"Earth to Erin."
Noah's voice intruded on my thoughts. Thoughts filled with images of Jamie's green eyes and his bare skin and the way he'd absolutely consumed me for the last thirty-six hours.
"What?" I blinked, not wanting to let those images go just yet.
"Never mind. You haven't heard a thing I've said."
"I'm sorry." I was sitting in the passenger seat of the Bronco, and my head lolled to the side, my mouth lifting at the corners. Noah had one hand on the wheel, and a few strands of his hair had escaped the confines of his ponytail and blew on the breeze.
I hadn't been ignoring him on purpose. I was understandably distracted. I was coming off of my honeymoon for goodness sake—a perfectly dreamy honeymoon. A dream I'd groggily awoken from this Monday morning and been forced back into the real world. For a second, with the morning sun shining weakly through the open windows, Jamie's arms had tightened around me, and I'd thought about quitting school. But I was determined not to become any more of a statistic by adding high school dropout to my resume. If Jamie disapproved, he hadn't shown it, but he couldn't hide his apprehension when he'd kissed me goodbye earlier. He'd wanted to drive me to school himself, but I seriously doubted I could make myself get out of the car if Jamie were in it. And maybe I was a little apprehensive too. Though I had been expecting things to feel different at school, I remained hopefully optimistic about the reception I would get from my classmates. I was pregnant. I was married.
Big whoop, right?
Ally had asked if she could post a few pictures from the wedding on her Instagram and I'd said yes. After seeing the two hundred and thirty-nine likes her collage had generated, which included of a close-up of her bouquet and one of Jamie and I kissing, I'd assumed that meant people genuinely liked it.
Once Noah and I pulled into the parking lot, I wasn't so sure. The change was subtle. The smiles cast my way had a different slant, and there was almost a sarcasm attached to the well wishes that came from my classmates.
"Hey, Erin. Congratulations." This from Charlene Goodson, accompanied by a smile before she gave Noah a slow once over.
"Thanks," I said and kept walking, my spine tingling with awareness under the eyes following my progress to my locker.
The feeling never went away. It only intensified as I sat in my desk during geometry and then during history, and I swore I could feel the touch of everyone's eyes on my skin.
And Noah, it seemed, had taken it upon himself to act as my bodyguard. On most days, I'd run into him a few times in the hall, but today he'd shown up everywhere I turned, making it a point to walk me to my classes. He'd sat with me at lunch and now, as I made my way to art class, he'd come up behind me, walking so close I could feel his body heat. He was taking his brother-in-law duties very seriously. It made me wonder if Jamie had asked Noah to look after me. I made it a point to find out and, if he had, insist he call Noah off. His hyper-defensive countenance was drawing stares.
"I don't think the bodyguard routine is necessary."
"Well, I do. I don't like what I've been hearing today."
I sighed at his doggedly determined tone.
"I'm not the first girl to get knocked-up this year." I was the second. People had talked about Tory Holbrook too. And the gossip had quickly run its course. "They'll talk and they'll get bored and move on."
Most of what I'd endured today had been bearable. A few sly whispers, condensing smiles, and judgmental looks, but I figured those were par for the course in Dealing With Teenage Pregnancy 101. If today was as bad as it would get, I'd proven I could deal.
"She gives a whole new meaning to the word whore." This comment was spoken rather loudly and strictly for my benefit as we passed Dylan Wallace's locker. A group of guys huddled three lockers down snickered. And then the hallway slowly quieted as those within hearing waited for a response.
"Jealous much, Dylan?" I tossed my hair over my shoulder in a devil-may-care gesture. "You not getting much yourself? And no, your hand doesn't count."
Those same three guys hooted and Dylan's cheeks flamed and his jaw clenched.
I pinched Noah's elbow with the intention of dragging him onward. I might have succeeded if Dylan had kept his big mouth shut.
"What a waste," Dylan said, emboldened by all the attention centered on him, as if the whole school had been waiting for someone to have enough nerve to voice what everyone was thinking. Dylan snorted and his eyes narrowed on me in delight like he'd just figured something out. "Are you doing both of them? Whose kid is it anyway?"
There was no holding Noah back. He was on Dylan in a blink, slamming him against his locker with his forearm pressed against Dylan's throat.
"Noah!" Despite my perverse satisfaction at Dylan's bulging-eyed expression as Noah's fist slammed into his stomach, too many witnesses were looking on with unfettered glee. The last thing I wanted was for Noah to get into trouble over a reckless comment. This was just the kind of altercation Noah went out of his way to avoid. To say that the slam of his fist packed a punch would be a severe understatement.
Noah shook off my attempt to pull him away and punched Dylan again, doubling him over even more. Dylan was now wheezing and spit fell from his gaping mouth onto the speckled tiled floor.
"Noah!" Before I could intervene further—and I needed to before he did any real damage—Jax and Derrick muscled me out of the way. They grabbed Noah by both arms and hauled him off Dylan, who stumbled forward and nearly fell on the floor.
"Back off, man." Jax put a placating hand on Noah's heaving chest. "Not a good idea."
Noah's hair had come loose and his eyes were still focused on Dylan with wild intent, but he stayed put.
