Time flew by after  Bella's birthday. The entire Marcus episode became a load on her heart, and eventually, thoughts of him slipped away from her but still a compulsion for her. Always beside her at school, helping her across the awkward bylanes of her social life was Riley. 

Right now, Ava was at her usual place in class, right next to Riley. She just stared, her eyes drawn blank at the notebook just in front of her. The words merged, and none of them made sense. 

There came a thud when the door was slammed open against the wall. Ava flinched with the sound. Mark entered and was a sight of red rage. All heads turned to him in the classroom.

"Ava! You have to listen to me!" he bellowed. His voice echoed along the room.

Ava froze, a pen slipping from her fingers. Her heart raced, while the adrenaline pumped through her body, sending her stomach into knots. At that moment, he was all but impossible to ignore as his looming presence seemed to shrink the room. 

"Uh-huh. I don't want to talk," said Ava in a low voice as she got up. She merely stepped another half toward Riley like somehow this suddenly made her unpopular and so she tried avoiding it.

But that was of no use to Mark. He strode a huge step toward her, thumping a finger onto her. "You have to take me back, Ava! I am begging you! And you owe Bella an apology! You humiliated her at her party, and you wrecked everything!" 

Ava's complexion turned red-hot. She readied her mouth to say something; nothing came out. 

Immediately, Riley had jumped in between Ava and Mark. "Back off, Mark!" she growled. "Ava doesn't owe you or Bella anything. You were cheating on her; this is on you, not her!" 

Mark swiveled his enraged gaze toward Riley. "You're meddling in matters that are none of your business! You don't get to lecture me!" 

Riley squared her shoulders and answered, "I'm allowed to protect my friend. Now listen to her, or get out!" 

It was altogether chaotic. At the lightest provocation, noise levels peaked and Ava felt extremely sandwiched in between. She never thought she would see Mark so rowdy or so loud or so relentless. With Riley standing her ground, saying sharp and uncompromising things, somehow Ava drew her attention and began to feel very small under it. 

And then the ground tilted beneath her feet. All vision before her started to sway, while all sound lost itself in a high-pitched ringing. Her knees betrayed her, and she felt herself falling over. Riley, quick enough to act by instinct, reached out to grab her just before she hit the ground.

"Ava!" Riley cried out screamingly. Out of panic, she grabbed her belongings, threw them inside her bag, and barged out of the classroom. Whispers filled the halls behind them, but Ava was hardly aware of just how much was happening around her. All she felt was this immediate emptiness, this spinning sensation, and, in an instant, the burgeoning wave of unconsciousness crashing down on her. 

Ava sat, trembling, weak, and almost dragged to the floor, in some room at the school nurse's office. "Slow down," said the nurse while helping Ava sit down. Mildly waving the fan as she offered water, she asked, "What happened?" 

"I don't... I don't know," murmured Ava in a tiny voice. "I got dizzy... and just... fell." 

Meanwhile, Riley stood by squeezing her hand. "It's okay, Ava. We'll work it out. Just stay with me." 

"You seem weak and stressed out dear," said the nurse. "How about I give you a referral to the nearest clinic to run some tests so we know what is really wrong with you before it gets out of hand?" she continued. 

"I think that's a good idea." Riley agrees. 

"Alright then, give me a few minutes as I  prepare the referral form for you." With that, the nurse walked out. 

She soon came back with the referral form. 

Riley helped Ava out of the school clinic as they made their way to her car. 

They got into the car and headed straight for the hospital. Ava sat in the back carrying her handbag, mind swirling. While she fought with herself as she tried to think of something else. Every thought, however, so often turned back to the events of the night with Marcus weeks back. New thoughts, however, joined the previous ones, especially on what Mark did. It weighed heavily against her chest, much like a dull complaint flashing in her stomach, and really not about fainting.

While Ava leaned back on the bed, looking a little dizzy, the doctor began to examine her completely. The nurse checked her vitals and glided out of the room with a promise to be back soon with the results. Then she held her breath and forced herself into silence in an attempt to calm herself. Beside her, Riley stayed, clutching her hand and seeking to comfort her without words. 

