3. Brook
October 28, 2020 (6 weeks along)
Pregnant.
That's what the doctor told me and my parents when we went to see her after I began feeling sick. We already knew, even before she confirmed it.
The signs were already there: from morning sickness to dizzy spells.
I have yet to crave anything, but that could change within the next few weeks.
Now, more than ever, I wish I had just stayed home that night. But there's nothing I can do about that now, other than tell the father. How will he react to the news? Would he even believe me? I doubt he knows I already have another child. He'll probably think I'm a whore like Hanna, the school's cheer captain. But you know what? So what. I've been raising my son on my own for two years, even while living at home. Yes, my parents help watch him when I'm at school, but as I said before, I'm the one getting him ready for the day. At night, I'm the one who reads to him or sings to him.
"What's got you sighing so much?" I looked up at the sound of my friend Anna making her way toward me with her boyfriend, Axel, and his brother Dylan.
"She's meeting up with Jacob at the local park today," Wynter, my ever-so-helpful sister, said as she joined us, making the three raise their brows while I rolled my eyes. I haven't yet told them I was expecting again, and I don't want to discuss that until I've told Jacob that he's going to be a father.
"Why?" Dylan asked. I bit my lip and shot my twin a warning look. She rolled her eyes.
"You'll know once I've spoken to him first," I replied, and they frowned but nodded.
They knew I had gotten pregnant with Grayson when I went to New York, and Axel had even wanted to go to New York to confront Charles, Grayson's father, when I told them what happened. I told him not to because I didn't want him to get in trouble, and that Charles was already in jail.
They were both pissed, to say the least, so I know they'll be just as angry once I tell them Jacob and I are expecting a child together. I knew they'd give him hell for knocking me up and most likely tell him to step up, be a man, and help me raise our child.
Gah. I wasn’t looking forward to those two breathing down my neck either. They were overly protective of me when I was pregnant with Grayson and would refuse to let me carry anything they deemed heavy. My back paid for it, even if I only had two textbooks, a few notebooks, and my pencil case. They always carried them for me between classes. It was annoying, but at the same time, I was grateful that they helped me so much throughout my pregnancy and even afterward. They, along with Anna, were always there for me, whether to watch Grayson while I studied or while I was at the studio.
I shook my head and smiled at the four of them as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day.
"You tell us if he says anything that hurts you, alright?" Axel asked. I rolled my eyes but smiled, nodding my head. We exchanged hugs and kisses before heading in different directions.
"Do you want me to wait while you talk to him?" Wynter asked as she drove to the park where I was meeting Jacob, but I shook my head.
"I'll call or text you if I need you to pick me up," I replied, and she nodded but looked as if she didn’t want to leave me alone with him, not after what happened this morning with Hanna.
"Alright," she finally said before nodding her head. "Looks like he's here already."
I looked over my shoulder, and sure enough, there he was. He leaned against his bike with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets as he looked toward the little lake just a few feet away.
"I'll see you later."
"Okay."
I sat with bated breath as Jacob stared at the lake in front of us. I had just told him that we were expecting a baby together. I didn't know how he would react to the news. I mean, he wasn't a jerk the day after the party eight weeks ago, but that didn't mean he was going to be okay with this news. He sat on top of the backrest of the bench with his hands resting between his legs while I sat a few inches away with my hands in my lap. The white envelope holding the ultrasound sat on the bench between us.
"How far along are you?" he asked, and I blinked, looking up at him.
"Six weeks, at least that's what the doctor said when I went to see her two days ago," I murmured. He nodded before sighing, "I don't want you to fe—"
"I'm not going to let you raise our baby on your own if that's what you're implying," he said, cutting me off. I turned to face him and saw that he was already looking down at me with those dark eyes of his. God, how can someone be so intimidating yet gentle at the same time?
Jacob Rodriguez was known, as I said, as the school's bad boy, considering he does boxing and drives a motorcycle to school practically every day unless it’s snowing or raining.
He was beautiful in every sense of the word. He had fair skin marked with ink on his arms and hands. He wore a black v-neck that showed a few of his chest tattoos under a black leather jacket, with black jeans and black combat boots. He was the perfect definition of a bad boy.
"Why?" I stupidly asked, and he chuckled, shaking his head before sitting properly on the bench with me and turning to face me.
"Because we both were part of its creation, not just you, Brooklyn," he replied. I crinkled my nose at the use of my full name, and he smiled. "You're cute."
I blinked at the compliment as I felt my face erupt in a blush. "But that's beside the point."
"You're right," he agreed as he ran his fingers through his dark hair, messing it up even more than it already was. "We both made bad choices that night at the party that resulted in you getting pregnant, Brook, so I'm going to take full responsibility for my actions."
"Aren't you going to ask if I'm sure that the baby's yours or not?" I asked, and he raised a brow.
"Why should I?" he replied. "You said that it was mine, and I believe you."
"I thought you’d deny it," I replied, and he shook his head. "At least ask for a paternity test to be sure."
"And even if it wasn't, I'll still step up," he said, surprising me.
"But why?" What he said next had my breath hitching in my throat as my heartbeat raced in my chest.
"Because I like you."
"Y-you what?" I cursed myself for stuttering.
"I like you. I've always liked you, Brook, but I’m a chicken when it comes to talking to you. When I woke up and saw you running around in my room, I was pissed—not at you but at myself for what happened." He confessed, and all I could do was stare at him with wide eyes. "I didn't know how to act afterward, so all I did was stare at you from a distance. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would like it if you would go on a date with me this Saturday, so we can get to know each other."
I sat there, not knowing what to say to that. And he looked... nervous? The great Jacob Rodriguez was nervous? That's a first. I've never seen him get nervous about anything. He was already carefree, ready to take the world by storm… and now here he was, bouncing his leg nervously.
"What about Hanna?"
"What about her?"
"Aren't you two dating? I mean, that’s what she said this morning." He rolled his eyes.
"Didn't you hear what I said to her?" he asked, and I bit my lip, remembering that he had actually stood up for me and threatened Hanna to stay away from me.
"Right," I whispered, a blush no doubt coating my face.
"So, what do you say? Will you go out with me this Saturday?" he asked, and I bit my lip, trying to remember if I had anything planned for Saturday before nodding.
"Okay."