If I was a better person. If I hadn’t hurt her so much already. If, if, if.

Her love was gone anyway.

And with that realization, pain seared me. The hit Spider got in, it was nothing compared to the agony of losing her.

I CAME TO on the floor, my eyes blinking up at light from the ceiling. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my head. “What happened?” I muttered as Sebastian sat back on his haunches next to me, a bemused expression on his face.

“You went down like a tank, man. You seem okay though. Pupils look fine. At least they didn’t call an ambulance.” He smirked. “Coach told the teachers he’d seen you take worse hits on the field. Anyway, you’ll have hell to pay at school come Monday morning when the headmaster finds out.” Then he grinned, shaking his head. “At least I got one band set in before you closed us down.”

I grabbed hold of the stage and stood, feeling off-kilter. I checked my reflexes, tentatively touched my temple. I sat back down on the stage, noticing the bra was gone. I also noted chaperones milling around, ushering students out the door. Several of them gave me a concerned look, and I nodded at them.

“Spider?” I winced at the sound of my own voice. Shit. I needed some Aleve.

“Gone. He punched a hole in the wall first though. I guess we won’t be coming back to The Dorchester anytime soon.” He sighed.

“Here’s the bra,” he added, tossing it at me. “I don’t have to guess who it belongs to, huh?”

My heart dipped looking at it, remembering how she’d taken it off for me, how she’d made love to me. And he’d had it. My fists tightened once again.

His words yanked me back. “Emma said to tell you she’s waiting for us in the lobby.”

Oh, yeah. I took a deep breath, getting myself together.

My eyes found Matt who was now lip-locked with the blonde from earlier. I stood gingerly, and went over and tapped his shoulder until he came up for air.

“Cock blocking, Cuba? Sorry, this one’s taken. Go find Emma.”

“Fuck you, we need to talk.” I’d already been in one fight, what did another one matter. Although I didn’t think I’d win. I was barely holding on.

“Get your ass up,” I told him.

“You spoiling for another fight?” he asked.

“Maybe.” I gave him my football glare. I ate boys like him for lunch.

He puffed out his chest, but let out an exasperated sigh as he followed me and Sebastian to the lobby. Emma waited for us, legs crossed, sitting in a chair by a huge stone hearth where a fire crackled and snapped.

She stood, her eyes flaring when she saw Sebastian and Matt approaching.

Matt gave us a surly look and plopped down on a chair, propping his feet up on the heavy coffee table. He swept his arms out. “Hurry it up.”

Sebastian glowered at him. There was no love lost between those two either.

And I now knew why.

Emma grabbed my hand and squeezed, and I just said it. “Emma’s pregnant.”

No one moved for about ten seconds until Sebastian’s face reddened, and he started toward me, a vein pulsing in his temple.

“It’s not mine,” I told him, holding my hands out. “She and I were over a while back. It’s one of yours.”

Dead silence filled the space as it settled in. Sebastian collapsed back onto the wall, his hand over his face.

“I’m here to mediate. Make sure the responsible person follows through,” I said.

Matt’s eyes protruded. “Who the hell do you think you are, dragging me in here, away from a sure thing to tell me she’s pregnant? She’s lying. She pulled this once before with me—”

“Shut up,” Emma hissed. “Don’t you dare. You know that was no lie. You know what I did. Because you wanted me to.”

Sebastian gathered himself, swaying a little. “Wait. Hold on.” His eyes jerked from Matt to Emma and then back to Matt. He licked his lips. “You told me you were over him. You told me you hadn’t been with him or anyone since Cuba last fall. You told me you were just waiting until school was out and we were going to be a real couple? Because you didn’t want to go from one relationship to another. Was that a lie?”

A flush crept across her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I do like you, but Matt and I…we can’t stay away from each other, Sebastian.” She swallowed, briefly closing her eyes. “I tried to.”

He rubbed his temple. “So the whole time we’ve been together, you’ve been with him too? Both of us?”

She hung her head, not meeting his intense gaze.

She’d told me the entire story as soon as her doctor told her she was only six weeks pregnant, which meant it wasn’t mine. She’d been with both guys, on and off for the past two months, sometimes using condoms, sometimes not. Sure, she was on the Pill, but it wasn’t always fool-proof, especially if you didn’t take it regularly. She was stupid, but hey, I didn’t tell her that. I’d done stupid stuff, too.

Sebastian’s chest heaved. He pointed a finger at her. “You told me you cared about me.”

“Tell him, Emma,” I bit out, hating this, but the truth was the only way. “Come clean with everything.”

Her hands fluttered. “Last year April slept with Matt, and when I found out that she’d fallen for you, I wanted to get back at her. And you were sweet, and it seemed so easy—”

He sliced his hands through the air. “You fucking used me?” Dipping his chin, he gripped his head, and I knew that look, knew he was trying to grasp on to the truth. That she’d never cared.

With slumped shoulders, he spoke. “It’s mine or his. Whose do you want it to be? Huh?”

She sniffed. “Sebastian, there are so many reasons why we won’t work. And—and I love Matt.”

“You’d rather be tied to that dickhead than me?” He rocked on his heels, his voice incredulous and hurt at the same time.

Matt rose up. “If that’s all you got, I’m outta here. This party’s over anyway.”

I grabbed him by the arm. “You’re both going to undergo prenatal paternity testing. Emma’s going to need financial support. Her family has disowned her, and besides that, it’s your responsibility.”

Matt snorted. “Bitch ain’t getting my money.” He shot a smirk at Sebastian. “And you, my friend, don’t have any.”