The Secret I Tried to Keep

Chapter 14

"I thought I would find you in here," Zane's voice interrupted my thoughts. I jumped in surprise and quickly moved my hand away. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Go away, Zane. Just leave me alone, please... just this once," I practically begged. I was too tired to deal with him right now. Of course, he did the exact opposite as he slid into the piano bench next to me.

"Hey, this was my secret hiding place first," he joked. I wasn't in a joking mood. Zane took my hand in his and played with my fingers briefly before I pulled them away. "Pull away... that's all you ever do is pull away. Dria, I know you don't trust me, but I want you to... actually, I need you to trust me. Because I'm apart of this, regardless of whether you like it or not, but I'm asking to be involved. After... my dad remarried, he had a nanny raise Presley and me. He threw money at us and thought it was going to be enough to make us happy, but it wasn't. At least, not for me. I know what it's like to feel unwanted by a parent... like you're more of an inconvenience that their kid. It sucks. I don't want my kid to ever feel that way if I can help it. Even though this is... a surprise, I will never say it was a mistake. I already love this baby more than you know," he explained.

"Is that why you sleep around... to feel wanted by someone?" I asked as I watched his face. He shrugged as his eyes stayed on the keys of the piano.

"I guess... I never really thought about it that way," he said. I pressed gently on a few keys randomly.

"A child requires a lot of attention, Zane, but when done right... that child can love you unconditionally. It's not superficial; it's real. It's time and trust. That goes for any relationship, really," I tried to explain. "You have to let them be who they are and support them regardless of your feelings or personal issues," I added.

"How do you know so much about this?" he asked, watching my hand.

"My sister is a baby doctor and her husband is a pediatrician. They see things and they tell me. Plus, I also learned from my parents' mistakes," I explained. He finally looked at me.

"I want this baby," he said softly. The raw honesty in his face caught me off guard. I was caving and I knew it. I took my fingers off the keys and placed them in my lap before I faced him.

"I need a ride home again today. You can come over and we'll talk more then, okay?" I offered. He nodded with a small smile. "This doesn't guarantee you anything and don't get any wrong ideas. I still hate you, I just... have to deal with you," I warned. I put my lunch on my lap and finished it as Zane played the piano. he was actually pretty decent.

"You play?" I asked in between bites.

"Mostly guitar sometimes. My mom put me in piano lessons when I was little. I don't really play anything now," he said almost absentmindedly. After he realized what he said, he stopped and took his hands off the keys. It felt like a sore subject and I didn't want to start another fight with him so I let it go. I set my now-empty lunchbox aside and stood.

"Class is about to start," I noted. Zane's hands went to my stomach. I froze, staying completely still as the movement caught me off guard. He hesitated before he pressed his ear against my stomach. "W-What are you doing?" I asked awkwardly.

"Trying to see if I can hear anything," he whispered. I chuckled and pushed him off of me.

"I'm only 6 weeks, there's not even a strong heartbeat yet, I think," I said. He shrugged and picked up my bag. "What are you doing now?" I asked with a sigh.

"Proving myself," he answered simply, walking ahead of me. I followed after him to my locker, trying to stop him the entire way. I opened my locker and grabbed my bag from him quickly.

"Following me like a lost puppy isn't proving yourself," I hissed at him lowly. "All you're doing is drawing unwanted attention to me," I added. Zane simply handed me the cupcake from earlier.

"There wasn't a dessert in your lunch," he noted. I rolled my eyes.

"Because it's perfectly balanced for... my condition," I explained hesitantly. But I did really want that cupcake. Zane held it towards me with a knowing smirk. I sighed and took the cupcake quickly. "Fine, I'll eat the cupcake, but stop following me. And stop talking to me at school," I said. He smiled.

"How about after school?" he asked.

"Fine, sure, no go away," I said quickly. His smile widened.

"I'll text you later," he said before he left. I groaned and put my head in my locker.

"Wow, I think that's the most effort Zane's put into a girl," a voice said. "Looks like you're getting all of his attention," Dallas said. I sighed as I faced her. She looked jealous, but tried to hide it.

"Because I keep telling him no and he just isn't catching the hint," I said, slightly frustrated.

"So you're playing hard to get then?" Dallas asked as I ate my cupcake. I shrugged and finished my bite.

"I'm not playing anything. I'm just not interested in being his next toy," I answered truthfully.

"You know he just wants to play you, right?" she said as if I didn't' know already. I switched out my books in my locker and shut it forcefully.

"So you've said.. many times. I get it," I snapped at her. She smirked.

"You totally like him," she said. I groaned and rolled my eyes before closing them briefly.

"Look, I know you have a thing for pretentious assholes, specifically Zane, but what happened between you two is none of me business and vise versa. In fact, there's nothing between Zane and I and I want to keep it that way. And quite frankly, I have bigger things to worry about than petty high school drama. You think you're being sneaky about it, but everyone can see it clear as day. You're being jealous and protective over someone who was never yours to begin with and that's pretty pathetic. In all honesty, that's probably why he's been avoiding you in the first place," I ranted in frustration. I couldn't help it, she was irritating.

"Dria! Hey, we've been looking everywhere for you!" Aria said as she rushed over with Cassie in tow.

"You were nobody until Ari felt sorry for you freshman year and invited you to hang out with us. I'm pretty sure when they find out you're trying to get with Zane behind my back, you'll go back to being that little nerdy nobody," Dallas said angrily.

"Did you not hear a word I just said?" I deadpanned. Dallas looked to Aria and Cassie expecting them to look shocked, angry, or something, but they already knew the whole story. They were true friends, and they had my back.

"Get over yourself, Dallas. He slept with you like once and then dumped you. Don't you think you're talking this obsession way too far? You're being paranoid now. Plus, Dria wants nothing to do with Zane. Don't talk about things you know nothing about," Aria said, coming to my rescue.

"Well then I'll find out... promise you that," she glared at me before she left. I leaned against my locker and shook my head. this was getting ridiculous.

"Was she being serious? Who the hell does she think she is?" Cassie asked, looking as wound-up as I felt.

"She's forgetting... I made her too," Aria said, as she crossed her arms over her chest. I sighed in frustration.

This was going to be a thing now wasn't it?