I wasn't ready to lose anyone else.

I wasn't ready to lose anyone else.
Cassy point of view

I felt deeply betrayed by my friends and, for the first time, I wanted to distance myself from everyone. It was okay that Zac was their friend before me, but that didn't justify the fact that they all knew about his betrayals and still chose to remain silent. It hurt in a way I couldn't explain. Even with Athalia at Aunt Alicia's house with me, I felt out of place, trapped in an environment that no longer welcomed me. And, honestly, I didn't want to stay there.

“Look... I bought an apartment a while ago. If you want to spend a few days there, it won't bother me,” Harry said as soon as he parked in front of my aunt's house.

“What are your intentions with this?” I asked, feigning suspicion, just to hide how exhausted I was.

He laughed.

“It's nothing like what you're thinking, you smart aleck. I just want to help you. And, let's face it, you're always saying you want to disappear.”

I sighed.

“I know, silly. I was just teasing you.”

He stuck out his tongue and almost made me laugh.

“Do you want to go now?” he insisted.

And I had to admit to myself: yes, I did. I needed to.

“Let me grab some clothes and we can go.”

“Sure, I'll wait for you here.”

I came back with a quick backpack and we continued our journey. We talked for a long time, as we always did. It wasn't about what happened to me when I was ten—Harry already knew that story better than I did. It was about everything that was happening now, everything that was falling apart at the same time. He just listened. He didn't try to fix anything, he just let me breathe. And that was more than I thought I deserved at that moment. But inevitably, my mind returned to the image of Zac in the hospital. Tubed. Fragile. Vulnerable as I had never seen him before. It was impossible not to suffer.

“Cassy... we're here,” Harry's voice snapped me out of my trance.

I looked around, a little lost. We were already parked.

“Come on, I'll show you the room,” he said, getting out of the car.

“You can stay in this one. Mine is the third door. If you need anything, just call me,” he explained.

“Harry... I don't even know how to thank you,” I said, holding his face without thinking.

He smiled in a way that warmed my heart.

“No need to thank me. I'm sure you would do the same for me,” he replied, kissing my hand quickly before letting go.

I smiled back, with a relief I hadn't felt in days.

“I'm going to take a shower and then make us something to eat,” he said.

“I'll take one too.”

I kissed his cheek and went into the bedroom. I picked out my baby doll and went straight to the shower. The hot water hit my skin and, for the first time in a long time, my body relaxed.

I cried, of course. To deny it would be to lie to myself. It was too much pressure for less than twenty-four hours: betrayal, hospital, discoveries, exposed secrets. Life decided to run me over all at once. When I was done, I put on my baby doll and carefully applied moisturizer, especially on my belly. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, lifting my shirt and observing the round shape that was beginning to appear. Still small, but real. In seven months, it would be huge—and I would have my child in my arms.

That's when I heard Harry's voice behind me:

“I just want to see when you look like a soccer ball.”

Harry's point of view

I had just gotten out of the shower and was heading to the kitchen when I stopped, unintentionally, in front of the half-open door to Cassy's room. It was impossible not to notice. She was so focused that she didn't notice me leaning against the doorframe, watching her carefully. She looked at herself in the mirror with a mixture of amazement and affection, running her hand over her belly as if trying to understand that the life inside her was real. The delicate baby doll made her body even more sensitive to my eyes. I don't know what came over me, but I felt a lump in my throat.

“I just want to see when you look like a soccer ball,” I said, trying to break the intense mood before I lost myself in it.

She jumped and put her hand to her chest.

“Wow, you scared me!” she complained, but her eyes soon softened. “You show up out of nowhere, Harry!”

“Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you,” I raised my hands in surrender. “But... is everything okay?”

She nodded, her hand still resting on her belly.

“Hmmm... we're hungry,” she said, pointing to herself and the baby.

I smiled.

“Then there are three of us.”

Cassy laughed, and that lifted a weight from the air.

“What did you make for us to eat?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing.”

She pouted, which, honestly, almost killed me.

“Harry! You said you were going to make something!”

“I will,” I raised my eyebrows. “But how about you help me?”

“Okay... but if I start to feel sick from the smell, you finish it yourself.”

“Deal.”

We went to the kitchen and improvised some pasta with red sauce and a few steaks. We talked and laughed while we cooked, even though it was almost five in the morning.

When she started to get sleepy, I helped her to her room.

“Thanks, Harry...”

The way she said my name melted me.

When she fell asleep, I tidied up the kitchen and only then noticed the dozens of missed calls on my cell phone. I answered them all quickly, saying she was with me.

And deep down, I knew: I needed to be with her.

Cassy's point of view

Time flew by. Before I knew it, we were sitting on the sofa and Harry said:

“Cassy, today you're four months pregnant.”

I ran my hand over my belly, caressing the small bump.

“In five months our little girl will be born,” I said sweetly.

Harry smiled.

“I'm sure it's a girl.”

“Why?” I asked curiously.

“Because I want a girl!”

I touched the tip of his nose.

“I want her to have your eyes.”

He blinked, a little surprised.

“Cassy... she's not my daughter. There's no reason for her to look like me.”

I took a deep breath.

“She may not be your blood... but she'll be like she is.”

I hugged him, and he wrapped his arms around me gently.

“Come on, everyone's waiting,” he said, kissing my forehead. “Looks like Zac is responding to treatment.”

My chest tightened.

“I hope he gets well... really well.”

Harry hesitated.

“When he wakes up... you and him...?”

“No,” I replied firmly. “It wouldn't work anymore. I lost my trust.”

“I want you two to at least resolve things as human beings,” he asked.

“We'll manage,” I murmured.

We went to the hospital. The atmosphere was heavy. Mandy made snide comments as usual.

“Are you two hooking up?” she teased.

“Harry is my friend!” I replied irritably.

“Zac and I were friends too,” she scoffed.

“I'm not you. And Harry isn't Zac!” I retorted before storming out, shaking with rage.

Harry followed me, calming me down.

“Cassy... you can't get upset. The baby.”

“I know... I'm sorry.”

He hugged me from the side and we walked down the hall to Zac's room. But my legs froze when I saw him through the window.

Harry noticed.

“Every time you come here, it's the same thing. You need to stop blaming yourself.”

“I know. But it hurts.”

“Do you still love him?” he asked cautiously.

I closed my eyes.

“I don't know, Harry. But I have you now.”

He hugged me.

“You have to be strong. For yourself. And for your daughter.”

“Why do you want it to be a girl so badly?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“So I can protect her from bad boys,” he joked.

I smiled, even though my chest felt tight.

“You're going to be a great stepfather.”

“I know.”

I took a deep breath.

“Let's go inside.”

But as soon as I saw Zac in bed—so fragile, so still—I felt all the pain return as if time had stopped at that very moment.

And I realized I wasn't ready to lose anyone else.