The Secret I Tried to Keep

Chapter 28

The next day at school, I was actually happy. I wasn't worried about what other people thought of me or if they cared that I was being seen with Zane in public. I didn't try to hide my baby bump. I wore a navy floral blouse that Fehtra got for me at a maternity store. It was a loose-fitting shirt but it accentuated my stomach. Zane met me at my locker first thing in the morning with a single white rose and box of cookies. I set them in my locker before pulling Zane towards me for a gentle kiss. His hands went to my hips automatically. I pulled back and smiled at him as my arms stayed around his neck.

This was my statement to the world: I was with Zane, I was pregnant, and I didn't care what anyone had to say about it.

"Good morning to you too," he chuckled as he leaned against the lockers with me. I could tell people were staring and whispering but I could care less. They would be irrelevant in less than six months anyway. Paris passed quickly and glared at me. Her face was discolored and caked with makeup in am attempt to hide it, but her face was swollen in places as well. She wisely didn't say anything as we made eye contact briefly.

"You're in a good mood today," Zane noted. I smiled and shrugged.

"All is right in the world," I replied easily. I felt someone kiss my cheek from behind.

"Good morning, you beautiful person, you. Hey, Zane," Aria said as she stole me from him. I laughed and gave her a tight and long hug.

"Ari, my love," I replied dramatically. Zane just laughed at us and shook his head.

"Okay, so everyone is in a good mood today," he said. Aria threw an arm around my shoulders and stood to face Zane.

"Everyone except Paris... and probably Dallas, which is where I happiness comes from. All is right in the world," Aria said. Zane shook his head with an amused smile as his arms crossed over his chest.

"I would swear you two are twins instead of friends," he joked. We both shrugged before it was time to go to our first period.

The day went better than I thought it would. By lunch, people knew about Zane and I, and by the end of the day, they knew of my pregnancy. They didn't treat me as horrid as I thought they would. Some were sympathetic: mainly my larger group of friends, but the rest were simply curious. Our high school wasn't known for having a high pregnancy rate. Zane at lunch at my table, too. After they threatened to kill him if he hurt me, they were cool with him. I got a lot of questions about the baby, and now that everything was out in the open, I was happy, and relieved, to answer them.

My friends were supportive and understanding, and that's all that mattered to me anyway. Paris and Dallas stayed away, and smartly so. Aria rarely left my side. I was pretty sure Aria was waiting for an opportunity to give Dallas a matching face. Probably even more so because Dallas claimed to be our friend at a time. All in all, people knowing I was pregnant wasn't the worst thing in the world.

~

"This may be a little warm," the technician warned before she squeezed a generous amount of clear gel in my stomach. It was Wednesday, and we were finally getting a sonogram. Zane stood beside me and held my hand tightly in his as he looked at the screen. I think he was more nervous than I was. Fehtra was standing patiently by the technician. The tech moved a wand over my stomach and gray, white-noise appeared on the screen. She moved it around until white matter stood out against the gray. I smiled and squeezed Zane's hand as the figure of a baby finally appeared on the screen. The baby was curled into a fetal position and looked so peaceful. 

"There's your baby," the technician said. I felt my eyes water with tears of joy. The tech moved the want a bit and hit a few buttons before the room was filled with the sound of a steady wet heartbeat. "And there's the heartbeat," she added. 

"Is it possible to find out the gender this early?" Zane asked excitedly. Fehtra chuckled as she shook her head. 

"Give it a few more weeks. Normally, you won't be able to tell that until the second trimester," Fehtra explained. To be honest, I was curious too. Fehtra made sure everything looked good as the tech printed a few pictures. Fehtra handed me a towel to wipe the gel off. Looking at the pictures, I started crying again. I was just so emotional and happy. Zane helped me off the examination chair and chuckled as he wiped my tears away. His own eyes seemed a bit watery too. 

"Ari is going throw a fit when she sees these. She might steal our pictures," Zane joked. 

"That's why I asked for extra copies," I said with a small smile. He kissed my head before he gently wiped my cheeks dry. 

"Ready?" Zane asked me. I nodded before Fehtra pulled me into a gentle hug. 

"I'll see you at home, kiddo," she said before she released me. Zane and I got in the car and drove away from the clinic. We stopped and got ice cream and crackers at my request before we stopped by Aria's house. She practically attacked me when she saw the pictures of the sonogram. 

"Oh my gosh! He's so little!" Aria gushed as she handed the pictures to Cassie. I was sitting on Aria's couch, destroying my ice cream and crackers. 

"We don't know if it's a 'he' yet," Zane said. Aria waved him off before they went back to gushing over the pictures. After the girls finally let me go, we left to go to Zane's house.