Chapter Four
"Hey, Cap," Beaver greeted as he walked into the Kappa Tau house.
Cappie looked up from the television screen. "Hey, Beav," he said. "What's up?"
"Nothing much," Beaver said. "Getting ready for the mixer on Friday."
To illustrate his point, he held out the box in his hands, showcasing the many bottles of alcohol. Cappie could see vodka, beer, wine, gin… everything that made a great party. Cappie grinned at Beaver.
"Good job," he praised. "Now all we need is about five more cases like that and the party will be up and running."
Beaver nodded in agreement, then headed off to stash the bottles where they couldn't be found just in case there was a surprise inspection before the party. It certainly wouldn't be the first time if there was; Huck had been keeping a close eye on the Kappa Taus ever since the situation at the end of last semester, and they had almost been busted twice already.
But it would take more than a surprise inspection to stop the Kappa Taus from running the best parties on campus, especially with Cappie as president.
Cappie leaned back on the couch, smiling.
His life could not be better. He had the house, he had the girl, he had everything he wanted. And although things were not perfect, they were as close to perfect as they could possibly get. Cappie didn't want anything to interrupt the feelings he was having about his life right at this very moment, sitting on the couch, a red cup full of beer in his hand as he watched the television screen.
Unfortunately, his moment of pure happiness was about to end abruptly.
About twenty minutes after Beaver had walked through the door, there came a sharp, urgent knock on the door. Cappie groaned—Huck must be on to us again—and stood up from the couch, crossing over to the door. As soon as he opened it, however, he moved to close the door, but a foot in the door prevented that from occurring.
"Let me in," Evan demanded.
"Why should I, Lame-bers?" Cappie sneered. "No Omega Chi filth is allowed to set foot in this house."
"God damn it, Cappie," Evan snarled. "I need to talk to you."
"About what? Planning to expel more of my brothers?"
Evan rolled his eyes and put a hand out as Cappie tried, once again, to shut the door. "No, that's not it," Evan said. "I need to talk to you about your girlfriend."
"Casey?" Cappie asked. "Why do you need to talk about Casey?"
"Oh, let me see," Evan said, pretending to think. "Maybe it's because you got her pregnant, asshole?"
Cappie stared at Evan for a moment. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Evan took Cappie's sudden surprise as an opportunity to force his way into the house. Cappie stood and watched him come in, waiting for him to answer. But Evan seemed to take his sweet time, glaring at Cappie as though he wanted him to say what?
Casey wasn't pregnant. She couldn't be. Right?
"You're seriously telling me you don't know?" Evan said incredulously. "So she didn't tell you that she's fucking pregnant with your baby?"
"She's not pregnant," Cappie growled. "I don't know where you heard it, but whoever said it, they're wrong."
"So Ashleigh is mistaken about her best friend, is she?" Evan sneered.
Cappie didn't have a response.
Ashleigh told Evan that Casey was pregnant.
Pregnant.
How could she be pregnant? The thought was foreign, a distinctly unfavorable taste in his mouth. She couldn't be—she just had a stomach bug, that's all. That's what she said she had this morning when he asked…
Cappie couldn't say anything. All he could do was stare at Evan.
"You're an asshole, you know that," Evan said slowly, but with a deadly edge to his voice. "Casey has goals, a career path in mind, and you just royally screwed it up because you couldn't use protection."
No response this time either.
Casey is pregnant. Casey is pregnant. My girlfriend is pregnant. My girlfriend is going to have a baby.
My baby.
I have a pregnant girlfriend.
"God damn it, say something," Evan said. "Tell me how you managed to screw up this badly."
"I didn't know" was all Cappie could say.
Evan rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that crap," Evan said. "Like hell you didn't."
When Evan waited for an answer and Cappie didn't give him one, Evan's patience ran out. He advanced on Cappie. "You just ruined Casey's life," he said. "If she had chosen me, this wouldn't have happened. This is all your fault. I hope you're happy."
Evan brought a fist back and then swung it, nearly crunching through the layers of bone in Cappie's nose. Cappie felt blood spurt and run down his face, the distinct coppery taste layering his mouth and making his words slur.
"You're going to pay for that, Chambers," Cappie growled.
He lunged at Evan, ready to pummel the living hell out of him, but he felt two arms wrap around him from behind. Cappie strained against the person holding him back, but he was too strong. Cappie couldn't break free.
"If you say so," Evan said unconcernedly. "Goodbye, Cappie."
Evan turned and walked out of the house with those words, shutting the door behind him. It was only then, when it seemed as though Cappie was not going to tear after him, that he was finally released from his bonds.
"Dude," Beaver said. "What did Chambers tell you to make you so angry?"
"Nothing," Cappie managed to say, going over to the cabinet to grab something to cover his nose.
Nothing except that my girlfriend is apparently pregnant and didn't bother to tell me.
Cappie felt his nose. It didn't seem broken—all Evan had done was break the skin—so Cappie simply put some antiseptic on it and hoped for the best. It would be nastily bruised in the morning, but that was about it.
