Two Years Ago...

It's been a month since I found out that I'm pregnant, and nothing has ever been harder. Concealing this secret has been a morbid battle for my subconscious. Every bone in my slowly expanding body feels like ice, annihilating any spark of warmth. Guilt is a bitch.

This morning was a close one. After vomiting for the third time in the last two hours, Dylan had walked in on me. He asked me why I was throwing up into the toilet and I had to hurriedly come up with some excuse. I told him that it was just the stomach bug and that I'd feel better soon. He seemed to believe my lie.

I can't imagine what would happen if someone were to find out. Mom would be more disappointed than angry, but Dad would be furiated. My brothers would not know what to feel, on the other hand. But then there's Noah...

Lying to him as brought me nothing but more guilt, only it cuts deeper gashes. I've had to avoid him for the past few weeks, along with those closest to me. Someone would take one look at me and notice and change in my figure. I may not have developed a bump yet, but my skin looks like it has been touched by ghosts and my hair is a sickening shade of pale blonde mixed with browns.

I stare up at the ceiling with a heavy eyes, trying to drift off into a peaceful rest. Sleep is the one place where I can find peace in the badlands of my life. My soul travels past the borderlines of my mind and enters an empire of solace. If only I could reside there for all eternity.

A loud chime attacks my lucid brain and my head slowly drifts to the side. The screen of my phone is lit up like a Christmas tree, and my present is the text that I just received. With a loud groan, I pick up the phone and my inner voice begins to read the text. It's from Noah.

NOAH : We need to talk

Yes we do.

~~~~~

Every step that I take sends a wicked pang through my legs, the anxiety pulsing in my temples. His door seems so far away when I only have to take a few steps to get there. I suddenly feel the compulsion to throw up, the bile already gathering inside me, but I take control and keep it down in the depths of staggering body.

My hand clutches the rail next to the door, my knuckles white and numb. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. If I tell him, what would he think? We've only known one another for a month, yet I already feel like he's the only person that I can trust. Then again, if he looks at me any differently, if he thinks of me as a slut, I'll have nothing. Nothing at all.

I count to ten before ringing the doorbell, trying to calm my nerves. Instantly, I hear footsteps approaching the door. I almost stumble backwards when it opens, revealing a tall, handsome figure with familiar brown eyes. Only this time, the brown is joined with dull colors. "Rowen," Noah says. I almost break inside when I don't hear my usual nickname.

"We need to talk," I say.

He steps more into the open, his hand still on the knob of the door. "Wanna come inside?" He asks, his voice cracking a bit at the last syllable.

I lean more against the rail. "No, I'd - I'd rather do this out here."

Noah takes one last step outside of the doorway and shuts it behind him. His back leans against the other rail, just parallel from me.

"So, what's new?" I ask, trying to avoid any tension.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Nothing much. Just, trying to figure out what I did to make you avoid me." The words sting like a thousand bee stings.  I can already feel the pool of tears gathering under my lashes.

"I'm not trying to avoid you."

"Really? I don't know if you know this, but I'm actually  quite perceptive, and this," he points from me to him. "This is avoiding me."

Before I can breath another word, an unsteady breath deserts my mouth as I begin to stumble. My knees collide with the pavement of the front steps, black poking holes into my vision. My arms wrap themselves around my quivering body as my mouth hangs open, getting ready to release another round of vomit.

Noah quickly vacates his standing position and kneels next to me. "Rowen? Rowen, are you okay?" His worried voice is indistinct in my ears. My hand goes to his leg as I take a hold of his jeans, my other hand now face down on the ground. With one heave, the obscene substance frolics from my lips and lands on the light-colored pavement. "Oh my God, Rowen," he says with more worry than before. Noah's voice soothes me as I try to stand up, but ultimately fail, falling into his arms.

~~~~~

There is no way this plan is gonna work.

After a conversing with the rest of the group, the five of us finally agreed on a plan for getting out of here. Well, the four of us agreed. I couldn't disagree with this plan more. Anything could go wrong. The cops may discover that it's all a ruse and arrest us all. They may not believe us and arrest us all. We get away with it, but we still get arrested for trespassing on private property. Whatever path that this plans leads is down, they all lead to jail cells.

Silas and I are in our positions, whereas Maxi, Felix, and Ashley are in there's. "You ready?" Silas asks softly, taking precautions.

"Do I sound ready to you?" I annoyingly reply. He doesn't reply, and before I know it, the plan is already in action.

The two of us run down the terrain of grass, each strand cloaked in a thin layer of shadow. We plaster excited smiles onto our faces as we sprint. Our hands are clasped together tightly, Silas leading the two of us.

