The house and backyard were full of people for Sam's graduation party. Anna was hiding in her room. Technically, it was Keira's room, although having a roommate wasn't too bad. Keira was too much in awe of Anna to be annoying. Anna always wanted a little sister and suddenly had her wish. Looking around at Keira's stuffed animals and posters of kittens Anna missed her own room with her own treasures.

She could hear Darlene's voice floating up into her window. She was loud as always and laughing. Looking out she saw her talking with Alison's sister and father. Her boys were running around with Rory's sister. Rory's dad was talking to Brad, Bryan, and Mark.

She didn't see Sam or the other kids. Along with the voices and laughter, the aroma of grilling meat was wafting into the room. She was feeling hungry but didn't want to face all those people. She had been trying to study for her finals but found it hard to concentrate.

There was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Rory.

"Alison sent me to check on you."

"I'm fine. Tell her not to worry."

Rory looked from her biology book open on her bed with her notes spread out to the open window. She walked to the window.

"Everyone is having fun. Bryan's sister is..."

"Crazy. I know."

Anna looked down at the backyard. Alison was talking to people she didn't know.

"Who are all those people?" Anna asked.

"My grandparents are there..." She pointed toward Alison. "... with Maddie."

Anna didn't want Rory's grandparents to know she was pregnant. It was bad enough the Alison's parents knew.

"I'll be down soon,." She lied.

She wondered if she could walk out the front door with no one seeing her. Maybe Mari would let her study at her house. Instead, she shut the window. It was warm, so she took off her shirt. The tank top underneath was tight and hugged her belly. Her shorts were low waisted and fit below her belly.

She remembered when she used to be skinny. Dustin had put his hands on her flat stomach. He did things that made her belly feel crazy deep inside. She didn't miss him but she missed feeling special.

She thought about calling her father but she liked him to think she was happy. She wasn't always unhappy. If she was at Sam's party as the 'old Anna', she would have been happy to hang out and even talk to the adults. How many times had she sat around listening to Darlene at home? If she called now, he would know she was lonely just by her voice.

She sat down on her bed and was reviewing the cell - mitochondria, cilia, nucleus, centrioles. What made it hard was she missed more than a month of the semester but was still being tested on that material.

There was another knock and before she could get up, it opened. Cole poked his head in.

"Hey, everyone is wondering where you are."

"I'm studying. I have to know stuff I wasn't even here for." Her voice sounded like a whiny baby.

"Do you want me to quiz you?"

His eyes were staring at her belly. "What are you staring at?" She snapped.

"Sorry. It's like it grew overnight."

"And I have to go to school like this. With my luck, your girlfriend will see me."

Cole sighed but ignored her. "Move over."

He sat next to her on the bed. The last time she was on a bed. Stop! She screamed inside her head.

Cole picked up her notes and started asking her about plant cells versus animal cells and the parts of each. She stumbled on a few but every time she got one right he smiled.

"You've got this," he said after he ran through the terms again. "Come downstairs."

"I'd rather not." She lied down preparing to tell him she was tired.

"I wish you would."

He surprised her when he reached out and touched her bump. His hand felt warm and reminded her of when Dustin touched her.

"I thought it would feel softer. Can you feel it inside?"

"Yeah, sometimes. I try not to think of it. I'm afraid to get too attached."

He ran his fingers along the red marks along her sides. It would scar her body for life. Still the light movement of his fingers made her tingle. Everything she felt reminded her too much of how she felt with Dustin.

"Come on. I'll find a shirt that will hide it."

He came back with one of his button-down shirts. "Just roll up the sleeves."

She tried it on and it looked okay. She had more studying to do but her hunger won out. She'd go downstairs and eat. Cole grabbed her hand and held it as they went down the stairs. At the bottom, he dropped it quickly.

Entering the kitchen Alison saw her first. "Oh Anna, sweetheart! Sam will be so glad you've stopped studying. Here grab a plate. You need to eat."

Alison had been trying to get her to eat more since her ultrasound when they reported the baby was small. Anna didn't think her getting fat would make the baby grow. Still, she was hungry.

She sat at the table feeling more comfortable because it hid her belly. Rory came in with her stepmother who had the baby on her hip.

"Maddie, this is Anna. Bryan's best friend's daughter. Sam calls her his cousin."

Maddie sat right down, bouncing the boy on her knees. "Hi Anna. Do you like to read?"

"Yeah, a little. I guess."

Maddie looked excited. "Who is your favorite author?"

Anna shrugged and Rory said, "Maddie is a librarian. She and I both love books."

Rory went to be with Sam. Maddie smiled at them and she put her hand on Anna's. "Rory and I are best friends, so she told me about Sam's cousin. She said you are sweet, and she likes you a lot. JP is only thirteen months old, so it hasn't been that long so I remember all the strange things that happen to your body. I just want you to know that I can be a good friend if you ever need to talk."

She squeezed Anna's hand and smiled a warm smile. Anna didn't mind that she told Maddie about her. Before George, she and her mother talked about everything. She thought Rory was lucky her dad married Maddie. Sam had Alison and Rory had Maddie. She wished her dad would find someone to love them like that.

The party ended early because there was still the actual graduation ceremony. They only had four tickets and Anna was glad because she didn't want to go. Cole had planned to go along with Rory. At the last minute Cole opted not to go because he had to study. Instead, Darlene went while Brad took the boys and Keira to the beach for a while.

The house was quiet. Anna asked, "Did you really stay home to study?"

"Yes, and no. I was afraid that Cassie would be there."

"Oh."

"Are you feeling better? I know you were sad."

Anna didn't answer his question. She felt a lot of things all the time and only one of them was sad.

"Mr. Michaud arranged for me to take all my exams as soon as possible. So I need to be ready for them. I might take three tomorrow and two on Tuesday. Ms. Jensen excused me from the art final."

"I can help you study."

He confused her the way he was so nice to her when they were alone.

She smiled. "I thought you had your own studying to do."

"Not really. I only have pre-calc tomorrow."

Anna knew he didn't need to study for math. He surprised Anna when he asked if he could touch the baby again. He stood behind her and reached around her and splayed his fingers on her belly. She could feel him behind her and felt secure. She had seen Lana's husband holding her the same way as they were talking to Bryan and Maddie's dad. Cole wasn't her husband or even this baby's father. She leaned into him and he whispered into her ear. "I really like you."

She felt a warm wave fall through her body. What did he mean by like? She put her hands on his much the same way that Lana had. They stood for a few moments as she savored the feel of strong arms around her.

Her phone rang and interrupted the moment. It was her dad. She mumbled, "We can study after I talk to him. Hi Daddy."

He told her he was glad that she and Mari had a talk. She smiled because her dad and Mari had spoken. She wanted him to like her.