His nose was the minor issue. The major issue was Casey.
Although she had said that she could not come over tonight, she hadn't said anything about him going over there. He was not going to wait until tomorrow morning for Casey to come to him. Instead, he was going over there and getting the truth right away.
"I'm going out," Cappie said shortly when Beaver asked why he grabbed his jacket. "Don't wait up, I might be gone for a while."
Cappie didn't even bother waiting for a response.
He was out the door and running before Beaver could even open his mouth.
Casey walked back into the ZBZ house, smiling at her sisters before heading right up to her bedroom. All she wanted to do now was lay down on her bed and sleep the events of the day off, before waking up in the morning and telling Cappie.
So much had happened today, she could barely put her head around it all. She knew a good night's sleep would solve a lot of her residual anxiety, so she was looking forward to a nice, long rest unpunctuated by any drama. The only problem was that her hopes were dashed as soon as she walked into her room to find Ashleigh pacing back and forth and Rebecca sitting on the window seat, looking completely bored.
"What's going on?" Casey asked slowly, shutting the door behind her. "Ashleigh, are you all right?"
Rebecca snapped her head around to look at Casey just as Ashleigh stopped in her tracks and faced Casey.
"I'm fine," Ashleigh said nervously.
"She just spilled the fact that you're pregnant, that's all," Rebecca added.
Casey made her way to her bed and sat down before asking: "To how many people?"
"Two," Ashleigh said.
Casey wanted to feel relieved—two people, that can't be too bad, right?—but the expressions on Rebecca and Ashleigh's faces did not relieve her in the slightest.
"I know you told Rebecca," Casey said to Ashleigh. "But who is the other?"
She braced herself for the worst.
"Evan."
Oh God.
If there was a worse person to find out at this point, she didn't know who it was.
"And how did you manage to let Evan in on the secret?" Casey said in a surprisingly calm voice. Her hands betrayed her nerves, though; they were shaking. Casey hid them in the pockets of her jacket. She looked at Rebecca. "And how did you manage to find out anyway?"
"Ashleigh let it slip," Rebecca said.
Casey fixed her stare on Ashleigh. "How could you do that, Ash?"
"I didn't mean to," Ashleigh moaned. "I just—the secret was killing me, and I had to let it slip to someone. I know Bex wouldn't have said anything about it to anyone until you were ready." Casey opened her mouth. "No, she didn't say anything about the baby until Evan overheard us talking about it when we were walking along Greek row. He asked about it."
"So you told him the truth?" Casey shrieked.
"What choice did we have?" Rebecca asked. "He would have found out anyway, and I don't want to lie to him."
"Yes, and I suppose that's just because you like him or something," Casey snapped.
Rebecca winced, and Ashleigh came to her rescue. "Now that's not fair, Casey," she said. "You know you'd do the same thing in her place."
Casey sighed and deflated. Getting angry at Rebecca wouldn't solve her problems; Evan still knew.
"Fine," Casey said. "What did Evan do when you told him?"
"Nothing, really," Ashleigh said quickly, seemingly thankful that Casey was not about to yell at the two of them for telling her secret. "He just asked us if it was true, asked if the baby was Cappie's, and when we told him, he swore and walked off."
A sinking feeling appeared in her gut. "Where did he seem to be headed when he walked off?" she asked, trying to keep herself as calm as possible.
Don't freak out, Case. Don't freak out…
"He was walking along Greek row," Ashleigh said.
"I know that," Casey snapped. "But what house did he seem to be heading toward?"
Ashleigh paused to think for a moment, but Rebecca immediately knew what Casey was getting at. Her eyes widened and she gasped.
"He was heading toward Kappa Tau, Casey," Rebecca said.
Casey groaned. "Right. That's what I thought."
She collapsed on her bed and buried her head in her pillow. In all her wildest nightmares, she did not expect the situation to spiral so completely out of control so fast. She expected that Ashleigh would know, that she would later tell Cappie, and that they would decide what they were going to do before anyone else found out.
But now, she felt her heart pounding loudly in her chest. She could hear her harried breathing in her ears.
"Casey, it's okay," Ashleigh said in a soothing tone, sitting down on the bed beside her. "Everything is going to be fine."
Somehow Casey doubted that.
"How?" Casey asked.
"All you have to do is—" Ashleigh got caught off by the sound of the bedroom door opening.
As one, the three girls turned to face the door.
Cappie.
Casey bolted upright on her bed at the sight of his face. His nose was turning some very unsightly shades of black and blue, and he had the most serious expression on his face. Casey had never seen Cappie look so serious before, not even when they had admitted their feelings for each other on Thanksgiving or when she had comforted him the day Jeremy, Wade and Ferret had gotten expelled.
"Cappie," Casey breathed.
"Casey, can I talk to you alone?" Cappie asked.
His voice left no room for argument. Casey just nodded meekly. Ashleigh hugged Casey tight, whispering "It's gonna be okay," and then she let go. She reached over to grab Rebecca and drag her out of the room, but Rebecca was already halfway out.
Ashleigh turned in the threshold. "Good luck," she said to them both.
