Sunny never called me back despite the additional voicemails and text messages, and on Tuesday when I arrived at school the front steps were oddly deserted.
“That’s weird,” I said to Justin, who had once again shown up at my house to walk me to school. He shrugged indifferently and pulled me through the front doors. “I’ll meet you in first period,” I added as we walked through the halls with our fingers interlaced. “I’m going to swing by Sunny’s locker to see if I can catch her.”
The hallways were congested with the usual morning mash of students. I shoved through the main hallway on my way to Sunny’s locker, even more self-conscious than I was the day before of the long, lingering looks people were giving me. Everyone gaped, eyes trailing behind me and mouths moving quickly as I passed. It was like I was in the middle of one of those naked dreams where I forgot my clothes and had to walk through the hallways with nothing but my skin to cover me. I waved at a few people from the water-tower crew and a surge of panic swelled inside my chest when they turned their backs to me, furious whispers passing between them as I walked by. What was going on?
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Brandon Blakes stepped in front of me, his hair neatly combed against his head and his books stacked tidily in hands. He was sixteen-going-on-forty in his starched shirt and sweater vest, like he was on his way to a business meeting rather than chemistry class. I really couldn’t blame people for all the names they called him when he dressed like that. Not to mention he was a total brown-nosing, grade-whoring douche.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, his voice wavering as he shifted the stack of books from one arm to the other.
“Not now, Brandon.” I rolled my eyes impatiently at him and craned my neck so that I could scan the crowd behind him for Sunny. He probably wanted to find out what I got on last week’s quiz, but I didn’t have time for his competitive crap right then.
His hand shot out and grabbed my arm. I noticed a sheen of sweat glistening on his upper lip and hairline, making him look even more awkward than usual.
“It’s about what everyone is saying about you.” His eyes flashed a conceding look of desperation. “I just wanted you to know that I know it’s not true.”
I blinked back at him a few times. “What everyone is saying about me?” I leaned against a nearby locker to steady myself.
He studied me for a few moments before realizing I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Oh, Taylor,” he started, his head cocking to the side sympathetically. He pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling, deciding where to begin. Then he let out a low whistle and started to speak.
My heartbeat roared in my ears, churning and gurgling like the Mississippi River. The world swirled around in gray and white blurs, and I was stuck standing still in the center of the colorless whirlpool, trying not to get sucked in. It was all I could do to steady myself against the lockers so I wouldn’t collapse.
Jenny was right, Tracey Allen had seen Sunny at Walgreen’s Sunday. But Sunny didn’t admit to anything. Why would she? Sunny was a survivor. Sunny was quick on her feet, pinning the blame on the first person who popped into her head.
“Tracey caught Sunny trying to steal the morning-after pill, and she was going to tell the store manager, but Sunny begged her not to. Sunny said she was stealing it for you … that you were too embarrassed to have to buy it yet again.” He swallowed thickly, avoiding my eyes, “I guess she told Tracey the reason you and Logan were fighting at The Fields on Saturday was because he’d found out you had a … ” he lowered his voice to a whisper and motioned to my stomach, like he couldn’t even say the word. “That you’d gotten pregnant and had it … taken care of.”
I felt the color drain from my face, everything around me swaying with the rhythm of my quickening pulse. That’s what Jenny had meant when she said, if you didn’t want people to find out, you shouldn’t have done it. I walked right into the trap, all but admitting it was true, thinking I needed to protect Sunny when I was the one who needed protecting.
But it still didn’t explain everyone’s strong reaction. I wasn’t the first girl to have accidental pregnancy rumors spread about them. So why was everyone making such a big deal out of it this time?
“There’s more,” he said, his cheeks flushing. “They’re saying you weren’t sure if the father was Logan, because there have been other guys. Lots of other guys. And Tracey is telling people that one of the guys is Mr. Thompson—”
“Pervy Mr. Thompson? But Tracey is the one sleeping with him!”
Brandon moistened his lips before continuing. “Apparently not. She’s telling everyone you’re the one he’s been seeing, not her.”
Of course. What better way to deflect a rumor than to pawn it off on someone else? It was the ideal opportunity for Tracey to turn the rumor tides and let someone else serve as the sacrificial gossip lamb.
Brandon kept going, as though he was telling a story rather than unraveling my life. “But mostly people are talking about Logan. They feel bad for him because of what happened to his brother. People are pretty upset that you did this to him—that you took the baby from him after he’s already lost so much, and that you’ve been seeing all those people behind his back—”
“But it’s not true,” I whispered, my voice an echo inside of my head. “It was Sunny. I never … I haven’t even had …”
“I know,” he said, his hand gently squeezing my arm.
“How do you know?” I asked, suspicion entering my voice. Brandon and I were far from friends. He ripped me apart every chance he could when we were in class..