Walking through campus, I keep my head down. The Advil has done as much for my headache as the saltine crackers the school nurse gives you for a broken arm. If there's one thing I don't want right now, it's to make small talk with some shithead who thinks we're friends simply because Z and I throw the best parties.
My only mission is to get to my class, where I can fall back asleep listening to the monotone voice of my professor as he drones on about the fundamentals of programming and problem solving. And yet, when I get most of the way there, I quite literally crash right into someone else.
Books fly out of the girl’s hand and land among mine on the ground.
“I'm so sorry,” I say, but as I look up, I notice Kennedy staring back at me.
Shit.
I've been trying to stay out of her way. I mean, Tessa found happiness after me, and then I practically destroyed her by trying to get her back. I'd rather die than do the same thing to Kennedy, so if she's happy with Alec, I'll force myself to be happy for her.
She stares back at me, clearly in shock as I quickly pick up her books and hand them to her. As she takes them from me, our hands touch, and my body reacts to the feel of her skin on my own.
The same way it always has.
The same way it always will.
Seeing her now, my body hurts—literally yearns to pull her back into my arms and just hold her there, never letting her go. But I can't let myself do that. Not anymore.
I go to walk away, to leave her alone like I swore to myself I would, but she stops me with a call of my name.
“I actually need to talk to you about something,” she says with a sigh.
The air around me feels too thick, standing here with her, but I swallow it down. “Everything okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I guess,” she mutters, looking anywhere except back at me. “I, uh...fuck.”
A part of me wonders if she's just trying to keep me around. Keep my attention on her. Like ignoring her the past week was drawing her back to me. But if I've learned anything the last week, it's that she's better off without me.
Where I can't ruin her life.
Letting out a huff, I know I'm going to hate myself for this. “Can you just say what it is you want to say? I have places to be.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “It's not that simple.”
“Sure it is. Your mouth forms words, and you say them,” I spit. “Just tell me.”
“Easton,” she breathes, and I'm even more sure she just wants to keep me here as long as possible.
I roll my eyes. “Fuck it, then. I've got to go.”
“I'm pregnant,” she announces, freezing up as she realizes the way she just blurted out that crucial information. “According to the doctor, about twelve weeks.”
Her words hit me right in the chest.
Pregnant.
She's pregnant.
And twelve weeks means it's mine. There's no way it can't be, unless she cheated. No. Kennedy is a lot of things, but a cheater is not one of them. That only leaves one person to be the father.
Me.
“Y-you're...”
Everything starts to spin as the reality sets in that I'm going to be a father. The nausea from my hangover builds in my throat and threatens to bubble over. I try to hold it back. Try to keep it in. But there's nothing I can do.
It all happens in a millisecond. I attempt to turn away but she puts her hand on my arm, keeping me in place as she looks at me in bewilderment.
I'm stuck.
There's nowhere to go.
Nothing I can do.
And that's when it goes wrong.
I bend over, emptying the contents of my stomach all over the ground and Kennedy's favorite pair of boots. She gasps, holding her books close to her chest and not looking down for a moment. She doesn't need to. It’s no mystery as to what just happened.
“Fuck,” I groan. “Kennedy, I am so sorry.”
“It's fine,” she snips, showing it's most definitely not fine.
As she takes a step away, I stop her. “At least let me help you clean up.”
“No,” she barks. “Trust me. You've done enough.”
With that, she practically runs back toward her dorm, not sparing so much as a glance back at me.
I fucked up again.

Kelsey Clayton is an internationally selling author of Contemporary Romance novels. She lives in a small town in Delaware with her husband, two kids, and dog.
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She is an avid reader of fall hard romance. She believes that books are the best escape you can find, and that if you feel a range of emotions while reading her stories - she succeeded. She loves writing and is only getting started on this life long journey.
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Kelsey likes to keep things in her life simple. Her ideal night is one with sweatpants, a fluffy blanket, cheese fries, and wine. She holds her friends and family close to her heart and would do just about anything to make them happy.

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