“That sucks,” Quinn says.

“You okay?” I ask MB.

“That man.” She shakes her head. “Nevermind. Don’t worry about it. That is sad.”

I frown and get out of the car. MB follows with Quinn to my right.

“Let’s go.” I grab MB’s hand, and we walk to the doors.

“I need to talk to you.” Tessa’s voice cracks as her eyes search between all of us, finally falling on the phone still in my left hand like she knows I know. “It’s important.”

I don’t want to give in; Quinn shakes his head slowly.

“Please.” Tessa reaches for me; I jerk back, irritated she would even think she has the right to touch me. “It’s like, life or death, Ambrose, I wouldn’t ask, but—“ A tear falls from her cheek, sliding down past her jaw and onto the concrete.

Fuck.

I turn to Quinn. “Take care of MB. I’ll be right in.”

I can tell he wants to say something, but he puts an arm around MB and leads her protectively into the school while Tessa motions for me to walk through the parking lot.

We get to her Jeep; she gets in the driver’s side, and I get in the passenger’s side.

The doors lock, and I assume that it’s for more privacy, but she starts the engine.

Frowning, I put on my seatbelt. “Are you helping me skip school or what?”

Her smile seems almost sad. “Something like that.”

We pull out of the parking lot, and immediately I feel sick to my stomach. Something feels almost too calm, too normal.

“Music?” She asks, turning up the dial while Imagine Dragons plays in the background.

I lean away from her, and for whatever reason, I call Quinn and keep the phone on next to my right side. “What’s this about?”

“Has he told you yet?”

“Who?”

“Quinn.” She takes a sharp left. “About getting me pregnant? About ruining my life? His dad ruining our family after the payout because of that stupid harmless video?”

I shake my head. “Your dad was embezzling money from his own law firm and got caught. As far as the video, that was complete shit. You don’t just drug two underage kids and get away with it. As for Quinn getting you pregnant…” I feel like I’m going to be sick. “No, I didn’t know; he didn’t tell me.”

“He was ashamed of us.”

I’m silent because, in my head, I’m thinking he felt like he had no other choice, no wonder he stayed with her.

“Dad said to keep him close since I had dirt on you guys, and surprise, on top of that, the golden child gets me pregnant after having really shitty drunken sex one time.”

Bile rises in my throat. “Is that what you needed to tell me?”

She makes a hard right, then another, hitting the accelerator like she’s trying out for NASCAR. I hold on for dear life and look down. Quinn’s still on the line. I try to switch to text but don’t want her to see.