‘Bugger off!’ I snapped before getting a proper look at who was entering.
Without a word, three Year Four girls beat a hasty retreat. Misty straightened to wipe the back of her hand across her face.
‘Are you OK, Misty?’
‘No. Not even close,’ she replied miserably.
‘Does Tobey know?’
‘No one does – except you.’
Oh. My. God!
Misty’s pregnant.
Tobey’s going to be a dad.
I felt like I’d been dropped down a mineshaft and was still falling. But this wasn’t about me. Not any more.
‘Misty, you need to tell him,’ I said. ‘He has the right to know.’
Misty’s tears were flowing faster now. ‘He’ll think I did it on purpose.’
Didn’t you?
A stab of bitter anger impaled me. In that moment, I loathed Misty. Despised her. She had to know Tobey had only got with her to get back at me. Why didn’t she just say no? Didn’t she have any pride? And now she was a bomb thrown between Tobey and me, blasting us so far apart, it felt like no force on earth could put us back together again.
Another look at Misty’s unhappy face and the anger didn’t die, but it did take a step or two back. Her misery was real. Whatever it was she’d set out to do, this wasn’t it.
‘Whatever you decide to do, you should tell Tobey,’ I said. ‘He’ll stand by you.’
‘No, he won’t.’
‘Well, he won’t if you don’t give him a chance,’ I said. ‘You can’t go through this alone, Misty. You’ve got to tell him.’
‘He’ll hate me.’
He wouldn’t be alone. I closed my eyes briefly and swallowed hard to bank down the roil of desperate hatred I felt inside. Only when I trusted that I had my true feelings under control did I open my eyes.
‘Tobey needs to know. He deserves that much.’
A moment, then Misty nodded. There we stood, Misty and I, watching each other. And what I felt about her in that exact moment scared me. Actually scared me.
forty-three. Tobey
* * *
The moment the end-of-lesson buzzer sounded, Callie had been one of the first out of the classroom. I was the last. Two days ago, Sammi – Callie’s good friend – had taken me to one side and put me straight. ‘Listen! If you want Callie to forgive you, you need to back off. The more you push, the more she’ll dig her heels in. Give her a chance to cool off and miss you.’
‘Why’re you offering me advice?’ I couldn’t help asking. ‘You’re not exactly my number-one fan.’
Eyes narrowed, Sammi looked me up and down, confirming my words. ‘My girl is hurting, and if the only one who can stop that is you, then I’ll do whatever I can to get you back together.’
For the first time in weeks, I felt a spark of hope.
‘You’d do that for me? Really?’ I asked.
‘I wouldn’t do a damn thing for you, Tobias Durbridge. You’re a twenty-four-carat ass hat. I’m doing this for Callie.’ Sammi was as blunt as ever. ‘She might eventually forgive you, she might not – but you’ve got to back off. No more text messages or trying to speak to her. OK? All that’s doing is pissing her off.’
‘You think?’
‘I know,’ said Sammi. ‘You two are good for each other, much as it pains me to say it, but it’s not gonna happen if you don’t stop with the crazed-stalker act.’
‘Consider it stopped.’
And I meant it.
Two of the longest days of my life had passed since then. I could only hope that Sammi knew what she was talking about and was really on board with Callie and me getting back together.
‘Tobey, I need to speak to you.’
I looked up, then sighed. For Shaka’s sake, couldn’t this bitch leave me alone?
‘Not now, Misty.’ I gathered up the last of my things, stuffing them into my rucksack.
No, I didn’t want another date. No, I didn’t want to hook up. It wouldn’t bother me if I never spoke to Misty again. Shouldn’t she have got the message by now? I really didn’t need any drama today. And, besides, if I were to stand any chance of getting Callie to forgive me, I needed to stay away from Misty. After bolloxing things up so badly already, I wasn’t about to do it again. That was a hard lesson I’d finally learned. I headed for the door.
‘Tobey, I’m pregnant.’
All the clocks in the world stopped. The earth stopped orbiting the sun. Time itself ceased to exist. My blood was dry ice in my veins. I turned slowly. ‘What?’
‘I’m pregnant.’
I stared. My mind began to whirl though I stood absolutely still. Frozen. I must’ve misheard, right? I was asleep and dreaming – no … having the worst nightmare of my life. Did Misty say she was pregnant?
‘You’re what?’
‘I’m pregnant.’
‘Whose is it?’ I asked.
Misty’s eyes widened. ‘It’s yours, Tobey.’ At my sceptical look, she repeated angrily, ‘It’s yours.’
‘Are you sure?’
Oh God …
‘I haven’t been with anyone since you and I had our first date together,’ she said.
‘Why the hell didn’t you use something?’
‘Why didn’t you?’ Misty shot back at me.
NO! The word was an explosion in my head.
I stared at her, mere moments away from being physically sick. My stomach was churning; my heart hammered at my ribs for release. Saliva filled my mouth. I was actually going to vomit.
Misty was pregnant …
I swallowed hard, then again. And again. My plans, my world, my whole life was circling round the plughole.
‘You’re going to have an abortion, right?’
Misty’s eyes narrowed. ‘I haven’t decided yet.’
‘You can’t seriously be thinking of keeping it,’ I argued.
I knew I was being a douche sack, but the shock of Misty’s revelation was still pummelling me. Hell, I didn’t know what I was saying. I just wanted … I wanted to get back my life as of five minutes ago. Five minutes ago was pretty shitty, but it was la dolce vita compared to now. Oh hell, I just wanted Callie as my girlfriend again. I wanted my old life back and to reclaim my sanity. All those things were floating away from me like helium balloons.
‘Tobey, couldn’t we … I mean, couldn’t the two of us try to make this work? We’re going to have a child. We could maybe try living together—’
‘And live off what?’ I asked. ‘I don’t have the money to look after you and a child. Are you kidding? All my money is gone, if that’s what you’re banking on. And I have plans. I’m going to university. I’m going to be a lawyer. Nowhere in that scenario is there room for a baby.’
Oh God …
‘Then you should’ve used a condom,’ Misty said bitterly. ‘I can’t believe you’re talking to me like this. Have you even taken a second to think about how I feel?’
I stared at her. Truth to tell, no, I hadn’t. But there was no room in my mind for what she might be going through. Oh my God! What was Mum going to do? She was going to kick my arse, that’s what. Misty had to have an abortion. Didn’t she see that it would ruin both our lives if she didn’t? No. All she could see in front of her was some stupid fantasy she’d built up in her head. A fantasy where she and I skipped off into the sunset, hand in hand, and played happy families. Wasn’t gonna happen. Ever.