Skinny • Book 1 In The Reality Series

Calum

It took me exactly two seconds for the puzzle pieces to click into place before I was shaking my head.

"You're full of shit." I informed Bethany, "He... he wouldn't touch your STD infested ass with a ten foot pole."

Letting out an agonized sob, she reached up and covered her face with her hands.

"You're lying." I whispered, "Please Bethany tell me you're lying."

"We had this love hate thing." She whimpered, "I thought he was hot, he thought I was hot. I was a bitch because I knew it would get his attention. It was one time. And then a week later he was.. gone."

"He died two months ago!" I more or less shouted.

"I'm two and half months pregnant!" she whisper shouted, "I haven't slept with anyone else recently. He's literally the only person it could be."

"Why?" I hissed, tugging at my hair, "What the why?"

"I didn't know he was going to die!" she spat, "It's not exactly what I wanted in life!"

"How are you almost a third of the way done with your.. you know... pregnanc... you know, and you're just now finding out?!"

"I don't know."

"Didn't you like miss your period or whatever?"

"I miss my period all the time."

"Morning sickness?"

"Not everyone gets that."

"Holy shit." I muttered, pulling at my hair, making a face as several strands came away in my fingertips.

"That's why I need to get rid of it." She mumbled, "I'm not raising a baby by myself. Now I'm homeless on top of it."

"Your Mom really kicked you out?" I questioned.

"I don't know what hurt more." She replied, "Her smacking me or telling me that I'm a worthless disappointment."

"What about your Dad?" I asked.

"He lives in a nursing home."

"How old is he?"

"He's only fifty-five. He has MS, he's paralyzed."

I don't know why but I'd always sort of figured Bethany had some kind of amazing life which made her somehow better than everyone else. I never contemplated the thought that maybe school was the only place she could have any type of control.

Chewing my lower lip I looked down at her and sighed, "Why didn't he tell me? I was his best friend, I never even knew he liked you?"

"He didn't like me." She laughed, "He slept with me. That's all it ever was. It was fun. I didn't love him, he didn't love me, we kind of hated each other... Don't feel bad. I never told Lexi that I had random hookups with Luke, it was our little secret."

I don't know why it hurt knowing that he'd kept a secret like that from me, and I had to remind myself that there was a lot I probably didn't know about him and never would.

"You don't have to take me." Bethany spoke up, breaking my chain of thought, "I know you hate me. But I feel like you're the only part of Luke that's left and it would mean a lot to me if you could just do this, for him...."

"You want me to drive you to kill my dead best friend's baby?"

"Well when you say it like that..."

"You're not even going to give it a chance?"

"Forget it." Bethany muttered, "I shouldn't have said anything. I have to go."

"Why?" I demanded, as she started to walk away, "Just tell me why. You made it why are you going to kill it, what did it do to you?"

"It's not the baby." She whispered, "It's me, I'd be a horrible mom, worse than mine. I'm doing this kid a favor. Luke was an amazing person and this... is part of him. It deserves an amazing life and I can't give it that. I'm saving it."

Mulling over her words I watched as she walked down the hall away from me.

"Wait!" I called out after her, causing her to whirl around to face me once again.

"What?"

"I'll take you." I replied, "I don't agree with your choice and I can't stand you, but I'll take you."

"Why?" she questioned.

"I'm not doing it for you." I muttered, pulling my keys out of my pocket, "I'm doing it for Luke."