EXCEPTional

Ch. 26 (Bridget)

*Bridget*

I wasn't calm about it. At all. In fact, I was freaking out about it. What did he mean, everyone now thought I was pregnant with his child? Didn't they realize we were joking? Well, we were pretty convincing, but that's beside the point.

As Sheila and I shopped, my mind focused on the news Chance had shared with me. When we sat down for snacks, my side of the conversation sorely lacked because I was so distracted. But Sheila was enough of a chatterbox that she didn't seem to notice. Or she did but decided not to mention anything.

After our snack break, we did more shopping. And I tried to focus on the racks of clothes in front of me. But clothes shopping had never been an interest of mine. In fact, I found it rather boring and taxing. However, Sheila had wanted to upgrade her wardrobe, so here I was.

Whenever we stood at the checkout, that was when my mind would return to the subject of my supposed pregnancy. And then I would start to freak out internally.

My main worry was, what if my name was mentioned? Or they had a picture of me? I didn't want that kind of publicity. I didn't want any kind of attention like that. I wasn't the type of person who did well in the spotlight. I just wanted to go about my life without that kind of worry.

But then Chance Olson had to show up. He had to come back, five years later, with his perfect jawline and muscles and green eyes. He had to come back, looking the way he did, and looking for me. And I had to go along with his crazy plans. I just had to let him sneak into my life. And I just had to go and fall for him.

My worry escalated into anger, which of course was directed at Chance. Why did he come back? Why did he want to see me? Why did he decide to make a joke about the whole pregnancy thing?

Sheila wanted dinner at home, mostly because she was in the mood for pizza. So we headed back to her apartment, Sheila with her four bags of clothes and me with one that held an oversized Batman T-shirt.

As soon as we were inside, I raced to my room and slammed the door shut behind me. I tossed the bag to the floor, kicked off my shoes, and raced to my desk. I threw my jacket onto my bed as I settled into my chair, and I booted up my laptop.

While I waited for my laptop to wake up, Sheila knocked at my door. She asked through it, "Hey, Bee, you okay?"

I shouted back, "Yeah, I'm fine." That was a lie. I was actually freaking out. "I just wanted to check something out."

"Oh, okay," she replied hesitantly. "You just ran here like a bat out of hell, so you had me worried."

"I'm fine," I repeated, trying to sound reassuring.

"Okay," she allowed. "Well, I'm going to heat up the pizza. So feel free to come out whenever you want."

By the time our exchange had ended, my laptop had woken up. I turned to it, logged in, and went on the Internet. I searched, "Chance Olson pregnancy scandal," and an alarming amount of articles came up.

Biting my lip, I clicked on the one I thought would contain the most information about me. I read through it with my heart in my throat.

"Have you heard? Everyone's talking about it. Chance Olson might be a dad! We're as shocked as you are.

"Chance Olson was spotted at Wine Gardens, an Italian restaurant in Brimwell, with a new woman on his arm. The couple was polite, until his companion informed the model she was carrying his child. According to eyewitness reports, Chance Olson didn't deny sleeping with the woman, but he did seem hesitant to take responsibility.