Complete Chaos

016

The weekend was over, and Monday rolled around quickly for Julia.

Julia's father had kicked her out of the house, and he hadn't apologized or looked for her. Even if he did apologize, she didn't know if she would take the apology and go back to the house. She told herself she wouldn't go back to that place, and she was planning on doing that.

Steve was nice enough to let her stay the weekend at his house, but she needed to find a place to stay.

She knew she could stay with Kim, but she didn't want to take advantage of Mr. and Mrs. Bell's generosity; they had been like second parents to her, but she didn't want to be a bother or make them feel as if she was using them.

She needed to find a good stable place to live before the baby was born. Finding a job would help her out too. She didn't have money to pay for rent or even food. She was stressing out, which wasn't good for the baby or her health.

While Julia was trapped in her mind worrying, Steve was beside her driving them to school. He could see there was something wrong with Julia by the way her mouth was in a frown, her eyebrows were furrowed; and she hadn't blinked for almost two minutes.

He focused on the road and then looked back at Julia. He moved his hand and gently placed it on her left thigh. "Julia," he softly called after her. Julia blinked rapidly and looked around as if she had forgotten where she was.

Her mouth felt dry as she said, "Yeah." she looked at Steve and then at his hand that was gently caressing her thigh. "Are you okay? I thought I lost you there for a second." His tone was hazed with concern. He looked at her, giving her a warm smile.

She focused on his hand and the way it made her heart speed, "I'm good," she responded, not making eye contact with him.

Steve noticed how she was looking at his hand and started to blush. He took his hand away and put it back on the steering wheel, thinking he was making Julia uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat and looked ahead as he got closer to the school building "you know you can stay at my place as long as you need, right."

Quickly she turned her face to stare at him, relief washing over her face "are you sure," she asked questionably.

She didn't want him to think that she was using him "of course, Julia. I'll feel relaxed knowing that you and the baby are safe, and I promise you. I'll be there for you, whatever you need. I was serious about that."

She smiled, looking down a tint of pink lightly showing on her cheeks. "Thank you," she responded.

Steve parked close to the high school building. Julia got her bag that was placed next to her feet, got out of the car, and quietly said goodbye to Steve. Without waiting for Steve, she walked down the parking lot.

There were small groups of friends talking with each other. Billy was leaning against his car with a cigarette between his fingers. He winked at her as she paced him. She ignored him and continued walking.

"Hey Julia, wait up," Steve called after her. A group of girls stopped talking and stared at them.

Julia slowed down as Steve followed her. "I'll wait for you in the car after school," Steve said, holding her wrist.

She had her first appointment after school. Steve didn't want to miss it, and he had offered to take her, and it was more convenient since they both lived in the same house.

For their classmates, they were an odd pair.

Steve was popular, and everyone wanted to be around him, and Julia was well known around the school, but she wasn't considered as popular. 

Some people even considered her weird for enjoying school. Everyone knew Steve didn't do good in school. They were total opposites.

Rumor has it that she's the reason why Steve no longer hangs out with his friend Tommy; what they don't know is that Steve was the one that stopped talking to him because he realized he could find a better friend.

Not only were the girls now whispering and pointing at them, but more people had stopped talking, wanting to listen to their conversation.

Julia noticed and took a step back from Steve "yeah, I'll see you later." She knew people were going to start talking about them and make up some crazy rumors. She wasn't ready to deal with that just yet. It was impossible to stay out of her classmates' radar; it would be just a matter of time until they figured it out. She wanted to keep this little secret hidden for a little longer.

◦ ◦ ◦

Classes ended, and for that day, Julia didn't feel like throwing up.

A few of her classmates would stare at her while she was walking to her classes. She tried her best to ignore them.

As she walked through the parking lot, she noticed a few people staring at her and looking at her up and down, judging her.

She discreetly looked down at her stomach and wondered if they knew her secret. She gently pulled her shirt away from her stomach just in case her bump was showing without her knowing.

"Julia, are you alright," a voice said, approaching her, grabbing her shoulder gently.

She looked up and was face to face with Steve. His hair was in perfect form, and he had a boyish grin that she was starting to enjoy.

He tilted his head to the side, watching her with concern. She smiled at him, but he knew her smile wasn't genuine.

"Have you noticed that people are watching us," she whispered, leaning closer to him.

He shrugged "people are always looking at me," he answered honestly. He didn't care that people were looking at him; as the years went by, he got used to it.

Clearly, Julia wasn't a fan; she hugged herself and looked down at her shoes.

"Did someone say anything to you? Did someone bother you," he asked quickly, looking around. It could be anyone.

She shook her head "it's the way they are looking at me," she whispered as she was sharing a secret with Steve. "It makes me uncomfortable. You would think that I'm used to people staring at me at every game, but this is different," she explained.

She exhaled, looking down again, "I can only imagine what they will say once they find out about you know what." She didn't want to say the word out loud for people to hear. She was honestly still processing her condition; it didn't feel real.

"About you being pregnant," he said.

Julia's eyes widened, and she placed her hand on his mouth "shut up, do you want the whole school to know," she said frantically, looking around.

A few students who weren't looking at the pair were now looking at them by the way that Julia reacted.

Steve mumbled something but Julia couldn't understand him since her hand was still on his mouth.

She moved her hand away, "I'm sorry, Julia," he apologized, looking at her with soft eyes. "Let's just go."

He nodded "we don't want to be late" he opened the passenger door for her.

She got in the car, set her bag by her feet, and put on her seatbelt. Steve got inside the car and drove off.