Lilly stared at Mrs. Barone, breathless and in tears.
“She’s just really surprised,” Anna said dryly when some people started looking puzzled.
Mrs. Barone clasped her hands. “She really surprised me!” She pulled up a chair. “Have a seat, sweetheart, don’t overexert yourself!”
People gathered around Lilly, who—in shock and seemingly involuntarily—fell into the chair.
She looked freakin’ traumatized.
More guests surrounded us. Mrs. Barone hugged Lilly’s mom. They were both in tears.
And they weren’t the only ones!
Gino looked to his parents—who would have thought his dad’s even taller than he is?—and heaved a sigh. He dropped to one knee, pulled a ring box from his pocket, took Lilly’s hand and—as the room fell silent—asked,
“Lilly Jacobson, will you marry me?”
After a blank stare, Lilly’s eyes met mine, her expression still stunned. She was clearly at a loss for words, and I had never seen her so frightened.
Luke kissed my cheek, his hand gliding down my arm to my ring finger. “I love you,” he breathed in my ear. But I couldn’t even look at him. My best friend was holding her sobs, and I could see it.
“I love you,” Gino said a moment later, when Lilly still hadn’t responded. He glanced at Troy beside us—the only other person in the room who wasn’t smiling.
Gino knitted his eyebrows, swallowed hard, and in a soft voice said, “You will marry me, won’t you?”
Tears rushed down her cheeks as she looked from him, to his blissful mother, to her mom, to mine, over the guests, the gifts, Troy, Luke, and me. Her gaze finally rested on Gino’s terminally ill grandmother, and her mouth opened, but she couldn’t speak. She began to tremble, and people started to whisper.
A sob suddenly escaped her. Her head fell into her hands. After a strained breath she cried,
“I’m not pregnant!”
And as if someone flipped a switch, the only smile in the place belonged to Troy De La Fontaine.
Yeah, he looked elated.
There were countless gasps. Widened eyes. Mrs. Barone’s face dropped. Gino stared.
And a girl in the back screamed, “What!”
Mrs. Jacobson glared. My mother looked to me, confused. I covered my mouth.
“See?” an Italian lady behind us shouted to Mrs. Barone. “I told you it is bad luck to throw a shower this early! Did you listen? No! Look what happened! Now there is no baby!”
All eyes glided from her, back to Lilly.
“I’m not pregnant!” Lilly sobbed. “I didn’t expect this! So soon? Why would you do this?!” she demanded, her tear-soaked face beet-red.
Mrs. Barone put her trembling hands around Gino’s grandmother. “I—I got excited. I guess I went a little overboard, but my mother doesn’t expect to be here much longer. She wanted to at least be here for this moment, to celebrate the baby…” Her teary eyes rested on Gino. “To see my son propose,” she quavered. “Why would you say you’re pregnant if you’re not?” She burst into tears. “I don’t understand!”
His grandmother was in tears herself, and Gino was at a loss for words. He rubbed his forehead.
Luke beside me breathed rapidly. “Why did you say you’re pregnant, if you’re not?”
Lilly looked at him through tears. Then at Gino. “I wanted Gino to move in with me, but he said he’s going to British Columbia. I wanted to make him rethink our relationship…” her voice trailed off. “I didn’t mean for this to hurt anyone, I swear!”
Mrs. Jacobson’s face reddened.
Gino sighed, looked down and closed the ring box.
“Wait,” Luke demanded. “You tried to manipulate my friend into moving in with you? And you expected no one to get hurt?”
Lilly covered her face. “I feel bad enough, Lukasz! Don’t lecture me!”
Luke’s face grew dark, and his eyes suddenly settled on me. “You knew?”
My body quivered. I nodded.
“And you let me throw my best friend into a locker, threaten him and call him an asshole?”
My eyes widened, and my chest constricted. I looked from Luke, to Gino, to Lilly. “Luke,” I breathed. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry…” Luke shook his head. He looked down for a moment, then to Gino. “Gino, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I mistrusted you and mistreated you.”
“Luke,” I attempted, all glares in the room suddenly on me.
