Page 185 of Redeeming 6

“Apparently, those two don’t need any practice with maths, miss,” Ricey piped up from the front of the class. “From what I hear, they’re both pros at multiplying.”

“Paul, back to your work please,” Miss Murphy admonished.

I watched as Molloy’s mouth fell open, and my back was up in an instant. Molloy’s gaze flicked to Casey in the desk in front of us, who shrugged in confusion and mouthed the words “I swear it wasn’t me” to my girlfriend.

“The fuck are you talking about, asshole?” I demanded, glaring across the room at the smarmy bastard leering at us.

“Your brother has a big mouth,” Paul continued.

“Kev?” she strangled out, and the look of hurt in her eyes was sobering. “Kev told you?”

“He’s been telling anyone who will listen to him.”

“No,” she choked out, shaking her head. “No, no, no, no.” She dropped her head in her hands. “This isn’t happening.”

“I dodged a bullet with you, didn’t I? What a fucking cliché you turned out to be,” he sneered. “Good fucking job on ruining your life, Aoife.”

A cliché? Good at multiplying?

I felt the air leave my lungs in a rush. “What. The. Fuck.”

“I don’t… I, uh…” Exhaling a ragged breath, Molloy choked out a sob. “Oh Jesus.”

My heart slammed wildly against my chest, as I turned my attention to the girl sitting beside me.

“Molloy.”

I wasn’t fucking stupid.

“Molloy.”

I could hear the penny dropping.

“Molloy.”

Shit, I could hear the sound of my pulse ringing in my ears.

“Aoife!”

“Joe,” Molloy whispered, turning her panicked eyes on me. “I…”

“Looks like he’s having trouble doing the maths,” Danielle laughed, joining in. “Let me help you out with that, Joe,” she added, looking only too happy to throw her two cents into the equation. “Your penis, plus her vagina, equals a baby.”

Everyone in class went deathly silent. Aside from a few sharp intakes of breath, you could have heard a pin drop.

Meanwhile, my heart thundered in my chest as my entire fucking world came crashing down around me.

“I told you that you wouldn’t reach graduation without a baby in your belly,” Danielle sneered. “Looks like I was right.”

“Oh god.” Choking out a pained sob, Molloy shoved her chair back and bolted out of our desk, moving for the classroom door quicker than I could process what the fuck was happening.

“Aoife!” Miss Murphy called after her, before turning her wide-eyed, horrified gaze on me. “I didn’t know.”

“Neither did he, by the looks of it.”

“Shut up, Paul!” Miss Murphy barked, red-faced, as she continued to stare at me expectantly. “Joseph, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

Unable to comprehend a word of what was coming out of her mouth, I rose to my feet, stunned that they could still hold my weight, and walked out of the classroom, ignoring the sound of whispers as the rumor mill kicked into high gear, no doubt.

---