The Consequences of Forever (Lainey)

by Kaitlyn Oruska

  “Oh, I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.” Hannah replied. Adam spun around in his seat, glaring at her.

  “Nora is at the door, and she’s watching,” I warned in a low voice. “I think if you want to continue this, it needs to be somewhere else.”

  Adam glared at Hannah a second longer, and then turned around and hit the gas. I cringed at the sound the car made as it sped down the street, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

  “I thought we weren’t telling anyone, Lainey.” Adam said once we had gotten a safe distance from Bella Vista.

  “We aren’t,” I replied.

  “I’m not just anyone,” Hannah snapped. “I’m her stepsister, and I deserve to know. Besides, she didn’t tell me. I found it, which is why it’s your problem now.”

  “Okay,” Adam said. I watched as he drove right by the restaurant we were supposed to be eating at, but refrained from saying anything. “Whatever.”

  “Whatever?” Hannah spat out. “Is that all you have to say?”

  “I don’t think I owe you anything more, Hannah.”

  “Really? This is my stepsister right here! You know, the girl whose life you just ruined? I think that maybe you owe me a hell of a lot.”

  Adam looked at me in the rearview mirror. “Did you tell her anything at all?” He asked. I shook my head. He smirked.

  “Hannah, if you knew half of what you think you know –”

  “I know plenty,” Hannah interrupted.

  “Do you know that we’re keeping the baby, and that it was my idea to do so? Did you know that I’m planning on getting a job as soon as possible so I can take care of your stepsister and the baby?”

  “Well, I assumed as much because I’d kill you if you didn’t,” Hannah replied. I sighed to myself. Here we were, finally on the date Hannah had been begging for for as long as I could remember, and she was making a complete idiot of herself. I was seated behind Nolan and unable to see his facial expression, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t impressed.

  “Hannah, just calm down. It’s going to be okay,” I attempted to reassure her.

  “He should have known better,” she mumbled, leaning back in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest. “It’s his fault.”

  “Do you think I don’t know that?” Adam asked, his voice low. Hannah opened her mouth, prepared to answer, but I reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it to let her know that the argument was over. She sighed instead, and focused on looking out the window.

  “So, um, what’s for dinner?” Nolan asked.

  Chapter Six

  “Do you think he’ll ever talk to me again?” Hannah asked, gazing across the cafeteria with a melancholy expression in her eyes.

  I glanced over my shoulder to where Nolan sat at his usual lunch table surrounded by his usual fans. I turned back to Hannah. “Maybe,” I replied.

  “It isn’t even my fault,” she complained, moving the food around her lunch tray with a fork. She was referring to the disaster that had been Friday night. I cringed inwardly at the memory.

  “I know, but to be completely honest with you, it probably wouldn’t have worked out all that much better if you didn’t flip out in the car and then again at the restaurant. Nolan just isn’t… looking for anything special,” I said gently. For a second, Hannah looked so hurt I wished I could take back my words.

  “Maybe he doesn’t realize he’s looking for something special yet, but he is,” she insisted. “Everyone is.”

  “I guess.” I reached over to her tray and took a French fry.

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “You know that’s been deep fried, right?” She asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, so?”

  “So you always tell me that it’s pointless to eat anything deep fried because it’s unhealthy and almost anything that can be fried can be baked.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed, biting into the fry. It didn’t taste half as good as it looked, but it was still food. In the rush to get to school this morning, I’d forgotten to pack something. Hannah was still looking at me strangely, but didn’t press the subject.

  “Where’s Adam?” She asked, taking a long sip of the soda she’d smuggled in. Soda was banned on school property, one of those silly rules that no one really followed.

  “Making up a test for Mrs. Freeman that he missed last week,” I replied, smiling slightly. Normally it was me spending my lunch periods with Ms. Freeman every now and then, though they were usually optional.

  “He wasn’t absent last week.”

  “I know. He skipped her class again.”

