Crushed (Rushed #2) (14 page)

Sunday slid into Monday and Tuesday. No period. Radio silence from Dakota. It was like he was avoiding me after that kiss. Fine. Screw him if he couldn't recognize what a good time we'd had together. Yes, I was being irrational. Yes, I knew I was the one who'd said getting together with former hookups was a bad idea. But there had been something between us on Halloween night. A spark. Chemistry. I'd had so much fun with him. I couldn't get him out of my mind.

He saw it. I knew he did. And he was running like a scared chicken from anything more serious than a casual boink. Verifying my reasoning to stay away from him. Sadly, being right wasn't the same thing as being happy.

I'd finished my active birth control pills six days before. I'd taken every one. I couldn't. It was unthinkable. And then I remembered the night of the powder puff football game. All the drinking and throwing up I'd done. I'd taken my pill the next day. Had I thrown it up, too?

I was scared. And alone. I walked past the Tau Psi house, Dakota's frat, hoping to get a glimpse of him. It was stupid. I was being stupid.
 

He could be so funny and sweet. He could be so totally aggravating. Just when I was beginning to really want him, maybe, he'd met my low expectations. Now I might be pregnant—with his baby. He was the only guy I'd been with. It had to be him.

I'd been late before. Sometimes, even on the pill, stress delayed things. I could have bought a home pregnancy test and found out for sure. If I wasn't pregnant, finding out would bring the menses on in hours. At least, that was what had happened in the past.
 

If I was pregnant…

I couldn't face it. I didn't want to think about it. Dak would think…

What did I care what Dak would think? He'd brushed me off.

In class that afternoon, I overheard two girls whispering. "At least you can tell Brad and he'll stand by you," one of them whispered to the other. She paled and stared into her lap. "I'm not even sure who."

You know how when something affects you, you seem to notice it everywhere? Where before it was invisible to you, a non-issue?

Everywhere I went, it was the same. I stopped by The College Grind to get something to wake me up. A girl in the corner booth was crying. "I've already had one abortion. My parents will kill me if I'm pregnant again. I'm two weeks late."

I wanted to cover my ears and run. I went to the store to get toothpaste because the brand I had made me gag. Yeah, bad sign. Like maybe it wasn't the toothpaste. Denial was a powerful thing. Right now, I was the queen of it.

I tried to avoid it, but I had to walk by the row with the contraceptives and pregnancy tests. A guy was helping his girlfriend pick one out. He studied the boxes, reading them with a serious look on his face while she bit her nails and held his hand.

I went back to the house to study. In the living room, one of the sophomores was consoling another. "I'm late," I heard as I walked by. And she didn't mean with a paper.

It was like the world was sending me one huge, cosmic message.
Morgan Peterson—you're late. Too late for everything.

I went too my room and plunked onto the bed. Seconds later, Victoria tapped on my door. "Morgan? How are you doing?" She slid in and plopped onto the bed next to me.

"Hanging in," I said. "You?"

"Late."

"What?" I sat up. Her ominous tone gave her away.

She nodded. "As my twin, you're sworn to secrecy."

I nodded my agreement.

"I know of half a dozen girls in the house who are in the same boat. It's like everyone I know is worried. It's an epidemic." She pursed her lips.

"I know," I said without thinking.

"Not you too?" Her eyes were wide with sympathy.

"Just a few days," I said, covering. "It's nothing. I've heard the whispers. We've probably just all synced up."

Victoria shook her head. "Menstrual synchrony is a myth based on one faulty study from the seventies. The methodology was all flawed. I could bore you with the details."

"Spare me. I believe you." I forced a smile. She couldn't know she'd just crushed one of my best denial rationales.

"Periods are random and randomly sync up as a result. Anyway, that doesn't affect us here. Most of us are on the pill. You want to know the real culprit?" She sighed. "Too much celebrating on Homecoming Weekend." She paused. "Sometimes I wish we'd never won that powder puff tourney."

Celebrating had only tangentially been the cause of my problem. But I agreed. "What are you going to do?"

"Wait a week and hope for the best." She sighed. She had a serious boyfriend and could lean on him. "See what happens."

"Are you going to tell Darrel?"

She shook her head. "Not yet."

My cell phone rang the Dad tone. I rolled my eyes. "My dad. I have to get this."

Victoria rolled her eyes, too, and laughed. "Making his plans for the weekend. Dads! Last minute."

I sighed. "Fortunately, he's had his room booked for a year." I grabbed the phone as Victoria let herself out.

"Dad."

"Morgan. How's my girl?"
 

He used to say,
How's my baby girl
. I missed that, but I was glad to hear his voice.

"Staying out of trouble?" He didn't sound like he trusted I was.

He had good reason not to.

"Of course," I said.

"No drinks over the Halloween weekend?"

"Dad!"

"I have to check. It's my duty as your father. You have a great future in front of you, little one."

It was like he'd slipped and used his pet "little one" phrase with me. Soon I wouldn't be the little one anymore.

"I don't want you to ruin it," he said.

Like I did. Would getting pregnant in college count?

