✖ Chapter 8 ✖

Without being the wiser, things had changed all around me. Last period on Friday was done and there were no extracurricular sessions being held today. My friends and I left the school building with the sense of freedom that always came with a full school week behind us and a weekend of possibilities ahead of us.

Except my weekend was going to be homework at the car shop, trouble at home and definitely none of what Lina and Courtney were getting. As I watched them in the arms of their boyfriends—because Ryan and Courtney had moved fast—I told myself that I was not jealous, that this was all according to my plans and that I didn't need any distractions. As both couples flanked my sides, I focused on the horizon. I had bigger goals than to be the arm accessory of some guy.

"Hey Rory," Courtney said as we walked across the parking lot. "Wanna come with us to Five Guys and hang out for a bit?"

I bit my lip. I really shouldn't. I had to go home and finish putting together the study plan I was going to shove in Sawyer's face tomorrow once I cornered him at the shop. And I had tons of homework to do for my AP classes.

Then again, I also didn't want to go home to have to tip toe around the graveyard silence that had lately fallen around us. No one wanted to say a word about anything. It always led back to the topic of Toni and usually mama ended in tears and papa ended up sleeping on the couch after having one too many beers. A whole week of this went by where none of them gave Toni the time of the day and I became the courier in between, giving messages from one side to another.

I hated it.

"I don't know," I told her.

"Aw c'mon." She left the cocoon of warmth that was her boyfriend and came over to nudge me. "You do know I'm your ride, right?"

She was trying to distract me, and I appreciated it. I gave her a little smile, "You also do know that my place is on the way to Five Guys, right?"

Now the guys and Lina also joined, saying it was not going to be as fun without me. The thing was, I had suddenly become the third wheel in this group, and it was just not as fun for me as it was when it was just the girls and me. A whole week of both couples making moony faces at each other over lunch had proved as much. I appreciated that of course they still included me, but it just felt weird now.

All the ribbing in the world couldn't convince me and as the five of us headed toward Courtney's car to cram into it, she accepted to take me home first. I waited for Lina to get in the middle at the back, so that I could sit by the door, since I was getting out earlier. I waited for her and Matt to put their backpacks in the trunk of the car and when they finally got in the car, there was a huge roar right behind me that made me jump out of my skin. I whirled around to see what the threat to the normal beat of my heart was.

It was Sawyer, getting on his motorbike and turning it on.

He caught me staring as he put on his helmet. "What's up, princess?"

I rolled my eyes. Where should I start?

First of, I'd given up on telling him not to call me that years ago, when as soon as he realized that it bothered me he took it as invitation to say the p word with every sentence he directed at me.

Second, "I'm glad you're wearing a helmet, but did you really have to rev your engine right next to me? I almost died of a heart attack."

"Sounds like a personal problem," he said as he patted the pockets of his leather jacket.

He couldn't be more stereotypical if anyone paid him.

I took a deep breath. The third point was the most important one. "Aren't you supposed to be in detention?" I asked him.

His steel grey eyes cut to me as he pulled out sunglasses from his pocket. "I'd be, if you didn't keep docking my part time pay for being late."

I shrugged. "It's what you get for not working the system."

He'd been about to say something, no doubt smart-alecky, when the sound of honking interrupted. I turned around to tell Courtney I'd be there in a second when I realized there was a car parked across from her car and Sawyer's bike. My sister lowered her window and waved at me.

"I'll drive you," she said.

This was new. Even though she went to school in town and papa had given her a car since she was a high school senior, we rarely did this. It immediately told me something was up.

I leaned down to Courtney's window and said, "Looks like you guys can go straight to Five Guys."

She bit her lip and from the passenger's seat Lina said, "Do you think everything's okay?"

Matt, who knew me far better than Ryan did, scooted to the front to look at me. "Why? Something going on, Rory?"

"No, don't you guys worry," I lied through my teeth with a smile. "I'll catch you later, okay?"

Their worried faces didn't hit me as hard as the way Sawyer eyed me. Like he could see right through Toni and me. Soon enough everybody was going to see exactly what was going on, but for now the only people who knew outside of my family were my girls. And I planned on keeping it that way.

I got in Toni's car and closed the door. We didn't say much as she drove out of the school's parking lot. I noticed that for a couple of blocks, Sawyer was right behind us on his motorbike. But then he veered left and we kept going straight where we should have turned right, and I realized that when Toni said she'd drive me she didn't necessarily mean home.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

Her hands gripped the steering wheel with a bit more strength than usual. She was nervous.

As we waited at a red light she turned to face me. "I didn't have anyone else and I, um..."

My brow creased. "Toni..."

She sighed. The light changed to green and the scenery passed in a blur for a few more minutes.

"I have a doctor's appointment and didn't want to go by myself."

I leaned back against the seat of the car. "All you had to do was ask, no need to kidnap me."

Toni huffed a short laugh. "I can get you that burger if you want?"

"I wouldn't complain," I told her, trying to lighten the mood. Then something important occurred to me. I glanced at her profile. "What about the father? Shouldn't he come with you?"

Her silence stretched all the way until she parked us in front of a clinic. I asked her again as she was filling in the patient forms. And again after the first ten minutes of waiting. That was when she dropped the Mother Of All Bombs on me.

"He doesn't know I'm pregnant."

My eyes were wide as saucers as they turned to her and she just shrugged.

As if it were no biggie.

I spluttered for a few seconds. "What do you mean by that?"

"I just," she let out a breath with difficulty as she spoke. "I don't think he'd be here for this anyway."

"What makes you think so?" I sat facing her and grabbed her hand. She squeezed mine in return.

"He's a frat guy."

I just blinked at her, and although I didn't let go of her hand so she knew I supported her, I knew at once that papa and mama were going to kill her for sure once they knew about that.

"They can't know," I told her.

She flinched. "Yeah, I figured."

"But this means you want to do all of this alone?"

Toni bit her lip and gave me a pointed look. "Hopefully not?"

Her name was called before I could react. I trailed after her as a nurse came over to meet her, my steps heavy as though it was me who was off to get her life changed drastically.

"Family members only," the nurse warned, giving me a stinky eye.

I frowned and stood up straighter. "I'm her sister and the only person with her, so I'm coming in."

My sister's smile as we walked hand in hand to meet her new OBGYN meant she got the gist. It didn't matter what kind of storm papa and mama kept stirring about this. It didn't matter if the father of the baby was an idiot frat boy who was probably drunk or high right now, and it also didn't matter that my perfect sister had screwed up and suffered from really bad taste. It didn't matter if this situation put me between my parents and my sister, if it distracted me at school and filled me with even more anxiety than I already had.

I couldn't be the last person to abandon her. I wouldn't do that to her.

a lot of you are having doubts about whether Rory's a good person

✨ good ✨

she's not the goodie two shoes she pretends to be, that's who she wishes she were but in reality she's an insecure person who doesn't know how to cope with the bad side in her.

y'know, like a person with flaws.

like gasp, a flawed girl 🤯

i said it from the beginning: Aurora's not my usual leading girl with a great moral compass. that's why her story's interesting to me! flawed girls and their journeys deserve to be told.

we give flawed boys a big pass, why not to flawed girls too?

if this book really isn't for you because you're looking for perfect heroines, that's fine, you can freely go in search of something more your fancy. i won't be offended 😊🧡

but if you want to stay, prepare to