Wyatt

"You owe me twenty bucks, sucker!" Ari cheers, clapping an irritated Nash on the shoulder as he snickers before opening his locker, unloading the contents of his backpack. The lucky bastard is as smart as they come and usually completes all of his work at school, unlike the rest of us peons who are regularly saddled with hours of homework.

Nash dutifully reaches into his wallet, retrieving a crisp twenty dollar bill. "I feel like I got taken," he complains, placing the cash in Ari's greedy hand. "Like insider trading, man. You've got a female source living right in your own house!" He indicates Mari, whose eyes widen with his suggestion.

"Yeah, but she's your girlfriend," Ari says, raising his hands in a gesture of his innocence. "Take it up with her."

"I'm lost," I say, having had enough of their bickering. "What's this all about?"

"Nash and Ari made a bet about when you and Colby would finally get back together," Mari says, linking her arm with Nash's. "Nash thought it would be the night we stole the flag, and Ari thought it might take a little longer. Sorry, Papi," she adds, patting her disappointed beau on his forearm.

"Yeah, well all that really matters is that they're back together," he says, grinning my way. "Now Wyatt can stop being a moody jackass."

"Sure," I say. "I'll stop being moody, but my jackass status will stay intact."

"No doubt," Ari says, shoving me casually. "Hey Mar, we need to do some man stuff, so why don't you beat it?"

"Man stuff?" Mari probes. "Do I even wanna know?"

"It's just practice, honey buns," Nash returns, pulling her nearer and kissing her on the cheek.

"Nash, that's nasty," Ari groans. "Honeybuns?"

"Don't be jealous just 'cause you're single, douchebag. You earned that situation all on your own," Mari snaps, swiping her hand back and forth before herself. "And I'm only leaving now because I choose to, not because you told me to. Bye, Papi."

She pats Nash lightly on the cheek before she makes her way toward the student parking lot. Nash follows her retreating figure adoringly, and I wonder if I ever wear the same dopey look he's sporting when I watch B...

Nah, not me.

"Gentlemen," Ari says, throwing his arms around both of our shoulders. "Let's move before Pops gets pissed and makes us do extra drills." He begins moving in the direction of the locker room when I shrug his arm away.

"Can't," I say coolly. "I've gotta do something after school today."

"Colby can wait, dickhead," Ari asserts without missing a beat and damn, that's not what I meant, but now that he mentions it...

"Sorry, I have to go," I continue, scampering down the corridor.

"Coach is gonna be mad!" Ari shouts after me, but I ignore him. I can't reveal what I have to do this afternoon. It isn't my place.

...

"Are you sure nobody followed you?" Wynn demands. I picked her up from a local grocery store where we agreed to meet. She left her car in the lot and crawled into my pickup. We resolved to find a doctor on the other side of town, so as to avoid any prying, gossip-loving eyes.

"Yes, Wynn," I counter, mildly irritated by the attitude she's throwing my way. I'm trying to be patient, 'cause I know she's got a lot on her mind. I chalk it up to hormones and put it out of my head. "Hate to break it to you, but neither of us is really interesting enough to warrant a tail. Besides, pretty much everyone we know is attending their respective practices."

She rolls her eyes, folding her arms securely around her waist. I can't help but glance at the belly she's covering, wondering how it's gonna look in about six months.

"I'm sorry, Wyatt," she puffs. "I know I'm being unreasonable. I'm just..."

"Scared?" I supply.

She nods. "Hell, Wyatt, I don't know anything!" she continues and I can see that she's on the edge of tears. "I didn't know that I needed vitamins, or how big the baby is right now. I didn't even know that an average pregnancy lasts forty weeks! I thought it was nine months!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," I begin cautiously, afraid to disturb the stewing hormones boiling inside of her. "I didn't know any of that stuff either."

"That doesn't make me feel better!" she cries. "I'm going to be a mother in less than forty weeks, Wyatt! A damn mother!" She sobs into her hands. All I can think to do is offer her a few tissues.

I'm not equipped for this shit. I'm not a sensitive person, and I sure as hell can't put myself in her shoes. I can put myself in Cole's shoes though.

"Wynn," I say quietly. I put the car in park in the lady doctor lot we've just reached, pull her into me and giving her a much-needed hug. "You don't need to have all of the answers, you know. There's time to find those. Nobody would expect you to know everything."

"I had no idea how little I knew," she weeps. "How am I gonna get through this?"

