Peter found Caleb standing in the doorway of the room once he was done showering. The boy already looked better, even in fresh clothes that hung off his lanky frame, and a good night's rest, in a bed, would do him good.
"You can stay in here," Caleb said, nodding into the room before turning away from it.
"Are you going to report me?" Peter asked, eyeing him, his backpack dangling from his fingertips. Caleb knew that if he said yes, the teenager would run. And he didn't want that. He cared about Peter. If something happened to him because of this …
"No," Caleb said, almost gravely. "I won't."
"Really?" Peter asked, hope lighting up his exhausted eyes.
"You can stay here, under certain conditions," Caleb told him. "School being one of them, since I know you've been ditching."
Peter ducked his head, but didn't deny it.
"You can start classes again once you're feeling better," Caleb told him, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at him. "Just know that if your parents come looking for you, I won't be able to do anything, Peter. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Peter whispered, nodding. "I understand."
"Good." Caleb nodded at the bedroom. "Go get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
"Thank you," he said quietly, before ducking into the room. He peered around before closing the door softly.
Caleb heard the lock turn on the door and he almost smiled. Some things would never change and teenagers were one of them. He just hoped that he was doing the right thing.
TWENTY-SEVEN
"Oh my God, oh my God," Maddie whispered, tears clogging her throat as she stared down at the white stick in complete shock.
"What is it?" Kyra asked on the other side of the door, voice urgent. All Maddie had to do was open the bathroom door and then Kyra bit her lip, eyebrows drawing together. "Oh, honey."
"What does this mean?" Maddie demanded, thrusting the stick she'd just peed on in Kyra's hands. "It can't be right!"
Kyra looked down at the pregnancy test and looked at the box it came in just for confirmation. Every second of silence was robbing Maddie of breath and she burst into tears. Between sobs and hyperventilating and her thundering heartbeat, she felt like she couldn't get enough air.
"Shhhh," Kyra soothed, setting the test down on the sink and rubbing Maddie's back in slow circles. "Honey, it will be okay."
"This can't be happening," Maddie whispered, staring at her best friend in shock. "It was one time. And he used a condom."
"One time is all it takes," Kyra noted, her expression solemn. "And condoms can break. Did you check it?"
"I don't know," Maddie cried, vision blurring through the tears as she wiped at her face. "We didn't … he … we kind of fought afterwards so I didn't notice anything unusual."
No, no, no, this was all wrong. Maddie had always wanted kids. A lot of kids. She wanted a big family one day-the key words being one day. Not right now. Finding out she was pregnant was supposed to be a joyous occasion, one she would share with her partner or spouse, not crying all over her best friend, frightened, when she was less than a year and a half away from getting her Masters degree.
And oh God, what would her mom say? What would her mom think? And what about school? Her career, her internship?
This can't be happening. This isn't real.
Seven weeks. It had been seven weeks-and three days to be precise-since Maddie had last seen Caleb. When she missed her period over a month ago, she told herself it was just stress. She'd missed a couple in the past; it was no big deal. Everything that had been happening with Caleb, and working two jobs, and school … she just figured it made sense. The possibility that she was pregnant had never even crossed her mind because it was something that she'd never had to consider in the past.
But she'd expected her period a few days ago and when she voiced her concerns to Kyra, her best friend had brought over a test, just to be sure. For the first time, Maddie had to confront the idea that she could be pregnant. Until a few moments ago, she'd still been in denial.
"We'll make you a doctor's appointment, okay?" Kyra whispered, wrapping her arms around Maddie's trembling body. "Just to know for sure."
Maddie latched onto that idea. "Yeah, maybe it's just a faulty test."
Kyra's lips pressed together. Even as Maddie said the words, she still knew the statistics. She knew that these tests were usually correct. And she had missed not one, but two periods already. The signs weren't pointing in her favor, but she still wanted confirmation.