We run until we reach the large oak tree in the front of the campus, right in the clear sight of the cops. I push my back up against the tree, the cold bark lightly kissing my skin through my thin t-shirt. He looks at me with masterful eyes, the silver sea reflecting off of my forested irises. Lust floats among the pearly waves crashing beneath his lids. My nerves begin to build up as I carefully purse my lips into a fine line. Regardless, I keep on smiling to keep up the act.

Silas' face grows closer to mine, our noses inches from touching. I take a deep breath and let it out in slow patterns. This is actually happening. Before he follows through with the kiss, a bright light shines brightly from across the lot, followed by and deep and somewhat angry voice. "Hey! Who's over there?"

Our bodies part as Silas walks over to the cop, his hand shielding his face from the harsh light of the flashlight. I'm finally able to let out actual breaths, my heart pounding with relief. I then stagger toward Silas and we the two of make our way toward the cops.

"Evening, officers. Is there a problem?" Silas asks, sounding completely relaxed.

"Yes, there's a problem," the taller cop replies. He's a bit taller than the two of us, but Silas shows no signs of intimidation. "You two are on private grounds."

Silas chuckles. "Yeah, about that, see my girlfriend and I were trying to cut through the school's yard to get home. We were out a little bit past her curfew and we needed to take a short-cut."

Both cops look at us with stern expressions. The taller one keeps his gaze on me whereas his partner interrogates Silas. I keep my hand still in his as he explains the story; the one we made up not ten minutes ago. "So where are you two coming from?" He asks, awaiting an answer.

"We didn't go anywhere specific. Just walking around town with my best girl." His arms wraps around me as we tugs me toward him. I go along with it and let him envelope me in his embrace. My smile remains present on my face and I dare not speak a word, so I allow him to do the rest of the talking.

The shorter cop steps forward until he's inches away from Silas, his hands placed firmly on his hips. "Is that so?"

I think he's talking to me. Oh shit, he is talking to me! My smile begins to plummet as I wait for Silas to answer the question for me. When he doesn't, it becomes clear that I need to take the lead on this one. "Yeah! My um... boyfriend and I were just passing through. Nothing to get all, you know, hyped about!" I soon say, attempting to sound as kosher as I can muster. Throwing in that chuckle at the end has to have some effect, right?

The two policemen look at one another with curious eyes. They clearly don't believe us and they know that something's not right. No cop in their right mind would trust the word of two, young teenagers with the most potential of causing havoc.

Silas' gaze traverses to mine. His face is now reading concern, and I don't blame him. Still, his self-control persists and so does mine. Suddenly, I see the dim luminescence of flashlights in the distance, followed by three sprinting silhouettes: Ashley, Felix, and Maxi. They run as fast as they can across the school yard. Silas soon sees them as well an alarmed expression appears on his face.

The cops are still oblivious as to what's really going on, thank God. One of them turns to Silas and says, "We got a complaint from an anonymous source about a disturbance in the area. Do either of you know anything about that?"

Silas immediately regains his act. "Um, you know what, that was probably our fault. We didn't mean to cause any trouble. We were just passing through."

"Do you two go to this school?" The taller one asks.

"No, we graduated last year," Silas says. The way he lies is almost natural. "Look, officers, we're really sorry about trespassing. So, if you wanna arrest us, we'll make your jobs easier and come quietly. If not, we'll just go on our way and be more careful next time."

Before either of them could answer, a sharp sound rings through the air, capturing the attention of both of the cops. From behind them, I can see Maxi and the others have stopped running and are starting to panic. Within seconds, all of them turn off their flashlights and drop to the ground, none of them noticeable.

"What was that?" One of the cops asked, looking behind him.

Silas jumps into action, turning his gaze away from our hidden accomplices. "I think that was probably just a bird." The two officers turn their gazes back to us. "So are we getting arrested?" He asks.

Both men look at one another. Turning their heads back to us, the tall one lets out a breath and says, "No, you two can go. But the next time we catch you on private property again, there will be consequences," he warns.

"Understood," Silas says. With that, the policemen make their ways toward the flashing car, leaving he and I in the darkness. "Okay, let's go," he says, grabbing my arm. We run toward the rest of the group and quickly tell them that the cops are briefly distracted. "Why are you guys sleeping on the job?" Silas sarcastically asks as the three get to their feet.

We all laugh for a short moment before we hurtle towards the parking lot.

A/N

Okay! So originally, this chapter was going to be MUCH longer, but after scrolling through some comments asking for shorter comments, I thought this was a good place to end it.

Because this chapter was split in two, the next chapter will be up very very very soon, my beauties!

Anyways, any thoughts on this chapter? Opinions on Silas so far? Are they all gonna get away without getting caught? And what the hell is Maxi problem??

Comment your theories down below and don't forget to vote if you enjoyed this chapter!

XOXO