“Zach, wasn’t it beautiful, though?”

I looked down at Abigail, who had a hand pressed to my chest and was smiling up at me. We were surrounded by my friends, and they kept asking us about what Tokyo and work were like. I was barely talking, but Abigail did a pretty good job of answering everything, so they didn’t notice my distraction.

On cue, I smiled and answered with bland enthusiasm. “Of course, it was.” I wasn’t sure what we were talking about, but luckily no one seemed to realize anything was amiss.

Abigail smiled at me, but I could read the question in her eyes. She left me to my thoughts and turned back to my friends, and I immediately tuned their voices out.

I glanced around, looking for Chad. But it was crowded and no one ever seemed to stay at their tables, rushing around all over the place because it was Christmas and everyone was mingling. Hell, it hardly looked like a restaurant, they’d made some room for a dance floor, and there were people enthusiastically taking advantage of it.

Chad seemed to be avoiding me, and I wasn’t sure why. He was the one to tell me Scarlett was pregnant, and yet, when I got back and showed up with a girlfriend, he’d given me this look of absolute disappointment and made a point not to get near to me. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but I had a feeling I’d missed something.

There was a part of me that was keeping an eye out for Scarlett. No one in the group seemed to know about what happened between the two of us so no one thought it odd when I asked whether Scarlett would be making it. They’d all looked shifty until I mentioned I knew about the pregnancy, and Sasha had confirmed she might make an appearance.

What would it prove, exactly, for me to shove Abigail in her face, just because I was hurt? It wouldn’t be fair to her, and yet, the idea of introducing Abigail as my girlfriend had been on my mind since I found out we could come back home for the holidays.

I wasn't consciously looking out for her. But my eyes landed on her and paused because there she was.

She wasn’t looking my way, and I took advantage of it to get my fill of her. The moment I saw her, my heart couldn't help but thump eagerly, because I could admit to myself that I’d missed her when we were apart.

But then the reason I was mad at her slammed into me, when I looked down her body and noticed the very visible swell of her stomach. I tightened my lips, my stare turning into a glare at the remembered offense.

She was the one in the wrong this time, and I wasn’t going to let her off so easily. I tightened my arm around Abigail, and I didn’t miss her looking up to catch my gaze, though I didn’t look down to meet it.

I waited for Scarlett to raise her eyes and see me glaring at her. I wanted to see the hurt cross her face when she remembered what she’d done to me. I willed her to.

But instead, she turned and ran out of the room. I was frozen for a moment, then I was pulling my arm from Abigail and rushing after Scarlett.

“Zach!”

I heard two voices call my name, one in astonishment, the other in warning. An arm caught my shoulder, but I easily shrugged it off, the urgency of the moment making me move faster. I practically fell out the door, righting myself quickly as I looked wildly around. A part of me was asking why I was so desperate to talk to her. I could have ignored her and we could have both got on with our evening. But when I didn’t see her immediately, I started growing frantic. Until I noticed her a little off to the side, right at the curb trying to hail a taxi.

“Scarlett!” I shouted.

She stilled, then looked over her shoulder at me. The stricken look she gave me was enough to cause me a little discomfort. I didn’t know why she was looking at me as if I’d hurt her somehow. But then she looked away, and I firmed my resolve. I reminded myself that I wasn’t the injured party here.

“Don’t you dare run away, Scarlett,” I called out, advancing quickly on her, ignoring the people on the street. “We need to talk.”

She hunched her shoulders, and when she turned around to meet my gaze then, she was frowning at me.

“Now really isn’t a good time, Zach. Can we do this later?”

“Like when?” I demanded, and she winced at my loud voice. I told myself I didn’t care but lowered my voice as I continued. “You stopped talking to me out of nowhere. How do I know if I leave you won’t just do the same thing again? I deserve some explanation for this, Scarlett.”

She flinched back, playing it off immediately, but I had noticed. Some doubts had started to grow in the back of my mind, but I ignored them because they weren’t important. I’d been waiting to have this conversation with Scarlett, no matter how much a part of me had wanted to put it off, and I was going to get answers from her.

Scarlett was suddenly glaring up at me, and I was the one to flinch this time.

“I wasn’t the only one not answering their calls and messages,” she snarled. “So don’t you fucking give me that. If you wanted an explanation you would have answered my calls.”

