Beneath Our Faults (26 page)

"Actually, we are different, he still talks to me but I can guarantee he doesn't even remember who you are," I answered, slamming my locker shut and walking away from her without waiting for a response.

P
IPER STOOD
directly in front of me. Her face was twisted into a nasty scowl. Here we go with round fifty-two.

"You know you're just wasting your time with Keegan. You may think he wants to be with you but he'll grow bored. He always does and when that happens - he comes right back to me."

I glanced around the locker room at the audience Piper had already created with her ridiculous show.

The only thing I saw was Gabby's copper hair that swooped in front of me, closing off my view from Piper's smug face. "He only used to come back to you because you are the only girl dumb enough to keep spreading your legs for someone who won't even commit to you," Gabby scowled, sounding both amused at pissed at the same time. Her hands moved to the side of her hips.

Piper moved to the side and around Gabby to get to me. "We need to talk," she demanded, "alone."

Her terror squad was standing to the side with looks on confusion posted on their faces. I brought my attention back at the movement in front of me. Gabby moved, gripping Piper's arm with her hand but I held my hand up stopping her. Damn, if I ever needed a bodyguard, Gabby would be the first person on my hire list.

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders because I honestly didn't know what the heck I was doing. "Okay," I gestured out to Piper, "go ahead and talk."

"I said alone," she hissed. Was the girl mad? There was no way I was going to walk straight into some evil, twisted Carrie joke that they were probably planning on playing on me. Blood baths really weren't my thing.

I sighed. "Piper, just say whatever you need to say right here," I insisted, refusing to be a pawn in one of her childish schemes.

"Please," she said.

"Piper Douglas is pleading," Gabby snorted. "Mark that in the history books, ladies."

"Screw you, Gabby," Piper fumed. "This doesn't involve you so stay out of it. I can't believe my uncle fell for your home wrecking mother."

Gabby took another step forward with clenched fist. "Fine," I said, grabbing my bag and Piper's arm, dragging her away before Gabby clocked her. "But make it quick."

"This way," Piper said, turning and walking back to the entrance doors. Mentally yelling at myself, I followed her.

"Daisy, you're nuts. She probably has some death trap set out for you and is going to cut off your head or something," Gabby called out from behind me, grabbing my hand. "Whatever it is, it's going to be drama. Just tell her to kiss your ass and let's get to class.”

"I promise I won't hurt your precious Daisy," Piper sneered, glancing back at Gabby and throwing open the door and disappearing into the hallway.

"If I don't come back in ten minutes, call the police," I told Gabby, grabbing my bag before leaving the room. Piper was waiting for me outside the door as soon as I stepped out into the empty hallway. Without saying anything else, she turned left and sped down the hallway like she was on fire. She stopped and turned down another hallway I had never been down before, opening up a closed door and going in. Guessing that was my cue, I followed her into the room hesitantly.

The room was small and it looked like an old office that wasn't being used anymore. She sauntered over to the corner, plopping down on the couch leaning against the wall. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for her to start talking. "Spit it out, Piper," I ordered.

"Okay," she nodded crossing her legs out in front of her. "I wanted to kinda apologize for how shitty I have been treating you since you moved here," she said, forcing the words out. I wasn't quite sure if a "kinda apology" meant she was actually sorry or if she was just telling me that to get on my good side for whatever she was about to say. I was still shocked, however, that she could even say those words from her mouth. It might have been a lame apology, but I was pretty certain she didn't hand out apologies like she did her vagina to my boyfriend.

She leaned back against the couch, twisting her blonde locks around her finger. "I've just been so stressed out lately and my emotions have been all over the place," she said, now playing with her fake fingernails. She folded her legs up until she was sitting Indian style and stared across the room at me. Her eyes grew wider and I saw the wetness of tears start to trickle down one side of her face.

I pinched myself to make sure this was real and I wasn’t in the Twilight zone.

"Anyways," she said, wiping away a lone tear. "My mom noticed the changes as well. She made me go to the doctor the other day and I found out something bad; like really bad." Her skinny arms rose up, clasping together and folding across her stomach. I waited for her to elaborate on what she found out but she just kept staring at me. I swear, the girl was growing more certifiable by the day.

The loud snap of my fingers in her face brought her attention back to the real word and me. "Get out with it Piper or I'm walking out this door and I'm done." I wasn't going to get a detention because she was having some heartbreak crisis over the guy who wanted to be with me.

"I'm pregnant!" She burst out the words scaring the shit out of me. "And it's Keegan's baby."

I froze. What did she just say? No, it couldn't mean what it had just sounded like. She was lying, she had to be lying. "Wow Piper, really? Is that the best you could come up with?" I spat out angrily, fed up with her games. "You need to get over Keegan and move on with your life. It's really starting to grow pathetic. You're a pretty girl, you can find someone else."

My eyes narrowed at her and I whipped around to get out of there and away from her. I grasped the doorknob, swiftly turning it and dashed out of the room back into the hallway, charging towards the locker room. How dare she make up some bullshit lie just to get Keegan back and away from me?