  Hannah grinned. “I bet she loves that. The boyfriend of her star pupil not even showing up for her classes.”

  “I’m not her star pupil,” I protested. “And she knows I don’t control him.”

  “Yeah, right,” Hannah scoffed. “We’re in the same class, remember? She thinks you’re the next Ernest Hemingway.”

  I rolled my eyes at her. I was pretty sure Hannah didn’t even know who Ernest Hemingway was. “She respects me because unlike half the students in our class, I actually take an interest in what she’s teaching. Are you going to eat that?”

  Hannah glanced at her tray. “What?”

  “That,” I pointed to the cheeseburger sitting untouched in all its greasy glory. Hannah looked up at me as if I’d grown an extra head.

  “I guess not. Why? Do you want it?”

  I nodded and grabbed it before she could change her mind. My appetite was insane lately. I went from feeling too nauseas to even consider eating to completely ravenous. I took a big bite while Hannah watched, her eyes slightly widened.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen you eat red meat since I met you,” she said slowly. “You’re not going to get sick from it or anything, are you?”

  “I’m going to puke my guts out before the end of the day either way, so I might as well enjoy it,” I replied.

  Hannah’s eyes widened more. “Wow, Lainey.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Did I tell you Scott drove to school today?” Just like that, the subject was changed. If only it were that easy with Adam.

  Saturday had been Scott’s birthday, and he’d celebrated by getting his driver’s license in the morning and spending his afternoon picking out a car. I hadn’t been there, but Hannah told me everything in such great detail that I almost felt like I was.

  “Nope,” I replied. I continued to eat the burger while Hannah went on with her story.

  “Well, he did. And I’m actually glad he didn’t want to pick me up first. A truck, Lainey. Can you believe it? Out of all the used cars in Haven, he picks a truck.”

  “What’s wrong with a truck?”

  “What isn’t? Adam and Nolan don’t drive trucks.”

  “Nolan’s dad’s bank account on any given day is probably about what Scott’s dad makes in a year, and Adam’s dad isn’t much worse off,” I pointed out.

  “So? There were perfectly good sedans there for the same price. I mean, sedans aren’t necessarily awesome, but they’re better than trucks.”

  “Adam drives a sedan.”

  “A sporty one. Why can’t you ever just agree with me on anything?”

  “Is she complaining about my truck again?” Scott appeared, tray in hand, frowning down at Hannah. I took another bite of cheeseburger, deciding not to get involved in this.

  “I’m just saying, you should have taken advantage of me being there with you and listened to what I had to say,” she replied.

  Scott took the seat next to her and shook his head. “No, thanks. I’d have ended up with a pink convertible.”

  I laughed and Scott shot me a look I couldn’t quite decipher.

  “What? Pink is the new black,” Hannah protested, but she was grinning. I knew that Scott getting a car was a way for her to live vicariously through him. Nora’s rule was that we couldn’t get our driving permits until the summer before senior year. In North Carolina, you needed a year’s driving experience before
you could go for your driving test, and she didn’t think we would need to be able to drive until we were in college. Hannah strongly disagreed with this, but like with most things, Nora’s word was law and there wasn’t much that could be said or done to change it.

  “So, where’s your other half?” Scott asked, directing the question at me but avoiding my eyes, as usual.

  “Making up a test for Freeman,” Hannah answered for me.

  Scott bit into his ham and cheese sandwich and nodded. “Everything okay with you two?” He asked.

  I looked at him, confused. I noticed Hannah immediately looking away. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Why?”

  “Just making sure.” He met my eyes for a brief second and then focused back on his lunch. “You’re eating red meat now?”

  I glanced down at the half-eaten burger in my hand and nodded. “Yeah, I, um,” For whatever reason, I couldn’t figure out a way to finish the sentence. My stomach rumbled slightly, but I ignored it.

  “Had a craving,” Scott finished for me. He was looking up at me again, piercing me with his blue eyes.

