I Love You, Always

Chapter 20

Christmas break comes and goes pretty quickly, unfortunately. I'm not looking forward to going back to school after winter break and starting all new classes. New classes means learning new floor plans and routes. Also the fact that I'm sure Leo and Kyle will be very eager to see Simon and I again so they can continue to bother us. The one nice thing about this semester is that I've started taking dual credit classes and I have a lot of classes with Simon. The few classes I don't have with Simon I have with Dev, which means I always have someone who is able to keep an eye on me and help me get around if I need it.

Things with Lexy have been going well the past month, too, which is nice. She came out to stay over the break for a little bit. Speaking of Christmas, Derrick actually got me a new cane, one with a spring in it, so whenever the tip hits cracks in the sidewalk or curbs, instead of jabbing myself in the stomach with the handle, it pushes inward. Adjusting to a new cane takes some time, but it's worth it in the end.

By the end of January, my arm is fully healed as well, so I no longer have that causing me issues. Considering I'm very right handed, not having that arm to use, especially when walking with my cane, has been hard. For a while, I just gave up all together and would let Simon walk me, so I didn't have to bother with using my cane with my left hand.

All in all, things have been pretty calm the past two months since everything that happened with Leo, and surprisingly I haven't encountered him at all since being back at school. Kyle has still been a problem, but so long as he only continues to call me stupid names, then I can handle that.

It's not until the beginning of February that things take a turn for the worst. Lexy calls me one night and the first thing that greets my ears is her sobbing into the receiver. To be honest, this is the first time this has happened in the past two months. She's been having a hard time since what happened with Trevor at the party, a really hard time. I worry about her a lot because she doesn't always seem like herself. This time, however, is different from the other times Lexy has called me upset.

She's crying so hard that when I try to talk to her to ask what's wrong, she can't even get any words out. It almost sounds like she might be having a panic attack and I hate that I can't do anything from where I am, that I can't be with her right now to help calm her down. The only thing I can do is try to talk to her and wait until she catches her breath and her sobs die down enough that she's able to speak.

"I-I'm...p-pregnant," she says eventually and for a minute I wonder to myself if I've heard her correctly.

"I...wait, what? Lex, are you sure?" I ask, the shock beginning wear off enough for me to speak.

"I t-took three tests!" she yells. "Th-three! They a-all came back p-positive. Damian...I-I don't know what to do..."

She sounds so broken and helpless and I hate more than anything now that I'm only able to talk to her through a phone. She needs more than my voice, she needs someone to comfort her right now.

She emits a frustrated scream. "I never should've g-gone to that stupid party!" She continues to yell and there's a loud thump in the background, like she may have thrown something. "Wh-why am I so stupid?!"

"Lexy! Lex, please. Please, just stop for a second, okay. Stop and take a deep breath. You're getting yourself too worked up."

Lexy ceases yelling but her words are replaced with sobs as she breaks down crying all over again. It's the worst sound I've ever heard. I can physically feel the pain that Lexy is feeling right now just through listening to her cry and it hurts.

"Lexy...?" I speak, hesitantly, after listening to her cry for a couple more minutes. "You're not stupid, Lex. This isn't your fault, so please don't blame yourself."