My Protector: The Bad Boy | Protector 1.3

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

       The weekend went by fast and before I knew it, Grayson and I were heading back home. For basically the whole weekend, Mom asked endless questions about the baby; what names we picked, what gender we were hoping for, when the due date was, and a lot more I couldn't even remember. On the bright side, she wasn't mad or disappointed in me.

       Right as Grayson and I were about to walk into our apartment, I heard Belle calling my name. I told Grayson to go inside while I talked to Belle. "Hey," I said once Belle walked up to me. 

      "Hi," she said. "So how was your weekend?"

       "Good," I said.

       "And....how's everything else?" she asked. "I know you said you'll tell me what's going on with you on Monday but I'm really worried and I couldn't stop wondering about it over the weekend and....Sorry, I'm just really worried. We've been best friends for years and no matter what, we'll always be friends."

       I raised an eyebrow. "No matter what? What if your brother tried to rape me?"

       Belle gave me a flat look. "That was in the past. He was my brother and I thought I could trust him and....Wait, don't distract me. Can you please tell me what's going on? I don't think I can wait until tomorrow."

        I took a deep breath and released a very long sigh, almost as if I could stall. However, I shouldn't put it off any longer. She was my best friend, after Grayson of course, and she should know. "Okay, but you can't tell anyone," I said. "Maybe Devon if he could keep a secret."

       Belle nodded. "I promise I won't tell anyone and Devon won't either."

       "I'm serious," I said. "Grayson and I only want family and close friends knowing."

       "Poppy, I promise," she repeated. "What is it?"

       "I'm pregnant."

       Belle game me another flat look. "Seriously, Poppy. I'm freaking out, thinking that something bad happened and you tell me a joke?"

       I didn't say anything as I pulled the ultrasound picture out of my sweatshirt pocket and handed it to her. "This was from the doctor's appointment I went to last week," I said. "That's my and Grayson's baby. I'm not joking about it."

       Belle stared at the picture for a long time before she looked back at me. "Wait," she said. "You're actually pregnant? How far along are you?"

       "Twelve weeks," I said.

       Belle's eyes widened. "Twelve weeks? And you never told me about it? I thought we were best friends!"

       "We are," I said. "I wanted to tell my family first and I told them on Thanksgiving. I was stalling because I didn't want to see their reaction, but luckily they're not mad at me or Grayson. My mom's actually excited about it."

       Belle handed me the picture back and she didn't say anything for a while. "It's shocking," she admitted. "I mean you of all people are pregnant."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's the supposed to mean?"

       Belle shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. It's just....after everything that happened between Ben, I thought you wouldn't....you know."

       "Have sex?" I asked. "First off, Ben tried to but he didn't. We weren't even dating. Second, Grayson and I are, so it's natural. I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. Like I said, I wanted to tell my family first."