Not His Omega To Love by GS Holmes

7Cody

“Honey, aren’t you having breakfast?”Mom studied me, concern in her eyes, as I closed the fridge, holding an apple and nothing else. “You always have breakfast. Is something going on that I need to know?”

Argh. All those questions. My stomach roiled even more than when I entered the kitchen to grab something light to eat. I didn’t want to acknowledge the pink line on both of the tests I’d used last night, but I wasn’t stupid enough to skip meals. If what that line meant was true, I wouldn’t be skipping meals for a while.

“Why do you think something is wrong?”

She frowned. “You never skip breakfast. I’m worried about you, Cody.”

I forced a smile I didn’t feel. I’d gone to bed last night, but sleep hadn’t come. I’d stared up at the ceiling, thoughts of how I’d ruined my life going over and over in my head. And what for? Having sex with someone who didn’t even care about me? I was on my own with this problem. I couldn’t talk to Reggie about it, and I sure as hell couldn’t tell my parents. They would be so disappointed.

And reaching out to Reggie’s dad was completely out of the question, no matter how many times I’d contemplated using the number I’d found in the phone directory. His reassurance meant nothing. Reggie was his son. It was one thing to say his son was an asshole. Depending on who it was said to, it might even be a compliment. This was a completely different issue. No one could find out until I figured out what to do. I only had a few months left in school. People hid their pregnancies all the time. I was pretty sure I could do the same.

I would finish high school, graduate, give that valedictory speech, and collect my diploma. So maybe my college plans would change. I could get a job, stay with my folks until I was able to find a decent apartment.

“Cody! Cody, are you okay?”

Out of nowhere, dizziness washed over me, and I grabbed at the counter, my legs buckling. Mom rushed over and caught me before I fell. She grabbed a chair and pulled me into it, then pushed my head between my knees.

“Hank!” she yelled. “Hank, something’s wrong with Cody.”

Damn, not Dad. For once, I wished she wouldn’t use my father’s status as the alpha as an excuse to involve him in every decision to do with me. I gently pushed away Mom’s hand and sat upright in the chair, blinking several times to clear my vision.

“I’m fine. I’m fine, Mom.”

“You’re not fine. You fainted.”

“Almost.”

“If I hadn’t caught you, you would’ve fallen to the floor.”

“What’s going on?”

I groaned as Dad entered the kitchen, wearing his tailored pants and an undershirt.

“Nothing.”

“Cody fainted. Didn’t I tell you that something was wrong? He didn’t have breakfast yesterday, and he isn’t having breakfast today either.”

“An apple can be breakfast, Mom.”

“An apple can be a part of a breakfast. Not the whole breakfast.”

I pushed back the chair and stood slowly. Please don’t faint again. Please don’t faint again.

“You should take him to the doctor,” she said.

The doctor? No way.

“I’m headed to court this morning, Rebecca. Why don’t you take him?”

I reached for my schoolbag and stuffed the apple inside. “I’m not sick. I swear I’m fine, and I don’t need anyone to take me to the doctor. Izzy and Piper will be here any minute now to pick me up for school.”

“You can’t go to school like this.”

The blasting of a horn saved me. “See, that’s them now. I’ll be fine, I promise. See you later!”

“Cody!”

I hurried out of the kitchen before they could force me onto the table to inspect me. Not that they would find anything. It would take another month or so for me to start showing. And who knew? There were free clinics to help me take care of ending the pregnancy. I might not be brave enough to visit one, but it was still an option, and I liked that it was there. If I kept this baby, it would be because I wanted it and not because I didn’t have a choice.

“Drive! Drive!” I yelled at Izzy as I jumped into the car.

She squealed out of the driveway without asking questions.

“What are we running from?” Piper asked.

“My parents.” I raked a hand through my hair and slumped against the seat. Whew! What a narrow escape, but I couldn’t avoid my mom forever. I’d have to find a way to maintain my habits if I didn’t want her to suspect anything. Maybe I could take my breakfast up to my room and get rid of it.

“What’d you do?”

I slept with a guy I should’ve avoided like the plague.

I shook my head and dug into my bag for my chemistry notebook. If I pretended I was studying, she would hopefully stop asking me questions. She turned her attention back to Izzy, and the two chatted the whole way about their favorite all-girls bands. They talked more about the sexy girls they liked than the music itself.

Ignoring my notebook, I watched them. They touched frequently and laughed. Why couldn’t I have found someone like Izzy? Someone attentive and caring. Someone who listened to me and wanted more than sex. Piper talked openly about their relationship, so I knew they did the dirty often too, but at least they communicated just as much.

I would have been satisfied with a smidgen of affection and attention from Reggie. I was such a sucker. I deserved way more than that, but if I had a kid now, I’d have to focus all my energy on raising a child on my own. I wouldn’t have the chance to go on dates and enjoy my youth. I would be changing diapers and feeding a baby at all hours.

That wasn’t what I’d planned for my life.

“Dude, aren’t you getting out of the car?”

“Huh?” I glanced up. We were at school, and Piper and Izzy already stood on the sidewalk, worry in their expressions. Mumbling an apology, I got out and shut the door. Maybe if I avoided their gazes, I could pretend they hadn’t noticed how weird I was being. Weirder than usual, at any rate.

I couldn’t get that pink line out of my mind.

Pregnant.

Who would have thought something like this would happen to me? It was laughable.