"You have a lot of people who love you," I say. "I'm here for you, and Wynn, Colby's gonna be there, too."

She scoffs. "I don't deserve that," she laments bitterly. "I've been a shitty friend."

"You think that's gonna stop her from being there for you every step of the way?"

"No," she relents. "I know B has my back."

"This isn't gonna be easy, I know that," I continue. "But you just have to remember that you'll never be alone in it."

"I don't deserve friends like you, Wyatt," she says, dabbing the remaining tears from her face.

"You'd do the same for any of us, Wynn," I say, popping my truck door open and exiting. I jog to her side, opening the door for her and offering my hand. "If I ever turn up pregnant, you'll have learned everything there is to learn to help me through it." I wink, and she smacks me on the shoulder.

"You always did know how to lighten the mood," she says.

We head for the double doors, and even though this situation has nothing to do with me directly, I find myself anxious. I can't even begin to fathom how Wynn feels.

...

The whole experience is surreal.

And the baby isn't even mine.

The appointment went off without a hitch, just as I expected it would. Wynn is young and healthy, so I figured there were no worries there. The baby is healthy too and expected to arrive at the end of June— a full month after we graduate.

Wynn was subdued when we left the appointment, but interestingly enough no longer scared. She stared intently at the ultrasound picture she was given all the way back to the grocery store parking lot. The baby is tiny at this point. About the size of a blueberry, the doctor said, although that was difficult to distinguish on the ultrasound machine.

I can't help but feel like a bit of a bastard, knowing that I was there for such a personal and private moment, while Cole was at practice none the wiser. I may despise the guy, but it's his kid. I feel like an interloper. I know that if I were in Cole's shoes, I'd sure as hell want to know.

I told Wynn that very thing, but she still isn't ready. I respect that, but seeing the ultrasound made it all too real, and filled me with an urgency that surprised me. Who knows? Cole may end up being dad of the century, but only if he's let in on the secret Wynn is holding onto too tightly. To my knowledge, I'm still the only person that's aware of her circumstances.

When I think about what I would do in her situation, if it were Colby and me, I'm struck by the realization that I'd be really damn terrified. The quiet strength Wynn has already demonstrated awes me to no end. I resolve to defend and support her to the very end.

Rolling up to Colby's house, I park behind the estate where the rest of the help is parked, having decided to visit Tanzie while B is still busy at practice. I've been visiting Tanzie off and on over the past couple years covertly. Growing up, she was like a mother to me, and watching her deteriorate has been difficult.

It was challenging keeping up the visits during my breakup with B, but not doing so would have felt worse. My mom has helped me out, sneaking me in during times that the family is occupied. Tanzie's condition has been hard on my mom too, as the two of them have shared a decade's long connection.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked by the level of decline that's occurred over the past six months. Tanzie went from being vital and outgoing before she lost her father, before I lost mine, to suffering from a steadily failing state of mind and body. The doctor admitted that her predicament could be related in part to the loss she experienced.

I drop some dinner by the kitchen for my mom before I make my way quietly up the back staircase, slipping into the third door on the right. It's a room that only Tanzie occupies, though she once shared it with Cliff. He moved his stuff out well over a year ago.

I refuse to judge him, not fit to criticize his methods of coping. Still, I do know that he hasn't been particularly supportive of his family, choosing instead to focus on his clients and growing his burgeoning business.

"Hey Miss Tanzie," I say approaching her bedside, seating myself in the chair beside her and taking her delicate hand in mine. I sigh, missing the days when she used to ruffle my feathers. She used to roast the shit outta me, and goodness knows I deserved it. It was all in good fun, though. I think she was nearly as fond of my relationship with Colby as the two of us. I miss her encouragement.

"Well," I begin informally. "You look beautiful as always." I squeeze her hand and to my utter shock, she opens her eyes.

"Hi there." I smile, rubbing the back of her hand gently. Her skin feels frail, and she's lost so much weight. Truly a shell of her former self. It saddens me deeply to see her this way, but I don't want to have regrets. "I have some great news," I continue. "Your daughter and I are finally back together."

She blinks slowly, and a slight smile forms on her lips. "Good," she rasps, and her eyes sparkle. Tears.

"Don't cry, Miss Tanzie," I say quietly. "We're gonna get it right this time. I swear it. I promise to do right by your daughter."

It's a promise I make to Tanzie, and to myself.