Chapter 2 Now The World Knows

/-Dahlia-/

I blinked. Rapidly.

My eyes were having a hard time believing what was being displayed in front of them.

"Son of a bitch!" Jax cursed. Apparently, I wasn't the only one in shock. The entire cafeteria was shocked too.

Zoey threw her hands around him, kissing him like her life depended on it. I was very aware of the hundreds of eyes boring holes through my skin.

Everyone was waiting for me to react. To throw fists. But my body was still in shock. I couldn't move even if I tried to.

It just didn't make sense to me. Even if he didn't want the baby, it was something we could have talked about. Did he really have to humiliate me like this before the entire school? That too with a girl who saw me as her rival?

All this because I told him I was pregnant? Even if he didn't want the baby, it was something we could have discussed. For God's sake, we haven't even broken up?

They finally broke the kiss and Williams brought her to the table.

"What the fuck man?" Austin was the first to speak. "Your girl is here for fuck's sake!"

"You mean ex-girl?" Zoey cut in with that sick grin on her face.

"What are you talking about?" Phil asked, looking between Williams and me. I didn't respond. My eyes were fixed on Williams..

I was going through a storm of emotions. My stomach was clenching hard and I was fighting the urge to cry right now.

"Y'all broke up?" Jax asked incrediously as they sat down - more like William sat down and Zoey planted herself on his lap. "Dahlia?"

"Dahlia?" Jax repeated, his tone more cautious now, almost... protective. But I still couldn't speak.

My throat was thick with unshed tears. My legs felt weak. I wasn't even sure how I was still standing.

"We didn't break up," I finally croaked, my voice barely above a whisper. "At least... I didn't know we did."

A hush fell over the table. Even Zoey stopped giggling.

Williams didn't even look at me. He kept his eyes trained on the table, jaw clenched like I was the one embarrassing him.

"I told you this morning," he muttered. "I told you to leave me out of it."

The weight of his words dropped like bricks on my chest. I blinked at him, stunned.

"Leave you out of what?" Jax asked.

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Zoey smirked, casting me a condescending glance. "Little miss perfect here has been fucking around and after getting herself pregnant, she's trying to pin it on Williams."

It felt like cold water was poured on me at that moment.

"WHAT?!" Multiple gasps erupted, drawing in the attention of some of the students.

We didn't even get to discuss it and he was already spreading the news. Of all the people he could have told, it had to be Zoey?

I stared at her, the words not computing in my head fast enough.

"What did you just say?" I asked, even though I'd heard her loud and clear.

Zoey's grin widened, satisfied by the growing circle of attention around us. She was loving this.

"She said you're pregnant," Jax answered, eyes flickering between me and Williams like he wasn't sure whose side to be on. "Is that true?"

I could barely breathe.

"Of course, it's true," Zoey's voice was purposefully loud this time. "Dahlia Harold is pregnant!"

Gasps echoed throughout the hall and I felt my world grow smaller as the murmurs began.

More students were gathering now, their phones out, camera lights blinking like I was on stage and this was all one sick, twisted reality show.

But I didn't even care about them at this point. My gaze was fixated on Williams. The boy who was about to ruin my life.

"You're seriously telling people that?" I turned to Williams, my voice cracking, horror seeping into every syllable. "You told her before we even finished talking? You let her make a joke out of it, of me, before I could even breathe?"

Williams still didn't look at me. Not once.

He shrugged. "What are you getting pissed about? You seemed pretty determined to keep the bastard so I thought you could use a little headstart."

"Wow," Jax muttered under his breath, disgust dripping from his voice.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. "So instead of being a man and facing it, you handed it to Zoey like it was some party favor?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Zoey cut in before he could respond, her voice syrupy and cruel. "He was venting to me because you're a crazy little liar who's trying to ruin his future."

"You don't know anything about this or me, so stay out of it!" I snapped.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "I know enough. I know you've been clinging to Williams like a leech since middle school, begging him to notice you. I know you're desperate to stay relevant since cheer tryouts are around the corner and freshmen are starting to look way hotter than you. And now, boom. The oldest trick in the book: let's trap the quarterback with a baby!"

The crowd laughed.

Not all of them. But enough.

Enough to feel like the ground was splitting open beneath me.

I looked to Williams, my last hope for a lifeline, for a single word in my defense.

He didn't say anything.

Not even no.

He just leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair like all this was inconvenient.

That's when something in me snapped.

"You know what?" I said, voice loud, hands trembling but steadying the longer I spoke. "Fine. Let's do this. You all want the show, right? The tea?"

A hush fell.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out the test I had shoved in there this morning, still in the wrapper, still clear as day.

I slammed it on the table in front of them.

"Positive. Twice. I took another one after this, same result," I said. "And unless one of you was in my bed two weeks ago during that party..." I stared directly at Williams "...I think we all know who the father is."

More gasps. The circle widened. Phones went up. I was officially trending in the cafeteria.

"You brought the test?" Zoey shrieked, recoiling like it had fangs. "You crazy bitch!"