"Your grandma and I will be there Saturday morning around eleven. Your stepmom reminded me we'd better make reservations for dinner on Saturday or take our chances with fast food. Pick someplace nice. Someplace with a good bar. I'll need a drink if I'm going to have to deal with your grandmother all weekend."

I didn't think Dad realized what he was asking of me. "Will do." It was like him to dump the task on me. "I don't know why you don't get along with Grandma. She's great."

"She's not your mother." He sounded grim, almost like a chastened boy.
 

Sadly, I did know what he meant.

Dakota

My dad called while I was walking out of CRJU 301, Criminal Law and Judicial Practices. "Hey."

"Hello, Dakota. Your mom reminded me to call and confirm our plans for the weekend. I had my admin make dinner reservations for Saturday. I'll be arriving too late for dinner on Friday. But I expect a good frat party. The Tau Psis know how to party, I hear."

That was a jab at me. "So I hear."

"Well, good. It's been ages since I've played a rousing game of beer pong." He paused. "We have good seats for the game. Forty-five-yard line. We'll pre-game at the university tailgate in the field house. President Lawrence will be there." He paused. "How are you doing, in the girl department? Moving on?"

Dad asked the most inappropriate questions. What he meant was—was I seeing anyone new and suitable? To his credit, maybe he didn't want me to be brokenhearted forever. When a girl stomped on my heart, in his limited view, I tended to run over innocent friends and drunk girls.

"I'm doing okay." I hesitated, thinking of Morgan. "I'm making a friend or two."

"Are you? Great! I'd like to meet one of these friends. They're pretty, I hope."

"Totally hot, Dad."

"That's my boy!"

We talked while I walked for a few more minutes before we hung up. I stared at my phone, thinking. I'd been avoiding Morgan again. But now, I was a weak fool. I hit her number before I could think too hard on it.

"Hey, stranger." The sound of her voice made my heart race.

"Hey, yourself," I said. "You've been quiet. Fingers broken? You haven't texted me."

"I haven't had any sobriety emergencies." Her voice had a smile in it.

"Do we need them for an excuse to talk?"

She laughed. "We've moved past frenemies and are friends now? Is that what you're implying?"

"Maybe."

"I like a decisive man." She laughed again. "So why are you calling now? What's up?"

"Sobriety emergency."

"You're horrible! Lead me on that we're friends and then hit me with a sobriety emergency."

"This call is doing double duty. I have an emergency and it was a great excuse to call a friend."

"What's your emergency?"

"Dad's Weekend," I said. "My old man wants to party and play beer pong. We're having a tourney at the house Friday night. Part of the Dad's Weekend entertainment."

She laughed. "Mine told me to make reservations at a restaurant that has a good bar. Do you think they realize what they're asking? Or are they totally oblivious." She put on a dad voice. "Do as I say, not as I do."

I laughed. "You sound just like my dad. Scary."

She laughed too.

"Who knows how the dad brain works?" I said. "With fathers like ours, we need to stick together." I smiled to myself. "The booze will be flowing and temptation will be everywhere. I need the sobriety buddy system more than ever."

She paused. "You realize what you're asking? I can't hang with you and ditch my dad and grandma. Your plan means introducing each other to the dads. And you to my grandma."

"Dad said he wants to meet my friends."

"He doesn't know them?"

"He meant my friends who are girls. My new friends who are girls, if you get my meaning. He hasn't met you."

"Oh."

"It's nothing serious, Morgan. He's afraid I'll slip into a dark depression over Alexis and screw up again. All he wants to see is that I'm hanging with other girls, even if they're just friends."

"I hate to bring this up." Her voice dripped reluctance. "But you do know what you're asking, right?"

"What?"

"Do I have to spell it out? You almost ran over me. Even as distracted as he is with the new baby coming, you're not exactly my dad's favorite person. I mean, for me, it's fine. Hanging with you will keep the heat off me. It will all be directed at you."

"I thought of that. It's worth the risk," I said. "I want to make amends. Let him see that I'm not a bad guy. I made a mistake and I'm correcting that."

"I don't know." She hesitated. "Dad can be pretty mean when he's in protection mode.

"I can handle him, Morgs. I promise. It's an awesome plan. Our dads will see how mature we're being. Forgive and forget. Maybe we'll even get written up in the campus newspaper as a human interest story. One of those stories that bring tears to people's eyes and reaffirms their belief in the innate goodness of human nature. He could have killed her. Now they're best friends."

She laughed again. "Right. I never knew you were such an optimist."

"Not an optimist. Just a positive guy. What do you say?"
 

"You're going to the game, I assume. What about the tailgate party at the field house?"

"VIP tickets," I said.

"Us too. Dinner?"

"Just Saturday night. Dad's admin got us reservations. I can text her and ask her to add three to it. Your grandma will be joining us?"

"Yeah." She paused again. "You're sure about this?"

"Sobriety buddies till the end, Morgs." I cleared my throat. "Which reminds me—how would you like to ref our beer pong tourney Friday night?"

"What?"

"I'm asking as a sobriety buddy favor. You already have the outfit and the whistle. Your dad's invited to the tourney, too."

"He and Grandma aren't coming until Saturday morning and are leaving right after dinner Saturday night."