I tightened my lips because that was true. At the time, I’d been... almost afraid of what she’d tell me. Those fears were still in the back of my mind at that moment. I was also a bit surprised at how vehement she was acting, like somehow I’d been the one to do her wrong. I’d never seen her quite like this, and it only made my back straighten.

“So?” I said after a while where neither of us spoke. “Do I get an explanation now or what? You just said you had one for me.”

She curled her lip. “It’s no longer needed. You knew before you came here that I was pregnant, didn’t you? And you ignored me because of it. That was my answer, wasn’t it?”

She chuckled, her voice low, and I would have been an ass not to notice the edge of pain in it. Scarlett looked down, pressing her hands to her stomach, and her shoulders suddenly slumped in defeat.

“Look.” She murmured, her breath hitching. Then she looked up, and I was again taken aback by the pain in her face, in her eye, a look that I found wrong on her. “Can we just forget about this?” she said, sounding a little desperate. “I just want to go home. I only came out today because the others insisted, but I don’t want to be here. You should go back in there to your... girlfriend.” She said the word as if she were chewing on glass.“ And we can both get on with our lives.”

Words were running around in my mind, but I couldn’t let any of them out. She looked like she was about to cry, and I didn’t know why. I was the injured party here, wasn’t I? Why was she looking at me like I’d just stabbed her in the chest—or in the back—when I was pretty sure I’d done no such thing?

Had I been in my right mind, I would have wondered why I was so angry. I’d had spats with women before, and I usually let them go pretty quickly.

But when I saw Scarlett turning around, about to leave, thinking our little confrontation was over, my body reacted of its own accord. I reached forward, bridging the space between us and clamping a hand down on her shoulder, whirling her around to face me again. Her eyes were widened in fright, and her look pierced my heart. I dropped my hand from her shoulder like it had been burnt.

Why was she looking at me like I was about to hit her or something?

“Wait a minute,” I growled, again pushing back my instincts and letting my anger take over. “We are nowhere near finished here, Scarlett.”

Her nose wrinkled in that way I’d always thought was cute before, but right then, it just made my heart ache more.

“What more do you want from me, Zach? You made your answer very clear, didn’t you? When you ignored me when I tried to explain.”

“I want you to explain now,” I demanded, but I was confused. What exactly did she mean? I was also frustrated because she wasn’t reacting the way I’d wanted her to. Was she not at least going to admit that she’d nearly duped me into marriage while she was pregnant?

She frowned up at me, looking confused herself, but the edge of pain never left her. “What the fuck do you even need an explanation for now, huh? Why don’t you just go back and find Abigail? Have a nice night.”

“Would you stop mentioning Abigail,” I burst out. “I don’t know what the fuck your problem with her is, but this is between you and me. She has nothing to do with this.”

Her frown only grew more pronounced, as did her pain. “What are you talking about? She has everything to do with this.”

“No, Scarlett,” I growled through gritted teeth. “This has everything to do with you making a promise with me to get married in a year when you were pregnant with another guy’s baby. So why the fuck are you upset?”

Her eyes widened, and I almost felt proud of myself. At least she was showing some emotion that I’d expected, shock. Or what, had she thought I didn’t know? But I didn’t feel triumphant at all. If anything, I felt sick to my stomach. Suddenly, I was having second thoughts about having this spat, and especially out on the street.

Her eyes were suddenly on fire, filled with anger unlike any I’d ever seen on her face before. I hadn’t even known Scarlett could look like that. Her whole body shook, her shoulders tight as she squeezed her hands into fists at her sides. I didn't flinch, I stumbled a couple of steps back. Which was ridiculous, because I wasn’t afraid of a pregnant woman.

“Listen here, you fucking prick,” she started, her voice low but gaining in volume and strength. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about right now, and you know what? I don’t give a fuck, Zach!”

My eyes widened at the swearing. She was doing it more than usual, and she advanced a step on me, that made me take a few more back. She was obviously on a roll, and I didn’t have the words to stop her. She didn’t seem to mind we were on the street, but then again, I hadn’t cared either.

“I don’t know where the fuck you got your information from, you fucking bastard, but the baby growing in my stomach right now is yours!”

My eyes widened, then I glared. “That’s a lie—”

“I know my body way fucking better than you do, Zach. You weren’t here. I’ve had to go through this pregnancy alone, and I have the doctor’s visits to prove it. The others helped, but there was only so much they could do. I could have used having you here, Zach.”