Williams stood now, finally reacting, but to me, not to Zoey. "Dahlia, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with me?" I shouted. "You cheated on me with her, humiliated me in front of the entire school, lied about our relationship, and now you're acting like I'm the villain for refusing to quietly disappear?"

Silence.

Even Zoey didn't have a snide comment for that.

And then came the final blow, from somewhere in the crowd, loud and clear:

"Yo, this is totally going viral."

Laughter.

Not the kind you can laugh with. The ugly kind. The kind that burrows into your skin and stays there for weeks.

My vision blurred. My throat burned. But I wasn't going to let them see me cry. Not here. Not them.

So I grabbed my bag and threw him a cold glare. "When you're ready to use your brains, you know where to find me."

"And if he doesn't?" Zoey retorted. "Quit acting like a hot shot, you're embarrassing yourself."

"I guess a paternity test will determine who is embarrassing who," I said coldly and walked away.

As I hurried down the halls, the tears began falling down my cheeks. I couldn't take it anymore. I felt sick of this place. Everything.

I headed home, hoping to just sleep the pain away and think of the next step to take before my life was officially ruined.

Little did I know that an even bigger surprise was waiting for me at home.

At first, everything seemed normal until Denise descended the stairs. She wasn't usually home at this time.

"I see little miss perfect finally came home," there was a smugness I couldn't fathom on her face.

Denise had never exactly liked me. Despite the fact that she was my big sister, she treated me no better than Zoey.

"You didn't go to school today?" I asked her.

"If I were you, I'd be more concerned about my myself," she smiled and made her way to the kitchen, leaving me standing there, confused.

I waved it off and walked to my room. I crashed on the bed, thinking of how quickly my life was falling apart.

Hours later, at the normal time when I was supposed to be back from school, my parents came home. It was unlike them to return so early. I just had this sick feeling in my stomach.

The front door slammed shut downstairs.

I sat up immediately.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway, and I heard my mom's voice first.

"Where is she?" she asked someone. Probably Denise.

"She got back hours ago. She's been in her room," Denise replied, and there was a smug lilt in her tone that made my skin crawl.

My bedroom door burst open before I had the chance to brace myself.

My father walked in first. Jaw locked. His face was unreadable, but that was almost worse than anger. Then came my mother, and the look on her face? That was pure fire.

"I got a very interesting phone call today," she said, holding up her phone like it was some kind of evidence. "Would you care to explain this?"

I blinked at the screen she shoved in my face. It was a video.

Of me.

At school.

Holding the test.

Screaming about being pregnant.

Phones flashing. Crowd cheering. Zoey yelling. Williams just standing there.

The entire humiliating moment, now immortalized on the internet.

It already had thousands of views.

I felt the blood drain from my face. How did they get that?

"M-Mom, I was going to tell you..."

"You were going to tell me?" she repeated, voice trembling. "Were you going to tell me before or after the entire state knew? Before or after the PTA meeting next week where I have to look those people in the eye and smile like my daughter's name isn't being dragged through the mud?"

I swallowed hard, throat aching.

"Who is it?" my father finally spoke. His voice was terrifyingly low. "Who's the boy?"

My hands were shaking now. "It was... It's... Williams. But..."

"Williams," my mom cut in with a disbelieving laugh, hands on her hips. "The one we let sleep over here on game nights? The one you swore was 'different'? That Williams?"

I nodded. Shame heating my cheeks.

"And he's denying it?" my father asked.

"He said, he's trying to say it's not his. That I...I made it up."

"Jesus Christ." My mother turned away, her hands going through her hair. "Do you have any idea what you've done to yourself, to your future? Our reputation?"

"I didn't plan this!" I snapped, feeling the tears rising again. "I'm not some scheming girl trying to trap a boy! I loved him. I thought he... he loved me too..."

But they weren't listening anymore.

And then the final blow.

"Oh, she planned it alright," Denise said, leaning against my doorway, sipping a glass of juice like this was some primetime show. "Why else would she parade the test around school like a trophy? Please, she's been craving attention ever since cheer season ended."

"Denise, shut up!" I barked.

"No," she said, sauntering into my room. "You always act like you're better than everyone else. But now? Now you're just the girl who got dumped, humiliated, and pregnant in the middle of the cafeteria. Congratulations. You're officially the family disappointment. To think mom and dad invested so much in you like the rest of us were nothing only for you to turn out like this..."

"Enough!" my dad snapped.

But the damage was done.

My chest was heaving, tears falling freely now.

"I didn't plan it," I choked. "I swear I didn't mean..."

"Shut up," she snapped. "We don't want to hear about love or accidents or whatever fantasy you've written in that head of yours."

"I was going to tell you. I was going to..."

"Well, now you don't have to," Denise called sweetly from the hallway. "I saved you the trouble, didn't I?"

So she was the one who sent them the video. I lunged toward the door, but Mom blocked me.

"You're going to fix this," she said, her voice now eerily calm. "You're going to call the clinic tomorrow. You're going to make an appointment. And you're going to handle this quietly."

The floor tilted beneath me.

"What?"

Dad crossed his arms. "You're getting an abortion. Either that or I am going to disown you."