Finally, the doctor entered there, clipboard in hand. His face turned serious, and without doubt, Ava's heart began to pound in her chest. 

"Ava Thompson?" the doctor inquired while looking directly at the girl. 

"Yes," she managed to push out with a little voice. 

The doctor drew in air; "The results are in... You're pregnant." 

Ava's mind went blank. Blinking several times, she could not fathom the information. Beside her, Riley gasped, squeezing her hand till she thought it would break. Ava's stomach twisted with shock, and fear and disbelief swirled together. 

"I... I'm... pregnant?" she intoned, shaking. 

"Yes. You're a few weeks along now. You should schedule follow-up appointments, and then we can meet and discuss with you and your guardian about your options and next steps," the doctor replied. 

She tried to clutch the little bit of shakiness left in her hands about what he told her; however, her mind was in no way blissful. A dozen wild thoughts loomed large in her mind-all concerning Marcus-rushing to last night, the ordeal she wanted to keep under wraps. Mark, Riley, and the thoughts of her parents came back to her too, and suddenly the world started tilting and crashing down. 

Holding on tight to her right hand, Riley was indeed in her moment of staying alive. 

The doctor took a few steps away to give them some privacy. Buried under her hands, Ava managed to process everything that had happened. 

She was pregnant with Marcus's child!

"Ava... who's the father?" Riley asked softly.

Ava flinched at the question. Her stomach was turning, and her hands were clinging to the side of the bed. The words were not able to come out of her mouth.

Marcus...she was unable to say his name. Not now, not ever. It was his thought of him, of that night, of what she had done, that made her chest painfully tight.

It is... it is Mark, she said, but barely above a whisper.

Riley gazed and gaped at her, and a horror and doubtfulness fell on her face. "Mark? Are you serious? You... you slept with him? You allow yourself to get into this position?

"I... I did not intend for it to happen like this," Ava said hastily, shaking her head. "I just... I didn't think properly okay? I wasn't thinking straight."

Riley rubbed a hand down her face and was exasperated. "Ava, you have to be careful! You cannot simply sleep with someone, not like this! Not at the time you are still in school and not before you consider the ramifications! You let your guard down. Didn't you use protection? You should know better!"

"I know!" The voice broke a little, and Ava snapped. I did not wish that it should happen to me!

Riley sat back with a jerk. "We need an adult here, Ava. You're still in school. The baby... the father... everything... this cannot be a one-man job. You need your mother."

Ava was hesitant and her hands were shaky. She churned her stomach at the thought of her mother and of the lecture as well as the anger of Patricia. But she knew Riley was right. She picked up her phone and called home.

"Mom," Ava said, attempting to maintain calmness in her voice. "I'm at the hospital. Can you come get me?"

"Is everything okay?" Patricia questioned instantly with a tense voice.

"Yes... Come... just come,"  Ava answered. She never said anything about the pregnancy, the father, or anything. She could not.

It was only a few moments before Patricia came. She got answers, and she did it at a glance when she entered the room.

"What is going on, Ava? Why am I here?" she enquired, with the voice of authority and concern.

Ava swallowed hard. She may have felt her heart beat in her heart. She turned her head away and did not look at her mother. At last, she talked, and it was little more than a whisper.

"I'm... I'm pregnant," she admitted.

Patricia blanched and her face changed to disbelief. "Pregnant?!" she shouted. "Ava Thompson! How could you? Who... who is the father?"

"... it is Marks," Ava repeated the lie. "But I... I left him. He cheated on me, Mom. That's why I left him."

Patricia flushed with anger. "You left a man... over cheating?" she yelled. "You ran away from him on the grounds of cheating? And now... You are pregnant so young? What do you think will happen now? Do you know how you have humiliated our family?"

Ava shuddered at the words of her mother. She was just about to open her mouth to respond, but Patricia was not done.