"Thanks," Casey said softly.
The door clicked shut.
Almost immediately, the silence became too much. Casey wanted to say something, but what could she possibly say?
"Hi, Cap. I'm pregnant with your child, and yeah, I was going to tell you, but apparently Evan got around to it before I could. And oh yeah, Ashleigh and Rebecca both knew before you. By the way, how could I possibly have gotten pregnant in the first place?"
No, she was at a complete blank about what to say.
Cappie didn't say anything either. He just stood there for what felt like an eternity, hovering near the door as if he was about to leave before he even said anything.
Finally, he spoke.
"Is it true?"
Casey managed a small nod.
"You're pregnant," Cappie stated.
"Yes," Casey said softly. "I'm pregnant, Cap."
Cappie swallowed tightly and took a step into the room. Illogically, Casey was relieved. Him stepping forward into the room meant that he was not about to run out and leave her all alone. It meant that he was at least willing to hear her out.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
"I just found out today," Casey whispered. "I didn't have time to tell you."
"But you had time to tell Ashleigh, your best friend," Cappie said. "You didn't tell me, the father of the baby. I was supposed to know first, Case."
Casey looked down after his words. "I know."
"I am the father, right?"
Casey's eyes snapped up and she stood. "Of course you are!" Casey said. "I would never cheat on you, Cappie, I—"
But she couldn't say it.
Not now, when there was already so much going on.
Cappie just nodded and met her gaze. "Were you going to tell me?"
"Yes," Casey said quickly. "I texted you and told you that I couldn't come over tonight because I was going to go to the doctor. I wanted a professional opinion…"
"And what did they say?"
"She confirmed what I already knew."
Cappie crossed the room and sat down on the window seat. "You were going to tell me tomorrow morning," he said. "At nine. We were going to get coffee and you were going to tell me you were pregnant. Not exactly the best early morning conversation, Casey."
"I know that, Cappie," Casey said, her voice exasperated. "But I just… needed today to figure out if it was true, if I really was—if I actually was pregnant. The only reason Ashleigh knew was because she was in the room with me when I took the pregnancy tests. Ashleigh just told Rebecca, and then Evan managed to overhear them talking about it."
Cappie didn't say anything, and Casey couldn't seem to stop talking.
"I just needed today for myself," Casey said. "I needed to come to terms with it on my own, think seriously about what I was going to do, before telling you. But I wasn't going to keep it from you, if that's what you think. I was going to tell you tomorrow morning."
Cappie nodded. "All right."
Casey began pacing back and forth, tears sparking in the corners of her eyes. "I just can't believe this could happen to us," she said, trying to discreetly wipe the tears from her eyes. "I never thought that I could be pregnant in college." She tried not to sniff, but it came out regardless. "And now everything is just falling apart."
In a flash, Cappie's arms were around her, and he was gently turning her to face him. With the pad of his thumb, he brushed the tears from her eyes, then cradled her to his chest. Casey sniffled against his shirt.
"How far along are you?" Cappie asked in a voice that seemed slightly detached.
"Six weeks, give or take a couple days," Casey said amidst tears.
Cappie didn't say anything for a moment, and Casey feared that he was angry; his arms slackened around her. Casey looked up from his shirt, staring up at Cappie. He was staring into space, eyes unfocused.
"Cappie?"
He shook himself and his eyes focused again. "What is it, Casey?"
"What—" The words stuck in her throat, so she started again. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know."
Casey broke free of Cappie's embrace with a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. "That makes two of us, then."
"Hey," Cappie said soothingly. "I'm just being honest." He stroked her hair from behind. "Casey, I don't even know what to say. You're pregnant. I'm going to be a father."
Casey turned to face him at this pronouncement, searching for any hint of anger or disappointment in his face. But all she saw was shock—which was understandable, because Casey was still in shock herself.
"Yeah, you are," Casey whispered. "And I'm going to be a mother."
Cappie smiled at her. "And I know one thing we're going to do."
Casey looked up at him hopefully. "What's that?"
"We're going to figure out what to do together," Cappie said. "I know I might not be too responsible, but I'm going to support you. No matter what. Because I still want to be with you. That will never change, Casey."A small smile crossed Casey's face.
"I still want to be with you too," Casey whispered.
In response, all Cappie did was wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. Casey put her arms around his neck, pulling him ever closer to her. She buried her head in his shirt, tears still squeezing out of her closed eyes.
For the first time since she got the news, she felt safe and secure.
Cappie knew.
She knew that now the hard part would come—figuring out what to do from here—but now, wrapped up in Cappie's arms as he held her tightly to him, she forgot about all that. All she focused on was the warm feel of Cappie's arms around her.
Author's Note: Well! This is the longest chapter so far, clocking in at just over 3,000 words. This chapter was hard to write, because I did try to get Cappie's perspective as in character as possible, and I hope I succeeded. At least now he knows, right? Please review and tell me what you think!
Also, as a heads-up: Next chapter might take longer to write, because I am back in school and hence won't have as much time to write as I have lately. But I'll try to update at least every other day!