the girls started calling me âThe Perv,â I didnât know how to react. It was starting to get to me, so when Elisse, a girl I once considered my friend, glared at me, I stopped her in the hall. I still couldnât believe that Ashley had told everyone she was pregnant. It had to be something else.
âWhat is it?â I asked her. âWhy does everyone suddenly hate me?â
Elisse continued to glare at me. She started to walk away, so I grabbed her, and this made her even angrier.
âWhat is it?â I repeated.
âYou mean, you donât know?â
âNo. Help me here.â
âWe all know that you forced Ashley Walker into having sex with you. You perv.â
She twisted herself away and walked off, turning once to glare yet again and, this time, give me the finger.
So this was Ashleyâs revenge. Yes, weâd had sex. And apparently I got her pregnant. But I would never, ever, try to force myself on any girl. Never.
So now I had two problems. But they were two damn big problems, and it felt more like a hundred. I needed someone that I could talk to. I decided I had to confide in someoneânot my parents and not any of my so-called friends. But who was I kidding? I didnât have that many friends anyway. It would have to be Kiley. She was one of my ex-girlfriends. Kiley was always the smart one and so cute. I was surprised that she had even been interested in me. She was out of my league. But I kept doing stupid things around her. Like that party I convinced her to have at her parentsâ house, where I puked in the living room. And that other party where she found me off in a corner kissing a girl whose name I canât even remember. She had plenty of good reasons for dumping me. But strangely enough, she stayed friends with me after we broke up.
After school that day, I found Kiley at the bus stop. I followed her on. She sat down in the back, and I sat down beside her. It was just the two of us on the back seat. I was afraid she was going to give me that look all the other girls were giving me. She didnât, although she didnât look all that happy to see me.
âHi,â I said.
âHi.â She looked puzzled.
âArenât you going to ask me how Iâm doing?â
âI know how youâre doing,â she said. âYouâve been voted most-hated student at the school. Youâre human garbage. I imagine that doesnât feel so good.â
âBut what people think isnât true,â I said. âAshley is mad at meâ¦for something elseâ¦so she spread this rumor.â
Kiley nodded. âI think I knew that. I know youâre not that kind of guy. Horny, yes, but not...well, like that.â
âThank you.â
âEveryone believes what they want to believe. But then why is Ashley so mad at you?â she asked.
âCan I trust you?â
âTrust me to what? Keep a secret? I donât know.â
So I told her anyway. Kileyâs eyes grew wide. âThis is not good.â
âWhat am I going to do?â
âWell, the first thing you have to do is talk to her. Itâs no good for her to stay mad at you. You have to discuss options.â
âYeah, right. Options.â
âYou need to figure out what is best for both of you,â Kiley said.
âWhat is best for us?â I asked.
âI canât say that, you know that, Zach. Remember when we broke up? We both knew it was the best thing for both of us. We talked and we both decided.â
âYeah, but this is different.â
âStill, you need to sit down and talk to her,â she said. âThis is not about you right now. This is about her.â
And I guess it sank in just then. All along, I had still been thinking about how bad this all was for me. This must be even worse for Ashley.
Chapter Four
I needed to talk to Ashley. Some days after school she went to a coffee shop close to her house.
Jami Attenberg
Donald Harington
John Stockmyer
Kim Purcell
Jenna Powers
Nicole R. Taylor
Janny Wurts
Helen Cooper
Kate Baray
Louise Walters