You believe that you can afford to make mistakes like this and nothing will happen? My daughter is not going to be a baby mama. Do you hear me?" The voice of Patricia was severe and uncompromising, and reverberated in the hospital room.

"I... Mom... I don't want to..." Ava attempted, but her words failed her.

"You will marry him!" Patricia screamed and her face was hard and set. You will put this mess you have made right. My daughter shall never raise a bastard. And you have to get back with Mark Rivera at once!

Ava's stomach dropped. She shook her head violently. "I... I can't! I don't want to! I can't marry him!"

Patricia's jaw tightened. "No arguments, Ava. You defy me, and you will cause more disgrace to this family than you have already caused. This ends now. You are going to marry him and that is all.

Ava's mind raced. She felt trapped. Her chest was panicking and her hands were trembling. How could she marry Mark? What could she tell... anything? She would have screamed, cried, run, but she made no noise. Her mother was categorical and there was no bargaining.

Riley gave her a squeeze of her hand, which was all she could do to comfort her. "It will be all right," she said to Ava. "We'll figure this out. You're not alone."

Ava smiled weakly, her tears on the verge of bursting out. She was angry, frightened, and helpless simultaneously. The eyes of Patricia remained steady on her, undaunted, unswerving. It was a question of no compromise, no middle ground. It was not the choice of Ava and until then, all she could do was to comply.

Patricia now shifted her gaze to the exit of the room and was content to believe that she had given her verdict successfully. "You will get married, Ava, this is the last time I am going to say it!" her voice was cold and firm. So she walked away with Ava and Riley were left to the emptiness of the hospital room.

The silence that followed was heavy. Ava sat up against the bed, her thoughts whirling. She was caught between the fear and anger over the truth of her pregnancy and the impossible decision her mother had taken on her behalf.

At her elbow sat Riley holding her hand. "We will see this out, Ava," said she. "We'll get through it."

Ava agreed, yet in her heart, she understood that life would never be easy anymore. The Mark lie was established, her cover concerning Marcus still hidden, but now another fight had started--the one that would define her future and make her face decisions that she was not ready to make.

Her thoughts wandered to the window, the sun shining in very mean and sharp. She had a desire to get away, to flee it all but she could not. 

"You will marry him," she said to herself as she remembered listening to Patricia earlier on, and it was on her mind over and over.

Ava was a shadow of her mom as she followed her into the house.

This over-heavy thud of the front door closed behind them, and it was far too noisome in her ears. She weighed her body, as every step was hard. She was still reeling at the hospital, at the thought of the word pregnant and that you will marry him.

Pat didn't ask Ava to sit down.

She placed her handbag on the table in an orderly manner and turned about to look directly at her daughter.

Now, Pat said, calmly but sharply," You are going to do as I tell you to."

Ava swallowed. "Mom"

"No." Pat raised a finger. "You've said enough for today."

Ava closed her mouth. Her hands were shaking next to her.

Pat passed by the girl and began straightening the cushions, which were already straight, adjusting the things that were not necessary. When she was in a temper, that was her job.

"I called a doctor already," Pat went on. "A real one. And not a certain clinic you saw today, you see.

Her heart skipped. "You... you called a doctor?"

Sure, Pat finally turned towards her. "You will have appointments regularly. You won't skip any. I'll come with you."

Ava shook her head weakly. "Mom, I can go alone. I-"

You are not going to do this, Pat said. You have demonstrated that you are not good at making decisions independently.

It was more painful than Ava thought the words would be. Her eyes were stinging, and she did not want to cry. Not now. Not in front of her mom.

Pat took the phone Ava had placed on the table. And this will, she said, remain with me, unless I say the contrary.

"What?" Ava gasped. "Mom, please"

You do not need distractions, you do not, said Pat, coldly. No friends stuffing nonsense in your head. No private chats. School and home. That's it."

The walls were closing in on Ava. "Riley only comes to my assistance.

"Riley's a kid," Pat replied. "And so are you."

Ava pressed her lips tight. Her chest was glued up with every word she wanted to say.

