Adrian spent three days in a fog of denial and terror. The positive pregnancy test was hidden in the back of his closet, wrapped in tissues and shoved into an old shoe box like something shameful. Which, he supposed, it was. He was seventeen, unmarried, pregnant by someone who'd discarded him like trash. His entire future—college, his dreams of becoming a writer, everything he'd worked so hard for—was crumbling.
But beneath the fear, there was something else. Something small and fragile and impossible to ignore. When he was alone, Adrian would place his hand on his still-flat stomach and feel a surge of protective love so fierce it took his breath away. This baby hadn't asked to be created. Hadn't asked for a father who was cruel and a mother—father, he corrected himself, he was the fer parent—who was lost and scared.
"I'll protect you," Adrian whispered to his reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Whatever happens, I'll keep you safe."
But first, he needed to tell Kai. Despite everything, Kai deserved to know. Maybe once Kai understood, things would change. Maybe the person who'd held him that night at the lake house, who'd said he loved him, was still somewhere inside. Maybe this baby would make him remember what they'd had.
Adrian clung to that hope like a drowning person clings to driftwood.
On Thursday afternoon, Adrian finally worked up the courage. He'd rehearsed what he would say a thousand times. He would be calm, rational. He would tell Kai about the pregnancy and give him a chance to respond. They would figure this out together.
He waited after school in the hallway near Kai's locker, his heart pounding so hard he felt dizzy. The positive test was in his bag—proof, in case Kai didn't believe him. Students flowed past him, laughing and talking, completely unaware that Adrian's entire world was about to change.
Then he heard voices. Kai's voice, along with Marcus and Theo and the others. They were coming down the hallway from the gym, still in their athletic clothes from practice, laughing about something. Adrian's stomach clenched, but he stood his ground. He had to do this.
As they got closer, Adrian opened his mouth to call out to Kai. But then Marcus's words stopped him cold.
"So Mercer, you actually did it. Fifty thousand dollars. Not bad for a few weeks of slumming with the scholarship nerd."
Adrian's blood turned to ice. He pressed himself against the lockers, suddenly desperate not to be seen.
Kai laughed—actually laughed—and the sound was like a knife to Adrian's heart. "Please. The nerd was so desperate for attention, it was almost too easy. I barely had to try."
"I still can't believe you told him you loved him," Theo said, his voice full of amusement. "That's cold, man. Even for you."
"They always want to hear it," Kai replied, his tone casual and cruel in a way that made Adrian want to vomit. "Fers are so predictable. Give them a little attention, say the magic words, and they'll give you anything you want."
Marcus whistled low. "And that weekend at the lake house? You really sealed the deal. Did he actually cry?"
"A little. It was kind of pathetic, honestly." More laughter from Kai. "But hey, fifty grand is fifty grand. Worth a few uncomfortable hours."
Adrian's vision was blurring. His legs felt like they might give out. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening.
"You should have seen his face at school Monday," Theo added. "Standing there in the cafeteria like a lost puppy. I almost felt bad for him. Almost."
"Don't," Kai said firmly. "He knew what he was. Knew he wasn't in our league. If he was stupid enough to believe someone like me would actually want someone like him, that's on him."
"Still, kind of harsh just cutting him off completely," Marcus said, though he didn't sound particularly sympathetic. "The guy texts you like fifty times a day."
"I blocked his number." Kai's voice was utterly indifferent. "Look, it was a bet. It's over. He needs to move on and stop being so clingy."
They were getting closer now. In seconds they would turn the corner and see Adrian standing there. Adrian couldn't let that happen. Couldn't let them see him break. He pushed off the lockers and ran, his bag bouncing against his hip, tears streaming down his face.
Behind him, someone said, "Was that—?"
But Adrian didn't stop to hear more. He ran through the hallways, past startled students, out the front doors into the parking lot. He ran until his lungs burned and his legs ached, until he was blocks away from the school and had to stop, doubled over, gasping for air.
A bet. It had all been a bet. Fifty thousand dollars to sleep with the scholarship nerd. Every smile, every touch, every whispered word of love—all of it had been a lie. A performance for money.
And Adrian had believed every second of it.
