Page 47 of Penalty Shots

“Yeah,” she shakes her head. “Sorry, that sounded so bad.”

“You think Mrs. Lopez is pregnant?”

She swings her legs over the side of the bed and brings her knees up to her face like she always does when she’s uncomfortable."I’m pretty sure.”

“And you think that’s why she’s being hard on you?”

“No… I think she’s cheating on my dad… with Coach Wilson.”

NowIsit up straighter. “JR’s dad?”

She nods her head slowly.

“What? How do you know?”

“He was touching her belly a few weeks ago. She isn’t showing, but I’ve noticed her wearing bigger clothes lately.”

“Yeah.” I think about how her outfits have become looser over the last few weeks.

“And you don’t think the baby is your dad’s?”

She scoffs. “I mean, I guess it could be. But my mom has this thing that happens to her.”

"What is it? Oh, my god, is she a werewolf? She's a werewolf, isn't she? I've always wanted to meet a real-life werewolf."

Rina's eyes are sad.

"Sorry, that was a dumb joke. I have a bad habit of using humor to make hard things feel lighter."

She shakes her head. "No, I get it. Well, ever since I was little I always wanted a sibling. A little brotherorsister that I could play with. I was never picky. I just wanted a sibling. I begged my parents to have another kid."

"Okay… so what happened?"

She watches me. "Mom would get pregnant. She'd feel nauseous. Her body would feel weird. She always knew. The pregnancy tests would come back positive."

Oh-oh. This doesn't sound good.

"But when the time came to listen to the heartbeat… there never was one."

My entire body deflates. “Shit, Ri… that’s… shit.”

“For a literary guru, you sure have such a way with words,” she says, a playful grin pulling at the corner of her mouth for the briefest of moments.

"Well maybe this one is different. Maybe she's not telling you because she doesn't want to get your hopes up… again."

"Or, maybe she's not telling me because she can't have a baby with my dad and was able to get knocked up by someone else." She sighs, bringing a pillow to her chest.

“What are you going to do?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know if there’s anything I can do. I can't tell my dad. That would crush him. Besides, I don't have anyproof. I just know it's been years that she's been trying to have a baby. And she's much older now, so you'd think it would be even harder to get pregnant.”

“Wow, that is pretty wild. You’re talking about someone that could practically beyourkid.”

“Yep,” she says, her lips snapping together like she’s already considered it. “Crazy.”

My phone buzzes in my lap, and we both perk up. I reach for it, reading the text that comes through.

It’s not Jenny. It’s Marissa, one of her cheer girls.

---