door and ran around the back of the building. She could hear Grant and Raj yelling at the TV as she knocked on the window next door. The curtains parted. There was Maya, inches away from the glass. She jumped. Devon smiled, tried to look natural. Don’t stress, I’m normally outside your window. Maya opened her door. “What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed.
“We need to talk. When Eric gets back, go get ice.” Devon ducked onto the adjacent balcony when she heard the key card beep in Maya’s door. She could hear the scratch of the curtain rod as Maya closed the curtains.
Cleo was waiting for her behind the buzzing ice machine. “She coming?”
“Just use your skills, Counselor,” Cleo shoved an ice bucket in Devon’s arms. “I’ll use mine.” With a wave of her dress Cleo hurried toward the ocean. The echo of a door closing brought Devon to attention. She put her ice bucket under the chute and pressed the button for ice. Cubes dropped into the plastic bucket as Maya appeared next to her, arms folded across her chest.
“What are you doing here?” Maya demanded again.
“What are you doing with Eric? Did you really get over Hutch that quickly?” Her eyes couldn’t help but wander to Maya’s belly. The slightest bump protruded from her fitted dress. It still wasn’t something anyone would notice unless they were looking for it specifically. Soon enough that would change.
Maya leaned against the wall, out of sight from the courtyard. She pursed her lips and looked into the empty ice bucket in her hands.
“You can’t tell anyone, okay?” she muttered. “I was never with Hutch. He was just trying to help me figure out what to do. The baby is Eric’s. We’ve been seeing each other since June. I really love him and he loves me, but our families will disown us if they found out we were together.”
Devon’s head swam dizzily. She had no idea what she was feeling. “I don’t get it. Why would you lie to me about Hutch? You made me think it was his baby.”
“I didn’t make you think anything. You assumed, and I let you. It was safer. If they find out about Eric and I … he’s 21 and I’m 17. He could be in real trouble. That’s why he wanted me to get rid of it. We were fighting about it and Hutch was the only person who knew. He got the test for me so I could be sure. He was talking to Eric about giving me the space to make my own decision.”
Devon nodded. That sounds like Hutch. The Hutch I knew. The Hutch I trusted. And who, as it turns out, actually was the real Hutch.
“What are you thinking?” Maya asked.
“That your decision affects Eric, too.”
“I know. That’s why we were fighting. But, we’re okay now. That’s why he brought us here this weekend, to be together, alone, before we broke the news to our families. We’re going to have this baby together.”
Devon slid along the wall down to the floor. Her hand dipped into the bucket of ice and the cold raised the hair along her arms. “That’s brave,” she said. “But what are you gonna do about the age thing?”
“My birthday is in a month. We just need to last until then. Then we’ll tell them. It’s good news, Devon. You don’t need to look so sickened by the whole thing. Eric really loves me. We can make this work.” Maya tugged her shirt lower. “Not that I have to tell you any of this.”
“You’re right. I can’t tell you what to do. It seems like you’ve got a plan, so that’s good.” She stood. “But … does this have anything to do with why Hutch died?”
“What are you saying? Hutch killed himself. That’s his business. My baby had nothing to do with that.”
“Sure, but what about Eric? Was he angry at Hutch for getting into your business?”
Maya’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Be careful, Devon. Be very careful about where you throw your accusations. Eric’s family will sue anyone who slanders their name.”
“Fine. Just tell me that he didn’t visit Hutch at school that night. Just tell me that he was with you and I won’t say anything.” Devon’s question hung between them. The ice machine shifted and rumbled again before Maya spoke.
“He said he had to take care of something in the city,” Maya said quietly.