Luke shook his head again. “Forget it, Adonia.”
My heart stopped. “Forget what?”
Luke swallowed hard. “Forget trying to explain this to me. I can’t wrap my mind around it. I can’t fathom why you would know something this serious is bullshit and not tell me!”
“I didn’t know how to take it back!” Lilly sobbed. “It was a stupid little lie. I was just too scared to tell the truth! I was afraid—”
“Once again, the whole fucking world revolves around you!” Luke growled. “Do you ever think about anyone else? Immature and selfish, that’s what you are! Again!”
Lilly hunched in her seat somewhat, hugging herself.
“By the way, this doesn’t look like a little lie to me,” he said, putting his arms out.
People began collecting their gifts and tramping out in furor. The words some uttered as they passed her weren’t nice ones.
Before long only a handful remained—our mothers, Gino’s grandparents and some cousins—and they were all in or near tears.
Lilly looked at Gino. “I’m so sorry, Gino. I’ll move to British Columbia with you. Whatever you want…”
Gino put his hands in his pockets. “Never mind,” he ordered.
His glossy eyes brushed his mother’s. “I’m sorry, Ma.”
Luke grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”
A step closer to the door, I pulled my hand free and touched Lilly’s shoulder.
Luke turned and looked at me, his eyes betrayed.
“Please,” I wept. “Can we stay with her?”
“You’re still on her side? You choose her, after what she did?” he asked in disbelief.
“How can I leave her?” I pled. “She’s my best friend! She’s shattered, Luke.”
His eyes widened. “Will you look around and see who is truly shattered? How about that terminally ill lady over there? How about Gino’s mom, who paid for all this shit! I just treated my best friend like crap, and you didn’t have the decency to tell me, or stop me? You’ve known this whole time and you said nothing! And to think a minute ago I wanted to forgive you, because of how much I love you.”
I trembled. He’d turned on me. I’d made him turn on me, just by defending her. Just by being her friend.
“People make mistakes!” I blurted.
His eyes were soulful, his face grave. “Toying with people’s feelings about things as sensitive as this isn’t a mistake. It’s intentional, it’s cold, and it’s downright cruel.”
And at that, Luke gathered his posse of male models, and walked out of my life.
~ ~ ~
Lilly slept at my house. I don’t think her mother even knew what to say.
Mom was clearly disappointed, but I guess you can say she felt bad for us, so she was soft on us.
When we got home, she put her purse and coat away. “Go upstairs,” she ordered. “I’ll bring you girls something to drink in a bit.”
We sat on my turquoise carpet, and like so many times, did our nails. This wasn’t like those times, though, because this time we were both broken.
“Don’t worry,” Lilly sobbed. “Lukasz will come around, he loves you.” She squeezed more tears out. “Gino and I are done.”
I don’t know about Luke coming around, but I could tell from the disheartened look on Gino’s face when he closed that ring box that she was right—they were done.
“In case you forgot,” I noted, “this isn’t the first time I chose you over Luke. So I won’t hold my breath.”
She
sighed, wiped her eyes and picked up the nail polish, smearing pink glitter on her toenail. “Seriously, I feel so stupid.” She covered her face, and it was noticeably redder the next time I saw it. “I crushed so many people. I’m going straight to hell!”
“I accused your brother of planning to cheat on me with your cousin,” I confessed.
She grimaced. “What?”
“Nikki kept texting him, and she sent a photo of the two of them at the beach. I thought she was his ex, because he was telling her he thinks about her, and that he can’t wait to see her. I went through his phone while he was sleeping, and when he woke up I freaked out on him.” I hugged myself. “So don’t feel too stupid.”
“Sounds embarrassing,” she said, sniffling.
“Tell me about it.” I filed my thumbnail for a moment. “He really didn’t tell you?”
Her eyes glided to the right. “No…”
I bit my lip. “The moose I hit while skiing, did he tell you about that?”
Her eyes widened. “You hit a moose while skiing?”
I nodded.
“Uh, no, I think I would have remembered if he did. Apparently your secrets are safe with him.”
