Five Months Later...
Aria's P.O.V.
I was getting ready for Jess's baby shower, I couldn't wait to spend some time with her and help her get ready for having a baby in her life. I had been there for her through it all, I went with her and Justin to every doctor's appointment, and I even threw a gender reveal party for them, they were so happy when they found out they were having a boy.
When we were in high school, Jess had told me that she had always wanted to have a little boy in the future, so I could only imagine how happy she was when she found out her wish had been granted. I was also surprised that I was able to hide the truth about who the real father was for so long. Jess told me that she hoped that she would never have to tell Justin the truth, and I was hoping for the same. I knew that if he ever found out, he would be so heartbroken, and who's knows what he would do.
"Alright, I'm going to the baby shower, I'll be back soon okay?" I told Clay when I was finished getting ready. "Okay, have fun. Justin and the guys are going out for drinks, so I'm gonna go join them," he said. I gave him a quick kiss, and I got in my car and drove over to Jess's house. When I parked next to the house, I saw some blue streamers and balloons that surrounded the front of the house. So, I knew that I was in the right place.
I grabbed the small gift bag that had Jess's gift in it and knocked on the door. "Hey, Aria! Come on in!" Jessica answered the door wearing a knee-length light blue maternity dress. I entered the house, and I saw Chloe, Courtney, Sheri, and Ani were in the living room talking about their lives. But, there was someone else in the room who I did not expect to see at the baby shower, it was Alex. "Guys! Aria's here, and she has come bearing gifts!" Jess smiled taking the gift bag from my hand.
"You're just in time, we're about to begin party games!" Chloe smiled. In her hand, she had a small bag of clothespins and I knew what the first game was going to be. "Let me guess, it's the try not to say the b-word for the rest of the shower?" I asked Chloe. "You got that right! I'm definitely gonna lose this game, I can't stop saying that word!" she sighed putting five of the clothespins on her shirt.
For a while, we played a few party games, my favorite one is always the guessing how big mommy's belly is. For some reason, I always guessed it correctly, I wasn't even cheating, it would just be a random guess. "I'm gonna use the bathroom real quick," I said as I stood up from my chair. I walked down the hall to the bathroom, But before I could shut the door, I felt someone touch my shoulder, I looked behind me and saw that it was Alex. "Aria, I need to talk to you, because I'm too afraid to ask Jessica," he said.
I let him into the bathroom and I shut the door. "What is it?" I asked. "Look, I know that Jessica is happy about having a baby, but I keep getting the feeling that she's hiding something from me," Alex whispered. Shit, I should have known that he might get suspicious about who's truly the father. There was a small part of me that wanted to come clean, but I was going to keep my promise to Jess.
"I have no idea what your talking about," I said softly. "Don't act dumb, Aria, I know your hiding something," I had no idea what I was going to do, either I could continue denying about knowing anything and keep my promise to Jess, or I could come clean and tell him that he was the real father of Jess's baby boy. "I'm not hiding anything, Alex," I sighed.
"Fine, if you won't talk, then maybe Jessica will," he said. That made my heartbeat started to accelerate. Alex stood up and tried to walk out of the bathroom, but I blocked the door so he couldn't get out. "Let me pass Aria," he growled. "No!" I angrily whispered. "Why? Do you not want me to ask Jessica what's going on?"
I felt the words try to escape my lips, but I was trying so hard to keep them in. "Aria, what is going on?!" He said getting slightly louder. "Okay fine! Justin is not the father, you are!" I accidentally whispered. Alex's eyes grew wide, and he sat down on the toilet and put his head in his hands. I felt like a ton of bricks had been dropped onto my shoulders. I failed, I tried to keep it a secret from so many people, but I failed. If Jess found out, she would hate me for the rest of her life.