Fuck!Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.Fuck!
Deciding not to stay because I couldn’t convince him otherwise, I shot up from my seat and headed straight for the door.I stepped into the hallway, and the door clicked shut behind me.
Diya is going to hate me!
CHAPTERFIFTY-TWO
CALIX
As soon asthe last bell rang, the hallways exploded with students racing out of classrooms to get home.But I wasn’t in a rush to leave.I was in a rush to get to Astrid’s classroom before she had a chance to leave.
I shoved people out of the way, passing by her locker and not finding anyone.After continuing through the chaos, I popped my head into the classroom where her last class was supposed to be, only to find a couple of students chatting in the back.
“Fuck,” I murmured under my breath.
Something wasn’t right, and I was going to figure it out, one way or another.Was she really pregnant?And by who?I didn’t believe that it was Vaughn.No fucking way.Diya would’ve told me last semester.Was it my stepfather, that bastard?!
Once I ran down the stairs to the first floor, I spotted Astrid just as she slipped out of the back entrance, her bag slung over her shoulder, her hair in her face, like she didn’t want to be seen.My stomach twisted.
She walked quickly toward her car parked in the student lot.I kept some distance so she wouldn’t notice me.If I had to stalk her to figure out what was going on, then I guessed I had to resort to stalking.She wasn’t going to willingly tell me.
When she climbed into her car and pulled out of the lot, I made a break for my car and hopped right in to follow after her.With the mess of students leaving Redwood Academy for the day, it was easy to conceal my car for a bit.
I stayed two cars behind, keeping my gaze focused on hers.She took a turn onto Main Street, heading straight for the beach.The cars ahead peeled away, forcing me to slow down enough so she wouldn’t recognize my car right on her ass.
A couple of moments later, she pulled into a small lot at the beach and parked beside Diya’s car and another that I didn’t recognize.After she started up the dune toward the beach, I parked in the opposite lot, ran across the street, and followed after her.
In the early spring, there weren’t many people on the beach.So, I stayed a ways away and watched from afar, hiding behind the dune so they wouldn’t see me.Astrid stopped when she reached Diya and … Sakura Sato.
Sakura Sato was the valedictorian of our class and … pregnant by her teacher.
My stomach dropped, and I balled my hands into tight fists.This only confirmed more and more of my suspicion that my own fucking stepfather had fucked my girl.Astrid was here to ask Sakura about how to handle the drama when it broke, and Diya was here for support.
While I couldn’t hear what they were saying, Diya suddenly broke down crying, her shoulders shaking as Astrid pulled her into a hug.Astrid rubbed her shoulders, back and forth, and frowned at Sakura.
I narrowed my eyes.Why was Diya crying?
She rarely cried, only when it was serious, only when …
My eyes widened as the pieces suddenly began to click together.What if the rumor wasn’t about Astrid at all?What if Diya was the one who was pregnant?What if Astrid was covering for her, taking the heat at school to protect her?
It’d explain Astrid’s strange behavior, the way she’d been avoiding me, Diya crying.
Fury bubbled up inside me.If Diya was pregnant, who the hell was the father?Who had done this to her?All she did was go out with Astrid and stay home.The thought of some guy using her and leaving her to deal with this alone made my fucking blood boil.
Diya was my sister—my family—and I wasn’t about to let anyone hurt her.
I clenched my jaw so tightly that I chipped my tooth.Sakura stood near them, saying something that I couldn’t quite make out.Whatever it was didn’t help because Diya continued to sob, only louder.
Knuckles whitening, I forced myself to turn around and stormed toward my car.I wanted to run down there and demand answers, to force her to tell me who had gotten her pregnant so I could kick his ass, but I couldn’t.
She wouldn’t tell me.She’d only hide it from me more.
So, I slipped into my car and slammed the door shut, glaring through the windshield and hurling my fist into the steering wheel.
Fuck!What was I going to do?Get it out of Astrid?Would she even fucking tell me at this point?
A sharp knock on my window snapped me out of my thoughts.