“I’ll see you later.” Izzy kissed Piper. When they pulled apart, they smiled at each other, their love for each other evident.

“Rhett’s right.” Piper bumped me with her shoulder as her girlfriend walked off to the left to take the shortcut to the pool where they had swim practice before the first bell rang. “You’re such a pervert.”

My face heated up. “What? I wasn’t looking.”

“Yea, you were. Admit it. Lots of guys like it when girls kiss.”

“But I’m not one of them, I promise.”

“Maybe you’re not as gay as you thought. You could be bi.”

“Trust me, I’m a hundred percent gay.”

She hooked her arm through mine, dragging me along with her toward the steps. “Then why do you watch us like that?”

She wasn’t ever going to let this go until I was honest with her. “Because I don’t know how you enjoy kissing her.”

“You’d get it if you were a lesbian too. Or straight.”

“No, I don’t mean that part. The kissing in general. I-I don’t get it. It felt gross.”

“Kissing Reggie?”

“Yeah. It’s the part I hated the most about everything we did.”

“Maybe it’s because you didn’t truly like him.”

“What? I liked him a lot.”

“Maybe a little, but come on, Cody, he’s not really your type, is he? I think you only went out with him because he’s popular and he showed some interest in you.”

I tugged my arm from hers. “That’s not true.” That would mean I was as shallow as Reggie. “The sex was great.”

She made an exasperating sound. “Sex is easy. Body parts coming together will be pleasurable. It’s a bit different with kissing. I couldn’t imagine kissing a girl who wasn’t Izzy.”

“You’re just saying that because she’s the only girl you’ve been with.”

“Sex? Yes, but I’ve kissed other girls. At the time, it felt okay because I liked those girls, but now that I love Izzy the way I do, kissing anyone else would just feel awkward.”

“But that’s different. I wasn’t seeing anyone else, and I still hated kissing Reggie.”

She pulled a face at me. “Yuck. I would’ve hated kissing him too, and maybe he was a bad kisser. You won’t know until you kiss the next guy if you really hate it. Don’t worry about it.”

She was so smart and always had the words to calm my fears. Would she know what to do if I told her I was pregnant? I was so tempted, but I’d wait. The instructions in the test kit said that for full confirmation, I should visit my doctor. But then my parents would hear about it. Although I was nineteen, doctors were bound by law to notify them until I was twenty-one. Unless I was married and the responsibility of an alpha.

Stupid rules.

“I don’t think I’ll be kissing anyone for a while.”

We stopped at my locker, where I stuffed the books I’d brought home to study last night.

“You never know. You didn’t say how you got home after the game.”

I shrugged. “Someone was heading in my direction, and he gave me a ride.”

“He?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Tell me more.”

“Gross. Not like that. It was Reggie’s dad if you must know. We met at the game.”

“I’m confused. What are you doing with Reggie’s dad?”

“I guess he feels sorry for me because of the way Reggie treated me. So, whenever we run into each other, he’s nice.”

Nicer than his son for sure. Maybe I should have dated the father and not… What the hell?

“What’s that look for?” Piper pressed. “It’s like you had a light-bulb moment.”

“Nope.” More like a crazy impossible moment. “Anyway, let’s grab your stuff, then watch your girlfriend swim.” I took her arm and led her toward her locker. “By the way, did you choose a college yet?”

“Nope. I’m holding out for as long as possible.”

“I’m sorry it’s so difficult.”

She grunted. “Why can’t I be like you and decide Forrest College is good enough to keep close to home? You could go anywhere, and you chose an in-state college.”

I shrugged. “Well, they have a good business program.” And landscaping too in case I ever worked up the courage to change my major.

I dug into my bag for my apple and leaned against the locker next to hers while she searched through her locker like a maniac. She was forever losing things, but the last time I suggested she could do with being more organized, she’d been offended.

A rambunctious and loud group of students entered. Jocks. I should have known. I straightened up at the sight of Reggie with his hand around the waist of Gabriel Brotherton, a guy who personified that popular didn’t mean nasty and mean. He was one of the nicest people I’d come across, genuinely caring and cheerful. He wore the coolest of clothes too, not giving a damn what anyone thought. Whether he was dressed in jeans or the short, pleated skirts he had a thing for, he rocked the outfits in his signature laced-up tough boots.

No surprise there at all why Reggie would go for someone like Gabriel. Although I wouldn’t want him back if he were the last alpha on Earth, it still stung that he’d already found a replacement for me. How would he react to the news that he had gotten me pregnant? Would he leave Gabriel and come running back to me? Like hell, he would. Reggie Finch was a selfish bastard who would want nothing to do with this baby, and I didn’t plan to tell him anything.

“Hey, don’t give that ass the time of day.” Piper elbowed me, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off Reggie. Did he know? What if his father had said something to him? Would he confront me at school and let everyone know that I’d let him get me pregnant? I should have been smarter than to have sex with him without protection. It had just hurt so much the first time, and the idiot I was, I’d let him talk me into believing it would hurt less without the rubber between us.

Reggie’s eyes swept past me. I was sure he’d seen me, but his gaze didn’t even land for a second. It was like he’d never kissed me. Like he’d never whispered things to me that had made me feel good. Things he only said when he was hammering away inside me.

Now I had a baby growing inside me as a consequence. At least he didn’t seem to have figured out that anything was wrong, so Mr. Finch must have accepted my story that the test kit was for a friend. Now I just had to keep everything a big secret until I graduated.