Beginnings of the Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

hyperventilate and was afraid I was going to pass out. I bent over until my head was between my knees, and it seemed to help a little.
    What was I going to do? This couldn’t be happening to me. My hand reflexively went to my abdomen as questions started to fill my brain. I jumped when there was a knock on my bedroom door.
    â€œMorgan, time to get up and get ready for school.” My mother’s voice came through the door.
    Somehow I mumbled a reply, though I don’t remember what I said or if she even heard me. I sat frozen until I managed to make my legs work again. I forced myself to get dressed and gather my school things. I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail.
    Looking at myself in the mirror I tried to reconcile my newfound knowledge enough to be able to get past my mother and out the door to school.
    I was finally able to arrange my face into something approaching normal and went to the kitchen. My stomach hadn’t settled enough to eat breakfast, but I forced down some toast. I told myself if I didn’t eat my mom would notice and start asking questions about how I was feeling.
    I wasn’t sure ho w I was feeling. All I knew was I had to get to school and away from my mom’s penetrating gaze.
    â€œMorgan, are you feeling alright? You look a little pale.”
    Crap. I guess I hadn’t recovered enough to get past her after all. Think, think, think, think.
    â€œI just have a little headache.” I said.
    My voice sounded strained even to my ears.
    â€œYou should take something before school then. You don’t want to miss class for a headache.” My mom said as she got up to get me some aspirin.
    I automatically reached for and swallowed it down with the juice she handed me as well. Then I froze. Was I supposed to take this? Would it hurt the baby?
    I tried to tell myself I wasn’t even sure I was pregnant, but my mind knew it for the lie it was.
    After taking a deep breath, I grabbed my bag and jacket and headed for the door. I didn’t want to wait for my sister today. I had to get out of the house. I mumbled something about needing to study for a test. Maybe the short walk in the cool air would help clear my head enough so I could get through the day.
    My mind was swimming with questions. I couldn’t even begin to answer any of them. The one at the forefront of my mind was how Cole was going to react. Was he going to freak out or would he be very calm? Or maybe he would go into shock and fall flat on his face. I decided to wait until after school to tell him, just in case the latter proved to be true. I just had to hold him off until then. He was going to take one look at me and know something was not right and would then set about trying to get me to talk.
    I was walking into the doors of the school before I knew it and remembered nothing of the walk there. On autopilot I went to my locker and put my jacket and bag away and got out the books and folders I would need for the morning.
    I went to my first period class which also doubled as homeroom and opened a book at random. I was hoping to deter anyone who thought to start a conversation with me if they thought I was studying.
    It worked for the most part. I had forgotten Cole would notice my absence in the halls and check to see if I was there. I heard him talking to a friend at the door to my class and internally cringed.
    What was I going to say? Would he notice how distracted I was? How pale I was?
    â€œHey, I didn’t see you in the halls. I wanted to check and see if you were here.” His voice came from behind me as he walked up next to me.
    I lifted my face to look at him as he knelt down next to the desk where I sat. He took one look at me, and I could see his whole body stiffen.
    â€œWhat’s wrong? You look like someone died or something.” Cole said.
    I tried to answer his question, but my throat had constricted to the point I wasn’t able to speak. I