I reach for the door but it opens on its own. Carson sticks his head inside. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I must have eaten something bad at lunch. Haven’t felt right all afternoon.” I expect him to buy my lie, but I’m still so nervous, I can’t even look him in the eye. This is what my life's turned into—one lie after another.

I move to leave the bathroom, but he blocks the doorway, not letting me through. He stares at me, his eyes raking over every inch of my body. “Tell me the truth, Kins.”

Instantly, I panic. He knows. But how? “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m going to be late for work if you don’t move.”

“Then you’re going to be late because I’m not moving.”

“Carson, please. Betty is expecting me.”

“Tell me,” he pleads. “Just say the words.”

I push on his chest, begging him to move, but he only grabs my wrists and holds them so I can’t get away. “Stop it. Leave me alone!”

“Kinsley, I know. I found the box when I was taking out the trash.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie to me, Kins.”

Tears prick my eyes, and no matter how hard I try to keep them inside of me, I can’t. “Let go of me.”

“It’s true. Isn’t it? You’re really pregnant.”

“Yes,” I whisper. As soon as he comprehends what I’m saying, he lets go of my wrist, and drops his head in defeat. He rests his head against the doorframe, and it’s clear how disappointed he is in me. But what he feels is nothing compared to the way I feel about myself.

“How could you let him touch you? Did you really think it would last? That he’s going to blow off college to stay home and take care of you?”

Each word out of his mouth stings more than the last. I want to scream at him, but I can’t. Not when there’s a good chance everything he’s saying is the truth. Rhett loves me, but he might love his future more. “Please, stop.”

He doesn’t. He only drills his point home harder, wrecking me completely. “Does Kate know? Wyatt’s going to lose his fucking mind. You realize this, right?”

“You can’t tell anyone, Carson. Please. Not yet.”

“I’ve waited an entire week for you to tell me about this. I’ve heard you throwing up, but I was praying like hell it was a virus and not because of a damn baby. You’re in so much trouble, but you don’t seem like you care.”

“I get it. I’m worried every single second of every single day. It’s all I think about.”

“How could you let this happen, Kins? How?”

“It was an accident. I didn’t ask for this to happen, Carson. I didn’t!”

“You messed up the second you let him touch you. You’ve been more worried about keeping Rhett Taylor happy than staying true to yourself. But let me tell you one thing, the thrill is over. He doesn’t want a kid or a needy girlfriend. He wants to go away to school and do whatever the hell he wants with whoever he thinks looks good that night.”

That’s not how Rhett operates. I know better, but hearing it from a guy who’s already in college scares me. “Shut up! You have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t know what we have.”

“I know enough to know he’s going to run like hell the first chance he gets. He’s not going to take care of you the way I would have.”

And here we go again, more jealously. I thought we moved on from this, but apparently, we’ve been running in circles. “This isn’t about you, Carson.”

“You’re right, because everything always revolves around you. Everyone makes sacrifices for you while you do whatever you want. For someone with next to nothing you have a real sense of entitlement, Kins.”

I can’t believe he’s turning on me like this. He’s always been my friend—the guy I would turn to when I was down or needed someone to cheer me up. More than anyone, he knows how much pain I’ve dealt with. I didn’t ask to lose my parents. I didn’t ask to have my life ripped away from me, and I most definitely didn’t ask to be pregnant. “You moved in here on your own. Kate stayed here to take care of me because she wanted to. Not once have I asked for a single favor or thing from either of you. I can take care of myself.”

“You keep telling yourself that, Princess. I’m done. I’m done giving a shit about protecting you.” Carson storms off to his room, and throws his suitcase on the bed. He grabs handfuls of clothes out of his drawers and shoves them inside in a heap. Each item he tosses in, he throws a little harder. “I came here for you!” he shouts.

I slither around the corner of the hallway, watching in horror as he destroys his room, shattering picture frames, and upending anything that’s not attached to a wall or the floor. He’s allowed to be mad, but he can’t move out. We can’t afford to stay here without him. “Please, don’t leave,” I beg. “We need you.”

“Maybe that’s the problem with this arrangement. You need me, but I don’t need you, Kinsley. I could be living in some bachelor pad bringing girls home any night of the week—like a typical twenty-year-old guy.”

That’s not Carson. He’s never been a player and he’s never used girls to fill empty space in his life. “You don’t mean that.” He stares at me before reaching for the book on his desk and chucking it with all his might. I scream, ducking my head before it hits the wall next to me. “Are you crazy?”

For a minute he looks remorseful, like he realizes he’s out of control and needs to rein it in, but it doesn’t last long. Once he sees I’m okay, the anger replaces any trace of remorse he may have had. The Carson I cared about has already moved out, and I’m not about to stay here and listen to this one rip me to shreds again.

I turn around and run to the bathroom, grabbing my bag off the floor and tossing it on my shoulder.

He’s struggling to catch his breath after his temper tantrum when he asks, “Where are you going?”

I don’t respond, I just keep moving. I’m in my car and pulling out of the driveway by the time I see him standing on the stairs outside the apartment, watching as I drive away.

I’VE BEEN STARING at the same page in my trigonometry book for the last half hour. I’m trying to finish up my homework, so I can get to the diner to see Kinsley, but it’s not happening. Usually I’m pretty good at math, but my mind’s too wrapped up in the real world to care about the insignificant problems in front of me.

I’m about to give up when my phone buzzes with a text. I reach into my pocket, and pull out my phone, surprised to see the message is from Kinsley. She’s usually doesn’t message me unless she’s on her break.

Kinsley: Are your parents home?

Rhett: Not yet. Why?

Kinsley: Can I come over?

Rhett: Are you okay? Do you need me to pick you up at the diner?

I knew I shouldn’t have let her to go work. Not that I can stop her from doing what she wants to do, but she looked so pale and tired when I said good-bye to her at school. As adamant as she was about going to work, it doesn’t make sense why she wouldn’t be there now.

Kinsley: I’m in your driveway.

Seriously? Surprised she’s already here, I open the front door just as she’s getting out of her car. Right away, it’s clear she’s not okay. I wait until she’s standing on the porch before I ask, “What happened?”

She practically falls into my arms, and I pick her up, her legs automatically hooking around my waist. “Shhh. It’s okay.” Her shoulders shake as she cries into my shoulder. I have no idea why my girl is falling apart in my arms, and I’m almost too afraid to ask.

I hold her until I climb the stairs and lay her in the center of my bed. Pulling off her shoes, I slide her under the covers and climb in next to her. “Tell me what’s wrong, Sunny.”