A tight hand wrapped around my arm stopping me before I got the chance to turn the corner. "Please," she begged and I turned around to face a tear faced Piper. "I have been trying to call him but he won't answer my calls." I opened my mouth to tell her to go to hell but her words rambled over mine. "I know it's his. I am absolutely positive. He is the only person I have been with."

I twisted hard, pulling away from her. "Piper, it's been months since you two have been together so unless they have delayed pregnancies now, you would have been sporting a large pregnant belly by now," I snapped, signaling to her stomach.

"The last time we had sex was at Lane's Christmas party, which was only a month ago," she snapped back. My heart completely dropped out of my body onto the floor beneath me and nausea started to burn into the pit of my stomach. He lied to me and my stupid self believed him. God, I was just as naive as she was. I was the same as all of those other girls who thought he actually wanted to be with them.

I shook my head, keeping the tears that were trying to break through the barrier at bay. "I'll give him your message," I barked, shoving through her and walking away. If she was pregnant with Keegan's baby, it was not my problem. Keegan was not going to be my problem any longer.

GABBY: Where are you?

I ignored that one going to the next one.

GABBY: Did Piper kill you? I asked her in class and she said no but we all know that bitch lies.

My finger tapped the reply button and started typing.

ME: No still alive. I didn't feel well so I went to the nurse. Don’t tell Keegan and I'll fill you in later.

I wasn't sure how I was going to explain to her what happened because I couldn't just go blaring Keegan's business around. I might be furious at him but I wasn't going to morph into some vicious bitch. That just wasn't me. I leaned back on the resting bed and rubbed the temples of my head with the edge of my thumbs as I counted the ceiling tiles above me.

Damnit life, can't you just give a poor girl a break for a moment?

W
E BOTH
jumped at the loud squeal of tires braking against pavement directly behind us. I spun around and looked out of Cora's back window. Rain was pouring over a very familiar black SUV that was parked directly behind her car and blocking us from pulling out.

Fanfreakingtastic.

I had managed to talk the nurse into letting me stay in her office for the rest of the day. My phone kept alerting me with messages from Keegan and I finally sent him one back telling him I was going to ride home with Cora. As soon as I heard the bell ring at the end of the day, I sprinted out of the nurse’s office to Cora's locker ready to get the hell out of dodge.

“Would you listen to me if I asked you to put the car in reverse and get us the hell out of here before he makes a scene?” I asked Cora.

“As much as I would love to hurt his pride and joy, my dad wouldn’t appreciate it too much,” she said, glancing back at Keegan’s car from her rearview mirror.

The loud bang on the window next to me caused me to lunge out of my seat. I peeked over to see a fuming Keegan on the other side glaring at me with a scowl on his face. The heavy rain was pouring down his face and his nostrils were flaring in and out as raindrops fell off the tip of his nose.

"Get in my damn car, Daisy," he roared through the window, banging on it incessantly, which was annoying because he clearly had my attention along with everyone else's in the damn parking lot.

"Uhhhh.." Cora trailed off beside me, making a grab for her phone in the cup holder between us. Her wary eyes moved from me to the lunatic pounding and screaming next to me. "I'm just going to call Lane and tell him to come handle this," she finished, unlocking her phone.

"No," I responded, pulling the phone out of her hand and placing it back in the cup holder. I put my hand up at the window by Keegan's face, blocking a tiny view into the car. "Just give me a minute and I'll deal with it," I groaned, moving my hand away and hitting the button to roll the window down an inch.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying my hardest to look confused. "I'm going home with Cora and we are going to have a girl's night," I yelled through the tiny opening, shrugging. My goal was to appear as casual as possible.

"Bullshit!" He screamed through the glass and banged his fist against it again. "I fucking know Piper cornered you in the gym earlier than you bailed on the rest of your classes. I texted you a million times and you ignored every single one," he pointed out the facts. Damn, couldn't the gossip mill at this school take a rain day?

"Keegan, stop acting like some deranged lunatic or I am going to call your aunt!" Cora leaned across the center console and screamed at him.

"I don't give a fuck."

The cold air hit my face when I rolled down the window more. "You're not going to move your car are you?" I grumbled, exasperated. I don't know why I even wasted my time asking the question because the answer was clearly obvious.

"My car will move when your ass is planted in the passenger seat," he fired back, wiping the wetness of the rain away from his face.

"Fine," I said. "I'll call you later," I called over my shoulder to Cora and got into his car. A few seconds later, I watched the driver's side open and Keegan jumped into his seat.

"Are you going to tell me what the fuck happened with Piper that has you all pissed off at me because I don't remember doing anything?" he asked. He hit a few buttons and heat flooded out the vent in front of my face. I shook my head in response, turning my attention out the window, looking at the large crowd that had yet to disperse.

"Daisy!" He screeched, pounding his palm against his steering wheel, causing the horn to roar to life.

"I will talk to you when you put this car into drive and we aren't creating a public spectacle in front of the entire student body!" I yelled back at him, signaling to the lurking audience with my hand.

His foot immediately shot down on the accelerator and the car shot forward, causing people to tumble out of the way. "Try not to kill anyone," I mumbled under my breath.

"Are you going to tell me now?" he asked, making a sharp turn into the street.

"I really don't think it's my place to tell you," I whispered, swallowing. I watched the windshield wipers in front of me move back and forth squeaking along the way.