I looked at the fairy tale ring on my finger. “I love him,” I wept.
Lilly sighed. “You’re not making this any easier on me.”
“I know,” I said softly.
“At least you didn’t tell a roomful of people who just bought your baby gifts that the baby doesn’t exist—I’m probably the biggest bitch in North America right now!” She groaned. “They’re probably returning that stuff as we speak, like ‘I want to return this because the psycho girl I bought it for wasn’t really pregnant.’”
“At least you didn’t steal a baby and say it’s yours,” I noted.
She shot me a look. “Trust me, to them, I’m just as bad! I don’t know what I was thinking, I’m so humiliated!”
“Troy didn’t seem to be judging you.”
She sniffled some more. “He wasn’t?”
“No. Did you see his face? He was blissed out.”
“No,” she said quietly. “The only faces I saw were angry. And yours and Anna’s, scared.”
“Troy looked really grim when Gino proposed, but when you said you’re not pregnant, his spirits soared. I’d never seen such a mood shift!”
“Oh well. I’m sure Gino only proposed because he felt he had to. In a way it’s good I spilled and he dumped me, so he’s not stuck with me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think any guy would consider himself stuck with you, you’re freaking hot.”
“Yeah, well, you always know what to say!”
“I’m serious,” I said. “Sometimes I’m jealous of you.”
She waved a hand in contempt. “Puh-lease. I’m just an average girl.”
“You’re average like Luke is average.”
“Luke is average.” Her glance fell to the carpet. “Now Troy… Troy is hot.”
“He’s also a criminal.”
She furrowed her brow. “Huh?”
“My dad ran a background check on him, and found out he jaywalked, twice.”
“Oooooh,” Lilly moaned. “A bad boy, sounds dangerous!”
We giggled.
The smile I got out of her was short-lived, though.
“Seriously, I can’t believe it has come to this!” She whimpered, her lips in a pout. “This has turned into such a disappointment that I want my virginity back!”
“Ask him for it back, I want to see what he says!” I said with a grin.
Mom knocked on my door. She carried in a tray of hot chocolate and s’mores. “I brought you girls a treat,” she breathed, sitting beside us.
“Loads of calories! Thanks, Mrs. Morrison!”
Mom smiled. “Your mother called. She said you’re welcome home anytime you wish to go.”
Lilly bit into a s’more. “Are you sure you don’t just want me gone?”
Mom chuckled. “Of course not.” She put her hands in her lap and was thoughtful for a minute. “Listen, Lilly, I know why you did it. I’m sure Mrs. Barone will be okay, and won’t be mad for too long.”
“How about her cancer-stricken mother, will she not be mad for too long?” Lilly asked casually.
Mom heaved a sigh. “Did you know this would happen?”
Lilly grew serious. “No…”
“It wasn’t intentional. We all made mistakes when we were silly young girls. We’ve all learned the hard way. You love Gino and you’re only human.”
“He won’t take me back, though, right?”
Mom shrugged. “Only time will tell. Honestly, he’s probably more relieved that you’re not pregnant than anything.”
Lilly bit her lip. “Maybe you’re right.”
“What happens happens,” Mom said, setting her hand on Lilly’s shoulder. “If he comes back, it’s fate. You’ll both be okay either way.”
XVII
The next day, everyone knew about it: The teachers, the hall monitors, the principal, the entire student body… even the servers at McDonald’s.
And there’s a reason for that!
“Can you believe this crap!” Lilly sobbed at her locker. She shoved a paper in my face. “Look at it!”
I read the headline on the front page: “Local Girl Fakes Pregnancy to Get Baby Shower at The Italian Affair.” I looked at her, breathless. “Do I want to read more?”
Lilly wiped some snot with her sleeve. “You know nothing happens around here when my pregnancy makes the news!” She tore the paper from me and turned to Anna. “Why would she go to the media! Why go through all the trouble!”
“I was reading that,” I said, reaching for it.
Lilly crossed her arms. “I’d rather you not!”
The girls across the hall chuckled as they read the copy they shared. “Dumb blonde,” one said, and they broke into a laugh.
