into a fight over what he said about her. Plus, like I said, I've wanted to land a nice right hook on that dickhead's nose for a while now."
Arlo chuckles, and I'm suddenly plunged into the Twilight Zone when he extends a closed fist, tapping it against Tyler's—the one he's not flexing to test how hurt it is, anyway.
"You got him good, man. You throw a mean punch. Remind me to stay on your good side, yeah?"
Watching them tentatively starting to bond would be funny if, after being given detection and sent on our way, my mom wasn't sitting waiting for me outside the principal's office.