Pat moved closer saying, "It will not be discussed in other places other than our house. Got it?"

Ava nodded slowly.

"You will have your head down," Pat said. You will neither shame this family anymore.

Ava flinched.

Pat sighed, like she was fed up. "Go to your room. Rest. You look awful."

Ava walked away without saying anything. Each of the steps was heavier than the previous one. As she reached her room, she closed the door very softly and leaned against it.

Her breath came out shaky.

This was her life now.

She struggled slowly to the bed and sat down. This time her stomach was twisted not with sickness, but with fear. Fear of the lie she'd told. Even the apprehension of the future that she had already chosen.

As soon as she was out of her shoes, she heard footsteps descending the staircase.

A man's voice.

Her heart skipped painfully.

Marcus.

Ava froze. She remained in silence, listening.

She could hear his footsteps ascending the stairs.

Her chest tightened. Please don't come here. Please.

But now the foot-steps paused at her door.

There was a gentle knock.

"Ava?" The voice of Marcus was heard at the door. "It's me."

Her fingers were gripping the bedsheets. She couldn't answer. No, she thought, she was certain to weep had she spoken.

The door opened slowly.

Marcus was there, high and well-known, and his jacket was still on. His eyes noticed her immediately, and he changed once he saw her.

"Hey," he said softly. "What happened?"

Ava repressed herself from staring at him. The attempt almost made her snivel. He looked worried. Tired. Kind.

And everything she did, did not seem to be what it was.

"I am okay," she answered in a rush, but her voice was so tremulous.

Marcus frowned. He went into the room and closed the door. "You don't look fine."

"I said I am all right," Ava repeated, a little too fast.

Marcus studied her face. "You're pale. You're shaking."

"I'm just tired."

He didn't believe her. She could tell that.

Marcus stood back and inquired, in a whisper, "Why? Is something happening at the hospital?"

Her heart jumped in her ribs.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "It was nothing."

Nothing is likely to get you home with that kind of look.

She turned her back on him and gazed at a window. The daylight was bitter and brisk.

Marcus moved closer. Not too close. No more than enough to make her feel his presence.

You can speak to me, Ava, he said to himself.

The words almost broke her.

She drew her arms into herself. "I really can't."

Marcus sighed softly. Your mom told me you were not feeling well.

Ava's stomach dropped. "She... she told you?"

"She had not told me anything in detail," he said. "But she was... intense."

That was one word for it.

Marcus put himself down so that he looked at her level. "Look at me."

Slowly, Ava turned her head.

His eyes were roving over her face, but stopping at each word, as though he were attempting to read anything written on her features.

"There is something you are trying to cover up," he said.

Her breath caught.

"No, I'm not."

"Ava, I said- here-here, look at me." 

She shook her head quickly. "You don't. Not anymore."

She could not take the words in before they came out.

Marcus stiffened. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Ava said fast. "I didn't mean..."

She stopped. Talking felt dangerous. All the 

words might cleanse away all the lies and secrets. 

Marcus straightened slowly. "Did I do something wrong?"

This broke her heart a little.

"No," she whispered. "You didn't."

Why do you look like you are falling apart then?

Ava bit her lips. Tears blurred her vision. She shook them off with obstinacy.

"I just need rest," she said. "That's all."

Marcus stared at her for some time. His jaw tightened a bit.

"Okay," he said finally. "If that's what you want."

He looked around the door and stopped.

"Ava," said he, now in a lower tone. "You should tell someone, in case you are sick, in case something is wrong."

She did not look and nodded.

He stopped and muttered, "You need not carry all of it yourself."

The door closed behind him.

Ava exhaled a breath that she had not been aware of holding back.

Her hands flew to her stomach.

I am sorry, she said to herself. "I'm so sorry."

Marcus was sitting on the wall down the stairs, his eyebrows drawn.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

And whatever it was, Ava was unprepared to explain to him.

With gradually increasing anxiety, he straightened.

"Ava..." he murmured to himself.

One question rang in his ears and was becoming heavier with every second.

What are you hiding from me?