He sank down onto a bus stop bench, his whole body shaking. In his bag, the pregnancy test felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. How could he tell Kai now? How could he tell anyone? Kai didn't love him. Had never loved him. Had been laughing about him with his friends, calling him desperate and pathetic and clingy.
The bus came and went. Adrian sat there as the sun set, as the temperature dropped, as the world moved on around him. His phone buzzed with texts from his parents asking where he was, but he couldn't bring himself to answer.
Finally, as darkness fell completely, Adrian stood on shaking legs. He walked to the nearest trash can and pulled out the pregnancy test. For a long moment, he stared at those two pink lines. Then he shoved it back into his bag.
No. He wouldn't throw it away. This baby was real, even if Kai's love hadn't been. This baby was his, and he would protect it. But Kai would never know. Kai didn't deserve to know. Kai had made it abundantly clear what he thought of Adrian—pathetic, desperate, not worth even basic human decency.
Adrian would raise this baby alone. Somehow, he would figure it out. But Kai Mercer would never have the chance to hurt his child the way he'd hurt Adrian.
The decision settled over him like a weight, but also like armor. He had a purpose now. A reason to survive this.
He walked to the bus stop and waited for the one that would take him home. His phone kept buzzing—his parents were worried now. He finally texted back: "I'm okay. Coming home soon. Just needed to think."
On the bus, Adrian placed his hand over his stomach. "I don't know how we're going to do this," he whispered. "But I promise you, I'll love you enough for both parents. You'll never feel unwanted. Never."
The baby couldn't hear him, of course. Was barely the size of a grain of rice at this point. But the promise felt sacred anyway.
When he got home, his parents were waiting at the door, relief and concern warring on their faces.
"Where have you been?" his mer father demanded. "We were about to call the police!"
"I'm sorry. I just... I needed to clear my head." Adrian's voice was hollow even to his own ears.
His fer father studied him carefully. "Adrian, what's wrong? And don't say nothing. We can see something's been eating at you for weeks."
Adrian looked at his parents—good, kind people who'd worked hard their entire lives to give him opportunities they'd never had. People who'd supported his dreams and believed in him. People he was about to disappoint in the worst possible way.
"Can we sit down?" he asked quietly. "I need to tell you something."
They sat at the kitchen table, the same table where Adrian had eaten breakfast every morning of his life. His mer father held his fer father's hand, both of them looking worried.
Adrian took a deep breath. There was no easy way to say this. No way to soften the blow.
"I'm pregnant," he said.
The silence was deafening. His fer father's hand flew to his mouth. His mer father's face went pale.
"How far along?" his fer father finally asked, his voice shaking.
"About six weeks, I think."
"Who's the father?" His mer father's voice was harder now, protective. "Adrian, did someone hurt you? Was this forced?"
"No. It was consensual. I was just... stupid." Adrian's voice cracked. "I thought he loved me. I thought we were together. But it was all a lie. A bet, actually. His friends bet him fifty thousand dollars to sleep with me, and he did, and now he pretends I don't exist."
His fer father made a sound like he'd been punched. "Oh, sweetheart."
"Who is he?" his mer father demanded. "Give me his name. His family will pay for this. They'll—"
"No." Adrian's voice was firm despite his tears. "I don't want anything from him. I don't want him anywhere near this baby. He made it clear what he thinks of me. I won't subject my child to that. To him."
"Adrian, you're seventeen," his fer father said gently. "You have your whole life ahead of you. There are options—"
"I'm keeping the baby." Adrian's hand went to his stomach protectively. "I know it's not ideal. I know it ruins everything. But I'm keeping it. I have to."
His parents looked at each other, having one of those silent conversations that came from years of marriage. Finally, his mer father sighed deeply and reached across the table to take Adrian's hand.
"Then we'll figure it out," he said. "Together. You're not alone in this, Adrian. You'll never be alone."
His fer father nodded, tears streaming down his face. "We'll support you. Whatever you need. This baby will be loved and cared for."
Adrian broke down completely, sobbing into his arms on the table. His parents moved to either side of him, holding him, whispering reassurances. And for the first time since that terrible weekend, Adrian felt like maybe, just maybe, he could survive this.
He had his parents. He had this baby growing inside him. And he had a new purpose: to build a life where Kai Mercer and his cruelty couldn't touch them.
It wasn't the future he'd dreamed of. But it was the future he had. And he would make it work.