She paused and laughed, only the sound was the most painful thing I’d ever heard, and it pierced my chest even harsher than her look of pain and fear from before had.

“And way to talk about promises, Zach. Do I have to remind you, that you were the one to bring it up in the first place? And to have the gall to tell me you never took it seriously! Well, guess what, you bastard, I did. You have no right to go yelling at me and accusing me of bullshit when you wouldn't even let me fucking explain when here you are fucking Abigail!”

Finally, she stopped, and I could have sworn I heard an echo of her last words. Later, we’d probably be embarrassed about the whole thing. I could hear murmurings from the crowd that had formed around us. I was pretty sure some of our friends had come out to see the commotion. Abigail might be among them, and I didn’t even care. I was just glad they were staying out of it.

“I didn’t,” I said quietly.

Scarlett, still trembling and panting from the force of her anger, flinched and widened her eyes at me, looking like prey caught in a trap.

“What?” she said, her voice quiet.

“Abigail and I never got that far,” I told her honestly, though a part of me wondered why I was divulging this information. “Not because she didn’t want to, she’s made her interest more than clear. But I haven’t even kissed her.”

Her eyes grew impossibly wider. There was silence between us, then she took in a shaky breath and licked her bottom lip.

“R-really?” she murmured, looking like she didn't believe me. “W-why, then?”

I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. “Why else do you think, Scarlett? Because of you.”

She frowned, confused, and took a step back. “Me?” she murmured.

I took a couple of steps closer. “Yes,” I said, almost desperately. There was no point in keeping it from either of us because it was definitely how I felt. “Abigail was right there. Attractive, willing, but I wanted nothing from her. Because every time we were about to get intimate, you came into my mind, and I couldn’t get you out. You’re all I’ve thought about in the months since I transferred, Scarlett.”

She tumbled another step back as her face crumpled. “No. Y-you’re lying. You were with her, and you ignored me...” She glared up at me, but it was weak. “Sasha told me you introduced her as your girlfriend.”

I winced and rubbed the back of my neck. “So that wasn’t exactly my finest moment. We haven’t done anything other than go on a few dates. I did it because I wanted to hurt you,” I admitted reluctantly. “Because I was scared to admit that you hurt me when I heard you were pregnant, and I heard it from someone else and not you.”

We both went still again, staring at each other. I desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. I also wanted to close the space between us. Now that I admitted to my hurt out loud, I saw a lot of ways I could deal with it without hurting Scarlett. I shouldn’t have let it control me in the first place, though it was probably a little late to be having that realization.

I opened my mouth to say something, but right then, Scarlett’s expression changed. There was no longer any pain or anger. Instead, her expression went blank, before turning confused. Then her expression shifted to wide-eyed surprise as she pressed her hand to her stomach. I stepped forward, feeling a bit of concern.

“Scarlett?”

“Shit,” she suddenly hissed, her head snapping up to meet my gaze. “It broke,” she muttered, but it was more to herself than to me. “My water broke. Shit, shit!”

I barely got what she was trying to say, then she gasped and stumbled, and I was moving before I was conscious of it, holding her up.

“Scarlett, what’s wrong?” I asked, frantic.

It was a stupid question, and the expression she gave me told me she thought the same.

“The baby is coming,” was all she managed to gasp.

Suddenly, there were other people around us. I got defensive until I realized it was our friends finally stepping in. Olivia stepped up to her other side and tried to take her from me. I refused to let her go and Olivia shot me a glare but relented.

Our friends rushed us to the hospital; me, Olivia and Scarlett taking one cab, while the rest of them came after us. There was a bit of traffic, and I was pretty sure I wasn’t useful at all. If anything, I panicked right along with Scarlett as Olivia put her through her breathing exercises.

We made it to the hospital just in time for her to double over in her first contraction.

“Scarlett!”

Olivia and I held her as she let out a short scream of pain. Then there were people there in scrubs taking her away, one guy holding me back as I went to follow. I watched Scarlett disappear from view, thoughts moving a mile a minute.

She’d said the baby was mine. I’d more or less ignored it when she said it just a few moments ago, but it jumped in my mind right then. And even without some form of proof, suddenly I was sure. Scarlett was carrying my baby and not only had I been stupid, but I’d been fucking blind too.