Page 38 of Justice

I make my way over to her, holding my stomach. I’m around seven months pregnant now, and my clothes barely fit anymore.

Olivia walks over, meeting me halfway. Tiffany is organizing the food that is already laid out and I know she is trying to keep herself distracted.

She looks up at us when we get close. “Are you okay?” I ask her, rubbing my stomach, loving the feeling of my sweet girl cocooned in my belly.

Tiffany giggles. “Have you seen how hot that man is? Lord have mercy. I’m struggling to not climb him like a tree.”

Olivia and I look at each other for a beat before we burst out laughing. “Well, he is obsessed with you, if the staring is anything to go by.”

There is loud laughter by the door, and I follow the sound to see some of my old friends from high school walking through.

Anxiety fills me at knowing they are here. Who even invited them? My mom walks over to me in a rush. “I don’t know why they are here, they shouldn’t be.”

She is concerned for me. Amelia is coming up right behind her. It’s well known that they bashed me, claiming what I went through was for attention. That hurt me deeply.

I don’t turn around to acknowledge them, this is my day—no, this isourday.

I can feel them coming up behind me, and I know they’re wanting to say something but I pretend they don’t exist.

Their voices are like a fork on a plate screeching. Amelia wraps her arm around me, hugging me into her side. “Amelia, I wanted to ask you if you’d like to be in the delivery room when I have the baby? We are having a home birth.”

The more I think about it, I like the idea of having the baby in our own bed, in a calming atmosphere, where I could eat the food I want and not have the stress of a hundred nurses coming in and out, even though I know it’s their job.

“Looks like I need to start spreading my legs and getting knocked up too. A house and a party?” one of the girls, Debbie, says behind me.

Her words hurt me, but I don’t acknowledge her.

My throat is thick, trying to hold back my emotions. My mom turns around fast, startling me with her rash movement.

She moves to stand in front of me, blocking their view of me. "This is a private event. I'm going to have to ask you to leave," she says firmly.

"Oh, come on, we're old friends! We just wanted to congratulate the happy couple," one of them says in a sickly-sweet voice.

"Yeah, and see how our dear classmate is doing! Pregnancy really suits you," another adds with a smirk.

I can feel Amelia tense beside me, ready to jump to my defense. But I place a hand on her arm, stopping her. I take a deep breath and turn around to face them.

"Thank you for coming, but as my mother said, this is a private event. I'm sure you understand," I say calmly, though my heart is racing.

They exchange glances, clearly not expecting me to stand up to them. "Fine, we will go to the corner of the room if we are that much of a bother to your perfect life, Elle,” Joanne snarls at me.

I’m starting to get pissed off. “What did I ever do to you?”

Joanne's face contorts with rage, her eyes narrowing to slits as she spits out her words, "What did you do? You existed, Elle. You waltzed through high school like you were better than everyone else, with your perfect grades and your perfect family. And now look at you, knocked up and playing house with a biker. How quaint."

Her words drip with venom, each word carefully chosen to inflict maximum pain.

"You always thought you were so special, didn't you? But you're just like the rest of us, maybe even worse. At least we had the decency to wait until after graduation to ruin our lives." Joanne takes a step closer, her perfume, cheap and cloying, invading my senses. "You think you've got it all figured out, don't you? This little party, this perfect life you're pretending to have. But we all know the truth. You're just a scared little girl playing dress-up, trying to convince yourself that you haven't made a huge mistake."

Her eyes flick down to my swollen belly, a sneer twisting her lips.

"That baby? It's going to trap you here forever. You'll never leave this town, never be anything more than a biker's whore.”

Joanne isn't finished yet.

"You know what's really pathetic, Elle? The way you still think you're better than us. Look around. This is your life now, surrounded by criminals and thugs. You've fallen so far, and you don't even realize it. But we see it. Everyone sees it. You're a joke, Elle.”

She leans in close, her breath hot on my face. "Enjoy your little party. Enjoy pretending that you're happy. But remember this, we all know the truth. You're nothing special, Elle. You never were, and you never will be. You're just another knocked-up biker slut, and that's all you'll ever be."

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