You''re different from them...
Winona''s heart skipped a beat.
She stared at him for a few seconds before her calm expression returned. "How am I different?"
Keaton''s lips moved, but no sound came out.
Winona smiled, her tone gentle. "I''m just like them. There''s no difference."
Keaton insisted, his brow furrowed, "You''re not!"
Winona: "..."
After a moment of silence, Winona spoke again.
"As far as I''m concerned, what happenedst night is over. I''m not going to dwell on
it. If you''re thinking about taking responsibility for me, forget it. I don''t need it. If you
want me to take responsibility for you, just tell me how."
Keaton looked down at her. "It''s my responsibility."
Winona chuckled. "I told you, I don''t need you to be responsible."
Keaton''s voice was urgent. "From now on...''
Winona cut him off, her tone breezy. "It''s up to you. If you want to stay friends, we
can still be good friends. We just have to forget aboutst night."
"If you think it''s too awkward and you don''t want to see me again, that''s fine too. We
can go our separate ways and never look back. I''m okay with either."
Keaton''s face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang.
Winona forcefully pulled her arm from his grasp.
"Go answer your phone. I''m borrowing your clothes for now. I''ll wash them and return themter. Oh, and let''s keep this quiet."
With that, she put on her shoes, sunsses, and a mask. She pulled the hood of the sweatshirt over her head, opened the door, and walked out.
Keaton stood there stunned for a long moment before finally chasing after her.
But outside the vi, there was no trace of Winona...
He went back inside, ignoring the iing call from his mother to dial Winona first.
It went straight to voicemail.
He didn''t know if her phone had died or if she had deliberately turned it off, but either way, he was in a foul mood.
Logically, Winona not making a big deal out of it was the best possible oue, yet he didn''t feel happy at all.
He couldn''t quite name the feeling, but it was deeply unsettling.
It felt as if a huge chunk of his heart had been carved out...
His phone rang again. This time it was Booker Murphy.
Keaton answered. "What?!"
"Damn, what''s with the attitude? Freaking out about the kid?"
"What kid?"
Booker yelled, "Don''t you y dumb with me! My mom said you''re pregnant!"
Keaton rolled his eyes. "Why didn''t your mom say you were pregnant?"
Booker rified, "No, my mom said your *girlfriend* is pregnant. Because of this my parents won''t
stop nagging me, saying how they
wish could give them a surprise like that. They''re so jealous of your
parents they could cry!"
"You used to be their favorite bad example, and now, what do you know, you''re the
golden boy! They''re telling me to learn from you!"
"Windham is getting an earful at
home to His parents told him if he doesn''t produce a grandkid by next year, they''re donating the entire Windham family fortune and not
leaving him a single cent!"
"You''re a real piece of work, man. You didn''t even give us a heads-up about something this huge. Are we even friends?"
Keaton waspletely baffled. "What the hell are you rambling about?!"
Booker sounded offended. "You''re unbelievable! We tell you all our secrets, but you
keep something as big as having a kid from us!"
"I''m not keeping anything from you!"
"Bullshit! The entire high society circle knows about it! And we''re thest ones to find out!"
Keaton: "..."
His girlfriend was pregnant?
That could only mean Winona.
He always used protection with other girls. Butst night, those two times downstairs with Winona, they been in such a rush that they hadn''t had time to go upstairs for a condom. They''d just gone for it.
So, if anyone was pregnant with his child, it had to be Winona!
But they''d only slept togetherst night. There was no way she could be pregnant this fast!
A rumor. This was a pure, unadulterated rumor.
Keaton''s face was grim. "Who the hell did you hear this from?"