Alpha’s Baby(18)

Two lines.



Stefan





I knew the results the minute Bella walked out of the pharmacy with an expression that said she was about to have a nervous breakdown.

Positive.

I let out a groan and rested my head on Bella’s steering wheel.

I lifted my head back up as Bella reached the car. She didn’t even get into the passenger side all the way before she began sobbing—great, big hiccups that quickly morphed into full-blown wailing.

“Oh, God,” Bella wailed. “Oh, God.”

“It’s okay,” I soothed, pulling her into my arms. Even though she was wet, she felt extremely warm, and under normal circumstances, I would have probably gotten excited. But right now, that wasn't at the forefront of my thoughts. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.” While I held Bella, I could see people entering the store turning to stare at us. I knew it was bad for us to be seen together so close to the school, but this couldn’t be helped.

“I just can’t believe it, Stefan,” Bella cried into my chest, her tears staining my shirt. “I can’t.”

I can, I thought. Honestly . . . I kinda like it.

“We'll get through this,” I said softly, rubbing her back. Both of our worlds had been turned upside down, and the shit was about to hit the fan. But I would deal with it somehow. “I just want you to stop beating yourself up about it.”

“My life is over,” Bella sobbed. “Finished.”

“Don’t say that,” I growled to her angrily. “We're going to make the best of this, Bella James.”

I held Bella for the next few minutes, rocking her, massaging her shoulders, and giving her soft kisses on the cheek, telling her that everything was going to be okay. I knew it was going to get tough, but she needed me to be positive.

When she finally calmed down, she pulled away from me and wiped at her wet face with both hands. She stared at me, her eyes red from crying. “What are we going to do now?” She sniffed.

I immediately knew what she was asking, and I already knew the answer.

“We’re keeping it,” I said firmly. “No matter the cost. We have to.”

“I can’t believe you’re saying that,” she said softly, studying my face. “What about our parents, Stefan? Telling them is going to be a nightmare.”

I gritted my teeth. One question, and she had opened up a whole can of worms. I knew we had quite a challenging road ahead of us. “Let me handle them.”

Bella was shaking her head. “You can’t just blow everything off with macho assertions, Stefan. They are going to find out, someway, somehow.”

“Maybe,” I said in denial. “But it’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of that.”

Bella stared at me for a long time before responding, and the sound of the rain hitting the roof of the car filled the silence. “You can’t promise that.”

“Watch me.”

Bella rolled her eyes, and I felt a little jolt of happiness. Some of her spunk was coming back. “Please. And what about the investigation that the school is launching, huh? What are we going to do about—”

I placed my index finger against her lips. “Shh. One thing at time.” I twisted my torso and pulled my seatbelt on, snapping it in place. Bella followed suit a second later. If nothing else, we were both safety conscious. Funny, huh? This coming from two siblings who had just wound up with an unplanned pregnancy.

I fired up the engine and began backing out of the parking spot. “Don’t worry about the investigation. I’m going to have a word with the dean. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You promise?” asked Bella skeptically.

I looked over at her and gave her a confident grin. Was I full of shit? Of course I was. But right now, being full of shit was better than the alternative. “Just wait and see.”





Chapter 10





Stefan





“What can I help you with today, Mr. Livingston?” asked Howard Sturm, the big-bellied Dean of NSU. A mug of steaming coffee sat in front of him.

After the long day of dealing with an emotional Bella, I had made an appointment to speak with him. I figured if he was calling Bella into his office, I wasn’t long to be called myself, and I wanted to take control of the situation. And since my name was fast spreading across the campus, it hadn’t been hard or taken long to gain access to the powerful man.

I studied the dean for several moments, concealing my contempt for him. Being an athlete, I didn't too much care for people who let themselves go. I get it, he didn’t need to run marathons, but really . . . the man needed to start taking care of himself before he ended up having a heart attack.