  “You know, Scott, that truck really isn’t so bad after all,” Hannah said suddenly. “I mean, it’s kind of the new cool thing, right? The whole rugged guy thing? I could totally see you going for the rugged guy look.”

  I wondered if Hannah knew how ridiculous she sounded. Scott was about an inch or two taller than me, and always dressed in a way that could only be described as preppy, sometimes even wearing sweater vests. He was the most serious person I knew, and aspired to be a surgeon. Rugged was not in his vocabulary. Something was going on.

  Scott didn’t even glance at her, just kept his eyes focused on me. “Hannah didn’t tell you that she told me, did she?” He asked.

  I looked over at Hannah, who smiled sheepishly at me. So that explained it.

  “It slipped out,” she explained.

  I bit my lower lip, not sure if I wanted to cry or scream or both or neither.

  “Really,” she continued. “It did. I know you didn’t want anyone else to know and I totally respect that.”

  “I can see,” I replied, putting the burger back on her tray, my appetite suddenly gone.

  “It wasn’t like I was surprised,” Scott said.

  “Thanks.”

  “What do you want me to say? I know what guys like Adam Montgomery and Nolan Reeves are like.”

  “Do you?” I stood up, preparing to leave.

  Scott continued to stare at me, unnerved. “I do. And I wouldn’t go anywhere. You’re going to need us when Adam decides he needs an updated, non-pregnant version of you and takes off.” His voice was cold, so unlike the Scott I had dated for nearly a year of my life, and yet so like the person he had become towards me after we’d broken up. Was this my fault? I didn’t want to think so, but it seemed probable.

  I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Hannah smacked Scott on the shoulder. He winced, as if it had hurt.

  “Shut up, Scott Foster,” she snapped. “Adam isn’t going to leave Lainey and you have no right insinuating that.”

  He shrugged, not taking his eyes off me. I slowly sat back down; realizing I had nowhere else to go and not wanting to risk making a scene.

  “Why would I need you, Scott? You hate me, remember?” I pointed out, detesting how shaky my voice had gotten.

  He blinked. “I don’t hate you.”

  “You certainly act like you do.”

  “Scott really doesn’t hate you,” Hannah chimed in. We both turned to her, and she blushed slightly. “He just hates the fact that you cheated on him, and then picked Adam over him. If anyone, he hates Adam for stealing you away and then knocking you up so Scott can’t have another chance with you.”

  “Thanks, Hannah,” Scott said sarcastically.

  “I think I need to go,” I stood up to leave again, but this time I felt hands on my shoulders, pushing me back down.

  “Where are you going?” Came Adam’s voice. “I just got here.” He lifted his hands and sat down next to me. He and Scott immediately made eye contact, an angry air forming between them.

  “Hi Adam!” Hannah exclaimed, looking overjoyed to see him. She was probably glad she was off the hook, at least for now. “How was your test?”

  “Hey, Han. It was alright. I think I passed, at least.”

  “You’re lucky she gave you a chance to make it up,” I said softly. “She usually doesn’t when someone skips.”

  “Are you forgetting who this young man is?” Scott broke in, his voice once again dripping with sarcasm. “It’s Adam Montgomery! Normal rules don’t apply to him.”

  Adam clenched his jaw and stared harder at him. “What’s your problem, Foster?”

  Scott smiled. “Would you like me to give you a list, or would that be too hard for you to read?”

  “I would really like for you to just shut the hell up,” Adam replied.

  “Well, that isn’t going to happen.”

  Hannah sighed loudly. “Lainey, why do you get two guys fighting over you and I can’t even manage to find one?”

  “I’m not fighting over her,” Scott protested. “I don’t plan on becoming a stepfather at age seventeen.”

  “What did you just say?” Adam demanded.

  “You heard me.” Scott stood up, gathering his tray. “Hannah, I’ll see you after last period. Adam and Lainey, I’d say good luck, but I think you’re both beyond that.” He turned and walked off. Adam stared after him while I closed my eyes and rested my face in my hands.