"You cool?" Jax asked, prompting me to wonder where all this good will was coming from. I would have thought he'd be happy to watch Noah suffer the repercussions of fighting in school. Mr. Russell, the principal, had a strict policy when it came to fighting. Noah had already been suspended once during freshmen year. Also my fault.
"Yeah." Noah pushed Jax's hand away and stepped back.
"Good," Jax said. "This makes us even. Wouldn't want you hurting anybody, would we?"
"Jacobs," Mr. Russell's voice shot over the crowd and everyone that had gathered hoping to see a fight scattered like agitated ants. "Is there a problem here?"
"No, sir," Noah said.
"Dylan?" Mr. Russell prompted.
Dylan managed to stand all the way up and replied in a strained voice, "No problem."
"Then get to class." Mr. Russell nodded to Jax and Derrick. "Jacobs and Shaw, you stay with me."
Noah and I had no choice but to obey as we waited out the shrill ring of the bell and the emptying of the hall.
"Are you all right, Erin?" Mr. Russell asked in a quiet tone. He and my dad were friends, and it wouldn't surprise me if my dad had asked him to keep an ear out for trouble.
"Yes." I glared at Noah.
"You have art with Mr. Foley, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Go on to class and tell Mr. Foley Noah is with me." Mr. Russell took Noah by the elbow and escorted him down the hallway toward his office while I went to art class without him.
The stares continued through class, the whispers coming louder, which made the hour pass at an excruciatingly slow pace. When the bell finally rang, heralding the end of the school day, I gathered my things and headed for the Bronco, thinking Noah was probably waiting for me. He wasn't. I spent the next fifteen minutes offering causal nods and half-hearted smiles to my classmates as they paraded from the building, and it seemed almost normal until a group of freshmen flocked out, chatting loudly. But then they spotted me and their conversation fell to low whispers like maybe they could sneak past me and not get noticed by the pregnant girl as though slut and whore were contagious.
"I got pregnant. I got married. Deal with it," I said, resisting the urge to kick the last of them in their judgmental little virgin asses. Clearly Noah was rubbing off on me.
A familiar laugh drew my attention. Ally was walking toward me with a face-splitting grin. I needed to see a friendly face.
"You remember that time Uncle George came to visit in the lunch room and I was wearing white pants?"
"And you squirted catsup between your legs as camouflage." We'd been in the eighth grade when boys were especially obnoxious and immature.
She leaned against the Bronco next to me, hugging her notebook to her chest. "Yes. That day. Shallow, meaningless, pathetic people will talk and laugh, but they'll get bored and move on to their next victim. I give it a week, tops."
About that time, Jax pulled up in his Land Rover, nodding his head through the open window. She responded immediately like a puppy that had just been tossed a treat.
"Gotta go." Ally jumped in the front seat and hanging out the window yelled, "Tell that hubby of yours I expected more out of him. You don't seem to be having any trouble walking today."
They sped out of the parking lot, music blaring from the car stereo. I felt better about the day and my chances of surviving the school year. I had Ally. I had Noah. I'd never been the type of person who needed lots of friends, believing if they were true friends a handful was enough.
A few minutes later, Noah finally came out of the school with a decided spring in his step, which led me to conclude the meeting with Mr. Russell had gone in his favor.
"You got suspended." That was hardly punishment for Noah.
"Three days." He flashed a smile as he reached for the door to the Bronco. "It's more like a suggested few days off. They're letting me do my school work at home. Since you know, I didn't really do anything."
Figured. He'd gotten in a fight, received three days suspension and he was happy. Bully for him.
"You should have let it go." Honestly, I wasn't upset that Noah had gotten in a fight. I was used to that, but today was probably only a taste of what the rest of the school year would be like. I didn't share Ally's optimism that people's interest would die-off quickly. While I was ready to deal with the snide remarks, obviously Noah wasn't. He'd keep defending me until someone ended up seriously hurt.
"Like I was going to stand there and let him talk to you like that."
"Dylan was goading you on purpose." I stopped short of pointing out that if Noah weren't always so quick to fly off the handle, people might lay off trying to get him to.
"He won't make that mistake again, though I hope he does." He cranked the engine and I settled into my seat.
"Did Jamie say something to you?"
Noah's smile faded at the mention of his brother.
"No. He didn't have to, and I'd be more excited about getting three days off of school if he weren't gonna kick my ass for leaving you to fend for yourself. Not to mention the hell my mom's gonna give me. Mr. Russell was calling her when I left."
"Has it occurred to you I can take care of myself?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest. He wouldn't get any sympathy from me. "I want to make this work, Noah. Stay in school. Keep things as normal as possible. I can't do that if I'm worried about you going off half-cocked every time someone looks at me funny or says something you don't like."
"Well, you won't have to worry about it for the next three days." He pulled from the parking lot and onto the highway, the breeze stirring in my hair.
"Promise me when you come back no more following me around. No more fighting. It's freaking embarrassing." I bit my lip to keep from smiling. Asking Noah not to defend me was like asking the tide not go out or the sun not to rise.
"I'll try. Now quit being mad at me. If I'd really wanted to hurt the asswipe, I would have." He reached for my hand and wrapped it in his, holding it to his chest. "What can I do so you won't be mad at me anymore?"
I pulled my hand back. Staying mad at Noah was useless and pretty much impossible.
"Ice cream with sprinkles would probably work."