I grabbed the guy’s next to me. “Borrowing this, thanks,” I said. Irked, he walked away.
“Things didn’t go quite as planned for a local girl, Lilly—whose last name is withheld because she has not been charged with any crime—when she confessed that she isn’t four months pregnant during a baby shower at The Italian Affair restaurant on Main Street. Guests were outraged when Lilly declined her boyfriend—the owner’s only son—’s marriage proposal with the revelation that she isn’t really pregnant; she just lied to trick him into moving to the beach with her.”
I took a deep breath and continued reading. “‘It’s ludicrous! I took my Diaper Genie and marched right out of there! And you can bet I told the clerk at the returns counter how psycho this girl is!’ said a guest, Karma, who asked that her last name be withheld to protect her privacy.”
We looked over the paper at Karma, who waited with Jenna by the school doors for my fiancé—or boyfriend, or acquaintance, if that’s what it boils down to—to make his grand entrance.
“Idiot,” Lilly sneered. “Look at her, she’s dressed like a prostitute! Is that a skirt or a bandana? And whatever-it-is doesn’t match her shirt, if you can even call it that.”
With another painful breath I kept reading. “Not only did things not go as planned for Lilly, but her friend, Adonia, got shamed and dumped for siding with her until the bitter end. When asked if she felt bad for Adonia’s misfortune, local senior Jenna—whose mother is a friend of the Barone family’s—replied, ‘Oh my God, are you kidding? She just made the stud she’s dating, like, the school’s most eligible bachelor! This fake pregnancy is the best thing that’s ever happened to me!’”
I whimpered. “Is this a newspaper or the Enquirer?”
“They need something new to report, pronto!” Lilly sniffled. “Earthquakes, corrupt politicians, a scandal, an impeachment…” Her attention shifted to Karma. “A mysterious death.”
The doors opened. Gasps filled the hall as three heartthrobs emerged. All in black jeans, all in blue tank-tops, all masked with shiny dark sunglasses; two in a leath
er jacket and one in an unzipped parka with dreamy, flowing long hair.
“Oh my God!” some girl gushed. “Who’s that guy?!”
No one answered, because no one knew. No one but me, Anna, and Lilly, who seemed to grow weaker with every step Troy took toward her.
Jaws dropped to the floor. Silence filled the hall. A sense of wonder filled the air.
Stress built in the chest of every member of the male student body.
The heartthrobs stopped before us. Luke removed his sunglasses, looking us over.
I crossed my arms, part trembling, part relieved. He’s talking to me—everything will be okay.
“Yes…?” I whispered gently, looking up at him through dark, mascara-drenched lashes.
Luke’s godlike eyes locked with mine. “You’re in our way.”
We looked about. Somehow, we’d ended up in the middle of the hall. Students and backpacks littered the sides by the lockers.
“Oh,” I said, near tears, and we moved aside for them.
As he walked by, he looked like he wanted to say something. And after brief hesitation, he did. “Thanks.”
I swallowed a sob and gripped my ring. The ring he’d put on my finger. The ring that symbolized the love he felt for me.
Key word: Felt.
~ ~ ~
I couldn’t bear to sit through geography. The glances, the giggles, the pointing—it was just too much. Because I had to go somewhere, I went to see Mr. Bias.
“Miss Morrison!” he greeted, removing his feet from his desktop. “I’ve been expecting you!”
“You have?”
He nodded with his permanent grin, and held up the morning paper. “I‘ve cleared my schedule!”
I groaned and fell into the blue interrogation seat. “I didn’t think not telling him she’d lied would get me into this much trouble. This is downright ridiculous.”
Mr. Bias nodded. “It is kind of harsh.” He read through the article cheerfully. “It does not say exactly why you were dumped.”
“Well, when Luke found out Lilly was pregnant, he slammed Gino into a locker and called him an asshole for dumping her.”
Mr. Bias smiled thoughtfully. “Well, I do believe I just saw them together in the hall. Aside from the irritated looks at girls constantly throwing pens at their feet, they seemed to be okay.”
Book of Luke (Book 2) Page 14