  “So, this Friday is the big day!” Hannah said cheerfully, in an attempt to change the subject and probably relieve herself of some guilt. “The big one-six!”

  I said nothing. I wasn’t excited about my birthday, not at all. It usually wasn’t a big deal to me anyway, but this year, it just felt pointless.

  “Are you setting a record for how fast you can tell everyone?” Adam asked. “Seriously, Hannah, two different people in three days? And that’s all we know of.”

  “I didn’t tell Nolan,” she protested. “He just happened to be there when I mentioned it. And Lainey isn’t mad about me telling Scott, so you shouldn’t be either.”

  “I’m not mad?” I asked, removing my hands from my face.

  “No, you’re not,” Hannah replied, almost hopefully. “You didn’t say you were.”

  “Well, I am. You have no right. Especially Scott. He hates me enough as it is.”

  “He does not, he –”

  I held up my hand. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Neither do I.” Adam stood up and reached for my hand. I accepted it, shooting one more look at Hannah, who looked something close to devastated. For a brief second I almost felt sympathy towards her, and then I remembered the cold look in Scott’s eyes. I glanced over at Nolan, who was talking animatedly with his friends, and wondered how long it was going to be before he blurted it out to whomever he pleased, if that hadn’t happened already.

  “I’ll see you at home, Hannah.” I said, following Adam out of the cafeteria and not looking back. If you couldn’t trust the person that was supposed to be closest to you in the world, who could you trust?

  Chapter Seven

  “It turned out to be a pretty nice day, didn’t it?” Adam asked, smiling over at me. I forced a smile in return and nodded. The school day was finally over, and we’d driven to our beach, to spend a little bit of time together before returning to life as we knew it.

  “I guess so.” Hannah and I didn’t have any classes together after lunch, so I’d managed to steer clear of her. I sent her a text message on the ride to the beach letting her know I wasn’t going to be home until later, and to let Nora know. For once, this wasn’t met with protest.

  “Nora’s going to be so mad,” I sighed.

  “Why?” Adam asked, grabbing the blanket we kept reserved for the beach out of the trunk of the car.

  “Because I’m not supposed to see you at all during the week,” I remin
ded him.

  “You did it last week,” he pointed out.

  “I know, but Hannah didn’t go right home either, so I told Nora I stayed after class with Ms. Freeman and she didn’t question it. Hannah’s going straight home today, so who knows what she’ll tell her.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it,” he reassured me. “She won’t tell her where you are, just that you’re pregnant.” He grinned. I didn’t grin back.

  “Oh come on Lainey, you have to admit it’s kind of funny.” He nudged me with his hip and slid an arm over my shoulders.

  “Not really.” I replied. We walked to the spot closest to the water without the sand being wet, laid down our blanket, and sat down.

  “If she does find out you were with me, just tell her we were celebrating your birthday a little early. I’m banned from you on your actual birthday, so what can she do besides get mad?”

  “You’re not banned from me,” I insisted. “Dad and Nora just want to have something more family-oriented. We haven’t been out together as a family since Bella Vista opened up, so I think it’s really important to them.”

  “It’s your birthday,” he reminded me. “Shouldn’t it be about what you want?”

  “It is what I want,” I replied. “I have no idea how much longer I’m even going to have a family.”

  “Don’t say stuff like that.”

  “It’s true, isn’t it? I’ve been thinking about it, and I just don’t see their reactions being positive. Part of the reason they decided not to have any kids of their own is because babies and bed and breakfasts don’t mix.”

  “There’s probably a lot more to it than that, Lainey, and you know it. I’m sure they’re not going to be excited or overjoyed or anything, but they’ll accept it. They’ll have to.”

  I glanced at Adam, taking in his calm confidence. Of course it seemed that simple to him. Maybe his dad was a bit of a workaholic and tended to go away for business a lot, but he was still an active part of Adam’s life, and his mother’s life more or less revolved around Adam and his older brother. He didn’t know that family wasn’t always permanent, because stability was all he’d ever known.