This is not how I pictured tonight going. When Huntley found me in my room and saw Haley kissing me, I swear I heard her heart break right there. I chased her but she sped off, refusing to listen to me. Anger courses through me and my blood boils. I have no one else to blame except myself. Haley snuck into my room and the minute I walked out of my bathroom, she threw herself at me. Huntley walked in seconds later and I’m pretty sure the floor dropped from under my feet. I never want to see that look on her face ever again, and I sure as hell don’t want to be the one to put it there.
I slam my fist onto the small plastic table in front of me, causing both Brody and Demi to jump. “Fuck,” I mutter to no one in particular. I should’ve gone after her immediately, instead of waiting until I was calmer. If I had been there sooner, that fucker wouldn’t have been able to lay a hand on my beautiful girl. Brody and I got him good, my bruised hands are proof of that, but it doesn’t ease the guilt I feel for not being there to protect Huntley.
Coach Morgan and Mrs. Coach walk into the waiting room and I feel myself crack a little inside when I see their forlorn expressions. Mrs. Coach stifles a sob when she sees me. I do nothing to stop the tears that leak from my eyes and trickle down my cheeks. I sniff. Coach Morgan is the first to hug me and when he whispers a ‘thank you’ into my ear, I let go. The tears flow freely and I shake my head in a poor attempt to rid my mind of how Huntley looked when I walked into her apartment. My world crashed when her eyes fluttered closed. I can’t imagine losing her and for a few short seconds, I worried that she would somehow be gone.
“Are you ok?” Mrs. Coach asks as we take a seat. She wraps her tiny hands around mine and her eyes probe my face. She’ll know if I’m lying.
“No,” I choke out. “They won’t let us see her yet. I’m going crazy.”
“She’s going to be fine,” Mrs. Coach assures me. I think she’s trying to convince herself as much as she is me. Her lip quivers and she tries to keep it together.
“Morgan?” The doctors’ voice breaks through the melancholy in the room and our heads all snap up.
“Yes. Is she ok? Can I see her?” I jump up from my chair and walk to where the doctor is standing, followed by Coach Morgan and his wife.
“Are you her family?”
“She’s my girlfriend. This is her aunt and uncle,” I explain in a rush. He better give me some information about Huntley before I punch his face.
The doctor sighs, looking down at the clipboard in his hands. “Miss Morgan is sedated now. She suffered some severe trauma to her ribs but we’ve attached a fetal monitor to her stomach to make sure –“
“Why would she need a fetal monitor?”
“Miss Morgan is twelve weeks pregnant. We attached the fetal monitor to make sure the baby’s heartbeat stays strong. She’s very lucky though. After the hit she took to the ribs, the baby should’ve died.”
A collective gasp gathers around the room and I imagine that everyone’s face looks as shocked as mine. My knees threaten to buckle under me and I lean against the wall to stop myself from falling to the ground.
“I’m guessing you didn’t know?” the doctor enquires. I shake my head, unable to form words and force them out of my throat.
My beautiful girl is pregnant. With a baby. My baby.
“Can I see her?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“You can see her in about half an hour,” the doctor replies. “We are busy getting her settled into a room now. I will come get you when she’s cleared for visitors.”
The doctor leaves and I wait for the million and one questions to be thrown in my direction. But they don’t come. I look into the shocked faces of the people around me and try to calm my crazy, sprinting heart. I slide down the wall until I’m sitting on the floor. Speechless. I don’t know what to say or what to think or even what to do. I feel so completely overwhelmed. Coach Morgan and his wife take a seat, not saying anything to me. I almost expected Coach Morgan to punch me in the face.
She’s pregnant? Why didn’t she tell me? Did she think I would leave her?
I look up at Demi, fearing that she knew about this the whole time and didn’t tell me. Would I have a right to be upset with her if she knew and didn’t tell me? She’s one of my oldest friends, and I’d like to believe that if she knew, she would tell me. Unless Huntley asked her not to. But why would she do that? I grunt in frustration, wishing that my wayward thoughts would shut the hell up and leave my head.
“Did you know?” I look at Demi, noting that she doesn’t look at all surprised. She stands and walks over to where I’m leaning against the wall, taking a seat next to me.
“I suspected it,” she pauses, searching my eyes for God knows what. She must find it because it’s not long before she continues. “That weekend you and Brody came home from an away game and Huntley was sick, she took a pregnancy test the day before you came home. It came back negative, but for whatever reason, I didn’t believe it. The signs have been staring at us in the face.”
I frown quizzically. “What signs?”