Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 31: The Reason

Stacy

--What Happened Two Years Ago--

"Oliver, I need to tell you something," I began carefully, digging my nails into my green and yellow skirt, the standard skirt of Pines Academy female seniors. Graduation was in a few months' time, and one potentially life-changing suspicion was creeping over my body like spiders.

I had texted him the night before, telling him to meet me at the school garden, which was located right outside the campus cafeteria. The garden was always secluded in the mornings, in contrast to the chaotic afternoons, where dozens of students opted to jam and lounge on the lush, green grass and marble benches under the generous shade of ancient oak trees.

"Is it serious? You're making me nervous,fruitcake," said Oliver, sounding anxious as he called me by my nickname he created: Fruitcake, because that was how our friendship-turned-more than friendship--started. We had fought over the last slice of fruitcake in the canteen, incited a scene, got two hours of detention for messing up the floor with fruitcake, and we spent those two hours arguing, slowly fading into heated flirtation, and gradually ending with him asking me out to our first date--the first of many.

One of the great things about Oliver Aragon--he wasn't a jock. He wasn't even a heartthrob on campus, no. Everyone liked Oliver, guys and girls alike, and in between because his charisma was without parallel. He was the kind of person you couldn't hate no matter what. And everyone knew he was the ideal boyfriend--sweet, loyal, and thoughtful, and to cap it off, his sex appeal was hard to ignore. He wasn't even half-trying but already I wanted to kiss him like crazy when I got into detention with him.

Who wouldn't fall for one Oliver Aragon? His sepia-brown hair fell onto his deep brown eyes, his bright smile was contagious, and whenever he talked, nobody could resist listening to his voice all day--his husky, velvety voice suited for an actor.

So when he asked me to be his girlfriend, I had felt like the luckiest girl in Pines Academy.

Of course I wasn't blind to my own charms and assets. Everybody on campus, including the ones who hated me, considered me as the prettiest senior in school, what with my luscious blonde tresses, my oval-shaped face, full lips, long lashes, a spray of freckles over my pointed nose, American contours, and slim figure blessed with full curves and long limbs, there was no doubt why I worked successfully as a part-time model for magazines and billboards.

I stared straight into Oliver's dark brown eyes. "Do you love me?" I asked him.

Oliver reached for my hand sitting on my lap and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "I love you," he answered passionately. "Of course I love you, fruitcake. Why are you asking me this?"

"You love me.. no matter what?" I asked, ignoring his question.

My boyfriend watched me closely, his hand still clutching mine on my lap.

"Fruitcake..?"

I tightened my fingers threaded with his. Then, I glanced up at him. "Oliver.. I think I'm pregnant," I told him, surprised at the steadiness in my voice. But what also surprised me was the tremble in Oliver's fingers. My hand was firm and still, but his was shaking like a mild earthquake.

His handsome face lost all its color. "You're pregnant?" he asked quietly.

"I think I am," I confided to him before I pressed my lips together, willing myself no to cry in front of my boyfriend. "It's been two weeks since.." I trailed off. "Since that night, and I haven't gotten my.." I trailed off again, but I knew he caught the gist of what I was trying to tell him.

When I lifted my sky blue eyes to meet his dark brown orbs, I was taken aback by what I saw. Oliver was looking at me like I was a problem he didn't want to take care of.