Hiding was hard

Mallory

Hiding a pregnancy wasn't easy.

Not when I lived under the same roof as my parents, not when my father had eyes like a hawk and a gut feeling that never failed him. Not when AJ was annoyingly observant, always clocking when something was off with me.

But I was doing it.

I was nearly five months along, and no one had a clue.

The school uniform helped. My blazer covered everything, and my skirts weren't tight enough to show the tiny change in my stomach. I made sure to be the first up in the mornings so I could sneak into the bathroom before anyone noticed me getting sick. At dinner, I picked at my food just enough so Da wouldn't comment on my appetite.

But the exhaustion? That was harder to hide.

"Jesus, Mal, you look like shit, babe."

I shot Serena a glare as I dropped into my seat across from her at lunch. "Thanks."

"I mean it," she said, frowning. "Are you sleeping at all?"

I shrugged, reaching for my water bottle. "Not really."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're not partying, are ya?"

I nearly choked on my drink. "What?"

"Just making sure," she said, leaning back. "You and Kian break up, you tell him about the baby, and suddenly you're all moody and bitchy. I don't want you going off the rails or anything."

I forced a laugh. If only she knew.

"I'm fine, Rena."

She didn't look convinced, but she let it go, moving on to some story about some kid in Conor's year who tried to hit on her, much to his dismay. I nodded along, pretending to listen, but my mind was elsewhere.

I still hadn't figured out what I was going to do.

I had a few months before I'd start showing properly, but after that? There'd be no hiding it. No avoiding the inevitable.

Da was going to find out.

AJ was going to find out.

Everyone was going to find out.

And when they did, everything would change.