Forced to have the Player's Kid (Book One of The Great Age Plague Series)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sitting on the park bench with Keon, I wiped the tears from my eyes and blew my nose into the Kleenex I kept in my purse. Yeesh, this was embarrassing. Glancing around, I saw the various teenagers walking around the town staring at me as they went about their business, yet curious as to what was going on. I peered down at my hands in shame.

Keon patted my leg soothingly, giving a small smile as if to say "it's alright." I smiled back at him, but I could feel my lips wobbling slightly, giving away my true feelings. Sighing, I stood up, and Keon followed suit.

"Ready for that lasagna I promised?" Keon asked quietly. I sniffed softly and nodded, not even trying to hide the sadness that had covered me like a blanket. All my thoughts were consumed with Josh. Those beautiful eyes, that smiling face, his gorgeous body. Yet, still, a small nagging feeling reminded me that, in the end, I had fallen too fast. There was still so much I didn't know about Josh, yet I was carrying his child. The whole situation made me feel odd. In front of me was Keon— a sweet, shy guy I never would have found had it not been for last night's situation. This was the kind of guy who probably sat near me at the introvert's tree back at school; yet, he seemed to be so much more than that now. He had swooped in and saved me when Josh failed. But on the same token, I didn't know much of anything about him either. I just felt like I was free falling— no family, no home— and there was nothing to make me feel grounded.

Shaking my head slightly, I followed Keon down the path in the park toward his car, when suddenly, I heard a voice yell my name.

"Adira!" screamed Josh. Whipping around, I felt my stomach drop so hard, I was worried I had hurt the baby with my anxiety. Josh. Without thinking, I glanced over at Keon, whose jaw was set and eyes anxious. Jogging up to us, Josh stopped short and eyed Keon cautiously.

"Adira, are you okay?" asked Josh, training his eyes back on my. Without thinking, my hand went to my stomach, right over the little hard spot above my pelvis. Shyly, my eyes found their way to the ground. What was I to say? After the emotional night before, words couldn't even describe what was going through me right now. I was pregnant. I was scared. I was with two strangers who I had feelings for. Was I okay?

"Yeah," I mumbled, even though I was not sure if it was true. Physically, yes, I was fine. But mentally or emotionally? That was a different question.

"Who are you?" Josh asked Keon. To my surprise, it didn't sound antagonistic or angry. Just curious. Keon's gentle blue eyes met mine and then he turned to look at Josh with a friendly smile.

"My name's Keon. I'm in your grade. Adira and I met at the party last night and she needed a place to crash, so I let her sleep at my place," he said simply. Idly, I wondered why he didn't the mention the sharing a bed thing. Josh didn't seem worried by this; in fact, Keon's soothing voice and timid demeanor seemed to please him. With a quick smile, Josh focused his attention back on me.

"I'm sorry," Josh said breathlessly. He opened his mouth to say more, shut it, then opened it again "I don't even know where to start. Adira, look, if you don't want to see me again I understand. But please, know that I love you."

"But do you though?" I asked, my voice laced with venom "Do you?" At this, Josh's shoulder slumped and he physically seemed to dampen. With tired, old eyes he looked at me, shame practically oozing off him.

"Crystal was a mist—" before he could finish, I cut him off.

"This isn't about Crystal. Josh, being apart from you made me realize—" my eyes started to well up with tears yet again, and my hand clutched my stomach fearfully "Josh we know nothing about each other! We don't love each other. How could we? We were forced together and then we tried to force a relationship." As I spoke the words, they began to feel more and more true. The only thing close to "love" that we had was the child growing inside me. Other than that, our relationship was plastic, made up of gifts and parties and not enough real human connection. It really was no wonder he cheated on me with Crystal. In a way, I understood it. What was the point of being faithful to someone you were forced to marry?

"I- I don't know what to say," muttered Josh, looking down. I could tell he knew it was true. His recognition of that started to, weirdly enough, calm me down. Okay. I could work with this. Standing up a little straighter, I wiped my tears on the sleeve of my dress and glanced at Keon, who looked so horribly awkward it was nearly comedic.

"In the end, Josh, I'm still having your child. So I'll offer you a- a plan of sorts," I said, my voice getting surer and surer. Josh looked up at me, his eyes stormy, but I could see his spine straightening as well. I had his attention.

"For now, let's be friends," I said, my heart sinking a little. Still, despite what my heart thought, my mind knew this was right "Real friends. Let's take some time to get to know each other, before we pursue a relationship. The Crystal thing is behind us. And Keon—" Keon perked up, his eyebrows coming together in confusion "Thanks. For everything. I'm really glad I met you." After speaking, a little silence fell on our group, and Josh let out a relieved sigh. The silence went on so long, I could hear the birds singing above us. The storm was over— Josh and I were finally done pretending. While I also felt slightly sad, I was equal parts relieved at the prospect of getting to know Josh more fully now before deciding I loved him. It was hard, but it was worth it. After the silence went on long enough to be awkward, Keon finally piped up.

"So.... Josh, would you like to join us for lasagna?"

A/N— Hey all, great news! This super fabulous editor messaged me and I am now going about revising the story for publishing! Ack, so exciting! Of course, a lot of changes will be coming soon, so keep your eyes open for that. Thanks for the support, I wouldn't have made it this far had it not been for you guys!