Page 148 of The Twisted Beats

“And recently, more than I care to be a part of.” My mom glares at me. “Is it true?”

“No. I swear I’m not pregnant.” My heart pounds.

“Then why are there pictures of Cash buying a pregnancy test?” She flits her angry gaze at Callum.

He shakes his head but keeps his mouth shut.

“You two are up in the mountains, making out in a booth like you haven’t a care in the world. Were you celebrating?” My mom’s entire body shakes.

My dad gets behind her and runs his hands up and down her shoulders. “You two know this doesn’t look good. The photos are damning.”

“They even have images of Cash throwing away the box. A string of photos follows, showing the container sitting in the trash and a hand pulling out a positive test. It’s right there in color for everyone to see.”

I’ve never seen my mom so upset. She’s trembling and almost purple in the face. We all remain quiet like Ms. Mayze instructed us to do.

She motions to Callum and me. “They’re becoming big stars and this is a setup to make headlines. The pictures must have been altered.”

“For Christ’s sake, Victoria. How do they alter Cash paying for it? Or some kid handing it to him after Cash dropped it? This isn’t a made-up scandal.” My mom plants her hands on her hips. “It happened.”

“Victoria, maybe you and Cash should go home. We need to speak with Livianna in private.” My dad steps in front of my mom.

“I’ve got to go write a press release, trying to combat this insanity before it gets worse.” She spins away and storms up the stairs. A door slams a moment later.

My dad faces Bren. “Brendan, unless you have something to add, go to your room.”

“Sure thing.” He leaves.

I coil into myself. If Ms. Mayze and Callum leave me alone, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep to the story we came up with.

“Daddy, please don’t make them leave.” I plead with my eyes to get him to agree. “We can explain everything.”

He scans over all of us and then releases a heavy sigh. “If you can be honest, they can stay.”

Ms. Mayze sits on the couch next to me. “Greg, they had a scare, but everything is fine.”

“What kind of…” My dad kind of stumbles and braces himself against the fireplace. “Jesus Christ, Livianna. What in the hell were you thinking?”

“Mr. Hemings.” Callum stands as he runs his hands up and down his thighs. “It wasn’t her fault. We did use protection, but things got out of control once or twice and it just happened. I should’ve been more careful.”

“Cash, you promised me.” My dad glowers at him.

“I promised to take it slow.” He glances at me and then back at my dad. “We waited for a while.”

As scared as I am, I join Callum at his side. “Daddy, he didn’t pressure me. It was me who pushed the idea.”

My dad lowers his head. His shoulders fall while we let the truth settle in. Well, not the whole truth, but this is enough for now.

He finds his way to the couch and sits, rubbing his face in his palms. “This is going to be a problem.”

“You better believe it is.” My mom enters the room, tears running down her cheeks. With devastation in her eyes, she asks me, “Did you get a prescription filled before we got home?”

How the hell are people getting this information?

My heart drops into my stomach. “Yes. Why?”

“For painkillers?” She wipes her face with her hand.

My limbs go numb. “Yes. What’s going on?”