Falling for the Ghost of You(80)

"What?" I say to Chelsea Lopez, who has the locker next to mine. "Why do people keep staring at me? What's going on?"

Chelsea looks surprised that I'm talking to her. We've only exchanged smiles and mumbled greetings until then.

"I guess everyone thinks you have the inside scoop," she says cautiously.

I am bewildered. "What inside scoop?"

Chelsea pulls back her light brown hair, and laughs uncomfortably. "On Lauren and Mr. Jensen," she says, like I should know.

“Lauren and Mr. Jensen? What about them?"

Now she looks really uncomfortable. "You really don't know?"

I grip the edges of my folder tightly. Ice forms in the pit of my stomach. "Please, just tell me."

"Ummm...you know Alissa Shermer? She caught Lauren and Mr. Jensen making out in his car yesterday morning."

"What?!"

Lauren...and Mr. Jensen??? Okay...what?! What the hell?! That can’t be right. She doesn’t even like him! Lauren would never…

Then a horrible thought suddenly occurs to me.

"I have to go," I say abruptly, turning on my heel.

I spot Damon heading for his English class. I grab his arm to get his attention. He immediately backs away, looking worried.

"What's your problem?" he demands nervously.

I glare at him. "Have you been hooking up with Lauren?"

Damon's eyes widen. "Hell, no. I have a girlfriend. Besides, I hear your girl, Lauren is into older men—"

I shake my head impatiently. "Why do you always look so guilty every time I see you?"

He rubs the back of his head—guiltily. "I, uh, thought you knew I was the one who spread that rumor about the naked pictures of you online."

"What naked—never mind, I don't want to know."

I turn to leave, but before I go, I whirl around and smack him in the arm. "Quit spreading rumors about me! Asshole."

I would have just left, but I'm on thin ice with Mom as it is. So I go straight to the nurse's office and fake a migraine. Ms. Hahn knows me as the straight A student who never gets in trouble, and I'm immediately cleared to go home. I knew my good girl rep would come in handy one day.

I drive straight to Lauren's, a million thoughts zooming through my head.

Lauren and Mr. Jensen? How? Why? How could she have not told me her boyfriend is our English teacher?!

A zombie resembling my best friend opens the door. She looks awful! There are huge bags under her eyes, and it looks as if she hasn't slept in a year.

"I tried to call you," she says dully, coming out and closing the door behind her.

"I turned my phone off and threw it somewhere," I say. "So. Is it true?"

Lauren nods tiredly. "Yeah."

Having her confirm it makes my heart sink. "Can you...talk somewhere?"

She glances back at her apartment. "I can't go far. Let's go outside."

We go to the apartment complex's tiny park and find a bench to sit down on.

"So he's the father?" I have to make sure. I’ve had enough misunderstandings to last me a lifetime.

Lauren looks down at her her hands folded over her stomach. She gives a tiny sigh. "Yeah."

"Okay. How? When?"

She shrugs. "It just sort of happened. When I started tutoring after school, he was always there. We started talking about our favorite books and authors, and…whatever. Then one night, he gave me a ride home. He kissed me. It was nice."

"Nice?" I echo faintly.

"He's different from all the other guys at school—he doesn't make stupid jokes all the time, or act like an idiot. We talked about everything."

"I told him about the baby. I was really freaked out, and he was trying to reassure me...we didn't think there would be anyone around so early."

I take a deep breath, a thousand questions on the tip of my tongue. "Okay, so he's going to step up and help you through this, right? Or am I gonna have to—"

"V, he's married," she blurts out.

A white hot bolt of fury shoots through me. I jump to my feet, shaking with rage. "What?! That bastard! What's his address?"

But Lauren is shaking her head. She looks so pale and fragile, I sit back down and try to calm down for her sake.

"He's probably going to be arrested. They're doing a formal investigation right now. I-I'm dropping out of school."

My jaw drops. "You can't! What about Stanford?"

"I don't know yet. The school called Mom. She had to come down to get me."

"Oh, god. What did she say?"

"She cried," Lauren murmurs. "Then she yelled a lot. When she finally calmed down, we had a long talk. She kind of blamed herself for always working, and never being around. Then…she said I helped her raise her babies, she can help me raise mine.” She exhales loudly. “We're going to talk to the school counselor to see what my options are. My grades have always been good, and I have all that extra credit, so…we’re optimistic."