The Secret I Tried to Keep

Chapter 35

The next day, Tyler was there as promised. He was in the kitchen talking with Ben when I came down to let Domino out to the backyard. Tyler pulled me into a bear hug which made me smile.

"Feeling any better?" he asked. I shrugged as I pulled away.

"I'm okay," I answered honestly.

"Any word from Zane?" Ben asked as he set a plate of food down in front of me. I shook my head and blushed in embarrassment as I picked up my fork.

"No," I said quickly before I began stuffing my face. When I was done with my breakfast, I set the dishes in the sink and grabbed my bag. Tyler quickly took it from me. 

"Ready?" he asked. I nodded. Fehtra handed me my lunch before we left. We rode to school in a comfortable silence until Tyler parked the car. He turned to look at me. 

"Are you sure that you'll be okay?" he asked. I nodded. 

"Why did you insist on driving me this morning?" I asked. He shrugged with a smile. 

"Moral support," he answered easily. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze as I found myself offering him a small smile. 

"You're a great friend, Tyler," I thanked him. He chuckled and pretended to brush dust off of his collar. 

"I know," he said jokingly. I laughed and shook my head at him. 

"You're a dork," I laughed as I got out of the car. Tyler walked me to my locker where Aria was already waiting by my locker. She looked upset and worried. 

"It was radio silence, Dria. What happened?" she asked. I shook my head with a sigh. 

"Nothing... Zane and I just aren't talking right now," I explained. Of course, then Aria wanted all of the gory details but I didn't feel like explaining everything all over again. 

"Later, Ari. For now, can we please forget it and not mention it," I asked. She gave me a sympathetic look. 

"That bad, huh?"" she asked. I nodded. The whole day, I didn't see Zane at all, and I had every intention to confront him if I did. I did, however, manage to catch Presley at the end of the day. The first thing I did was give her a tight bear hug. She hugged me back with a chuckle. 

"Careful, Dria... the baby," she reminded me. I let go only to hold onto her arms. 

"Are you okay? Is your dad still hanging around? You know you're always free to sleep over at my place  at any time," I rambled on. Presley shrugged and averted her eyes. 

"He's still around, kind of. It's just him, though. He isn't bringing around Courtney or the tiny devil around anymore. I don't know what you said to him, but he's been... different... in a good way. I see it, but Zane is taking it hard. He's been holed up in his room since you told him off," she explained. She glanced at me, worried. "Were you thinking about... working this out with my brother?" she asked hesitantly. I sighed and looked away for a moment before I shrugged. 

"It doesn't look like it. My main fear with Zane getting involved was that he would disappear when things got hard. He made me trust him, a-and fall in love with him only to have my worse fears realized. I'm just glad our baby didn't have to go through this, too. He hasn't changed, Prez, and I don't think he ever will. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he started sleeping around again," I said. Presley cringed and looked at her feet. That was all the confirmation I needed. I backtracked over the day and thought hard. I didn't get the usual glares from Paris. In fact, I don't believe I saw her at school at all today. 

"Dria," Presley started explaining. 

"He slept with her again, didn't he?" I asked even though I already knew the answer. 

"Dria, he's... I don't know. I can't make excuses for him anymore. He's being a dick... to everyone, including me," Presley sighed. 

"You shouldn't have to make excuses for him, Prez. If he even cares, tell him that it's over between us. Whatever game he was playing, he won. I want nothing to do with him anymore. I don't want that asshole anywhere near me... or this baby. I'm going to go with adoption," I said with tears in my eyes. I was angry and hurt. After all of the convincing he did, I was still played in the end. I felt like an idiot. 

"I'm sorry, Dria. I really am," Presley said softly, her own tears falling along with mine. I sniffled as Presley pulled me into a hug. "You're giving your baby away?" she asked. I let out a breath before I sniffled again and pulled away to wipe my wet cheeks. 

"No one deserves to grow up in this mess, Prez. This baby deserves to grow up in a happy and stable, two-parent home... and that's not with me. No matter how much I want it to be. I don't even have my driver's license yet for God's sake! Zane just... he helped me see everything for what it was. He has his life, and I have mine. And right now, I need to think about what's best for my baby's life and as much as I hate to admit it... that's not me," I tried to explain. Presley wiped her own tears away. 

"I'll tell him," she said quietly. I thanked her and cleaned my face as best as I could before I went to find Aria, Cassie, and Tyler loitering in the parking lot. Of course, Aria, being my best friend, was the first to notice that something was wrong. She pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back gently.

"What's wrong, hun?" she muttered into my hair. 

"Just take me home, please?" I asked tiredly. She nodded and they all got in their respective cars with me riding with Aria. She was quiet the whole ride but she drove quickly and shot me worried looks the whole time. As soon as we got to my house, she parked the car and turned it off. I knew she had every intention of coming inside, and I was too tired to stop her. Tyler and Cassie pulled up shortly after us and we all went inside. I let Domino inside before going straight to my room.