12 hours, 28 minutes, and 43 seconds.
That's how long I've been staring at the clock , my mother quietly crying at my bedside next to my father, who was currently looking at everything except me.
That's also how long it's been since Conner left.
I mean, I couldn't exactly say I blamed him for needing some air. After all, he did just find out that he impregnated his childhood best friend.
But the air in this freaking hospital room was literally suffocating me.
I wanted to just run out the door and skip town, unable to face the discussion with my parents that I knew was just around the corner. But I knew that if I did that, my mom would probably try to strangle me.
It was a good thing that the ER was just down stairs.
I soft knock at the door made my head whip up anxiously, almost giving me whiplash. But instead of Conner being there as I had hoped, Alex and Lilly were nervously waiting at the door, looking uncertain.
"Hi girls." My mom greeted them with a weak smile.
"Hi Mrs.Rider." Lilly smiled politely. "Do you mind if we have a quick word with Selena? We'll only take a moment."
"Of course dear. We'll just go to the cafeteria for a bite to eat." My mom nodded, getting out of her chair and leading my dad out the door. "Selena, honey, if you need anything just call. Okay? We'll be back soon." She called to me over her shoulder as they exited, my father not even looking back at me.
I didn't respond. Alex and Lilly came to sit on either side of my bed. "Hi." Alex said, looking uncharacteristically subdued.
"Hey." My voice was still scratchy from crying.
"How are you feeling?" Lilly asked me.
I shrugged. "I'm in the hospital. Can't get much worse."
That made Lilly smile. But Alex was looking dead serious as she took my hand in hers and asked the question I could practically hear echoing through their brains.
"Is it true?"
I hesitated. Should I tell them? They were my friends! If I couldn't trust them, who could I trust at all?
I mean, besides Conner.
I nodded hesitantly. No one said anything for a moment, and I nervously waited for them to ask who the father was.
"I'm sorry about the miscarriage. That bitch was way out of line." Alex huffed the last part angrily, looking more like herself again.
"Wait, what bitch?"
They both turned to look at me, surprised. "You don't remember what happened?" Lilly asked.
"Nope, nothing past Travis kissing that dude in truth or dare." I confessed, cracking a smile at the memory.
"Wow, you missed everything!" Alex exclaimed. "I mean, Lilly and Tom hooking up, some guys on the football team skinny dipping in the pool (that was nice), strip poker, me and you pole dancing-"
"We did what?"
"Alex." Lilly frowned at her friend. "Maybe we should fill her in on the rest later."
Alex rolled her green eyes. "Fine. Well anyway, some bitch who was dressed up like a slutty bunny and was hitting on Conner was totally jealous of you and him, so she pushed you off of him while you were giving him a lap dance-"
"I did what?"
"-and then threw a plate at you. Next thing we know, she's in a police car and you're in an ambulance. We were so scared! You started screaming and crying and-" She paused, paling slightly. "There was so much blood. No one was sure where it was coming from, but it was everywhere. Conner looked just about ready to have a heart attack when he helped carry you to the ambulance."
I didn't say anything, but vaugely remembered the sounnds of screaming and sirens.
I was looking up at the ceiling, clutching my stomach as it clenched painfully again. Through my pain, I could here a loud sound ripping through the air, until I realized it was just me screaming. Conner crouched over me, the blood completely drained for his face as he looked down at me.
"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to move. We have to get her to the hospital right now."
His jaw clenched as he glanced at me again. "Then what are we waiting for?"
He gently picked me up in his arms, but I still flinched at the movement. He cradled my sobbing face to his chest as he quickly jogged outside. I could see that his arms were now drenched in blood.
Blood? Was he hurt?
I looked down, and realized that it was my blood. That made me cry even harder.
"Conner I'm scared." I sobbed into his shirt.
He didn't respond, but gently stroked his hand over my hair and shushed me.
And that was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.
"Selena?"
I looked back up at Lilly, who was waving a hand in front of my face. "What? Sorry, I just zoned out there for a minute."
Alex looked down at her shoes. "Selena, I know you probably won't tell us, but who's the father?"
I didn't respond. There was no way I could tell them about my little arrangement with my best friend.
Alex sighed. "You don't have to tell us. But, were you- you know, raped?"
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "What?! No! Of course not!"
They visibly relaxed. "Oh, that's good. Well we'll stay for a little bit. We promised Conner that we would keep you company while he worked double shift at the country club."
I face palmed. "Right! Our community service started today! I'm so screwed!"
"Well, that's kinda the problem."
I slapped Lilly's arm playfully. "What? Too soon?"
The sound of someone clearing their throat politely made us look up. Standing at the door, was a sad looking British teenager.
"Travis!"
He walked in, his blond hair that was usually neat as hell, was scruffy. He was wearing the same clothes from the party, and he had dark bags under his eyes.
"You look like hell." Alex stated.
"I feel like hell." He shrugged. "Hey Selena."
I didn't respond. Did he know?
"Yeah, I know." He smiled weakly.
"Did I say that out loud? Crap, I have got to stop doing that." I said, trying to change the subject.
A flash of hurt passed over his face, before it quickly disappeared. "It's okay, you know. I know you two probably didn't mean to-"
"Wait. You know who the father is?" Lilly asked incredulously.
He nodded.
"Who?!" Alex practically yelled.
I sent him a pleading look, silently begging him not to tell them. He avoided my eye contact, but shook his head sadly. "That's not for me to announce. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you herself."
I gave him a grateful smile, but he didn't return it.
"The reason I came here, was actually to say my good byes. I'm moving back to London."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi!
I know it's short :/ Don't hate me!
I've had non stop finals the last couple weeks, but they're mostly over now! Yay!! LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL!
Sooooo? What did ya think? Not too cheezy right?
Comment, vote, yada yada yada. :)
YOU ARE READING
Best-Friends With Benefits (Under Reconstruction)
RomanceConner Rogers: Hot, athletic, and popular, with an ego the size of the Empire State Building. Selena Rider: Clumsy, uncoordinated-and-most-definitely-not-athletic, and sarcastic, with an unfortunate affinity for making self destructive life decision...