Nobela ni Babyesther

ELIBy the time I got to the hospital, I was already drenched.I had been running before the rain started, but it came down so fast. My clothes stuck to my body. My hair was dripping. I didn’t even feel cold. Not at first. Just scared.“Eli Rivera?” a nurse asked as I rushed through the doors.“Yes,” I said, panting. “You called me. My—my mom—”“Calm down,” she said. “Come with me.”I followed her down the hall, my sneakers squeaking against the floor.She stopped outside a waiting area. “She’s stable now, but she had a cardiac episode earlier. It was serious. For a moment… we thought…”She didn’t finish.I sat down hard.My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.My heart was pounding too fast. My whole chest felt like it was folding in.I reached for my phone, fingers slippery and trembling. I found my sister’s name and hit call.She picked up after two rings.“Eli?” she said. “What’s wrong?”“I—I’m at the hospital,” I said, voice cracking. “It’s mom. She almost died.”There was silence on the

CARTER I sat with my hands folded neatly on the table. The glass of red wine in front of me remained untouched. My father was talking about stock portfolios again. My mother kept nodding politely, her hand resting lightly on the armrest of her chair. The dining room was warm. Too warm. I could feel the heat crawling under my collar.“So, Liam,” my father said, turning slightly. “How’s criminology going?”Liam grinned. “Good. I’m taking a forensic psychology class this semester. Pretty cool stuff.”My father gave a small nod. “You’re not planning on becoming one of those criminal profilers, are you?”Liam laughed. “I don’t know. Maybe. I might go into policy work.”My father hummed, clearly unimpressed.He looked at me next. “And your first week at the university?”“Fine,” I said, slicing into my steak.“Settling in?”“Yes.”He waited. I didn’t say more.My mother stepped in, smiling gently. “You always liked teaching, Carter.”I nodded once. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.T

ELIHe didn’t smile. Not once.“I’ll be taking over Trial Advocacy this semester,” he said, placing a neat stack of books on the desk. “You’ve had your reading list emailed to you. The exam breakdown is already online. I don’t do reminders. I don’t do extensions. If you want to be lawyers, act like it.”Silence. I could feel the entire room blinking in unison.He didn’t wait for us to catch our breath.“Before we begin,” he continued, pulling a marker from his coat pocket, “we’ll do quick introductions. Just your last names. Loud enough for me to hear. No explanations. Start from the first row.”People started calling out names.“Hassan.”“Liu.”“Martins.”One by one. Flat, dry, nervous.He barely nodded at each one. Didn’t write anything down. I doubt he even blinked.Maya nudged me with her elbow. “He’s terrifying. I love it.”I didn’t say anything.When it got to her, she lifted her chin proudly and said, “Maya Adeniran.”He looked at her for half a second before moving on.I clear

ELII woke up like I had been hit by a truck.My head felt heavy, my body even heavier. The sun burned through the window like it had no mercy. My pillow was still a little wet from last night. My throat hurt. I didn’t remember when I fell asleep — just that it happened sometime between crying and going numb.I dragged myself out of bed, barely showered, barely ate. My hands felt too slow. My thoughts too loud. I didn’t even try to look good. Just put on a plain hoodie, pulled the sleeves down, and stared at myself in the mirror long enough to regret it. I looked like hell.School didn’t care.Law school especially didn’t care.Final year was no joke. We were neck-deep in Trial Advocacy, and our first assignment was already hanging over us like a guillotine. I threw on my bag and left the apartment, still half in a daze. Every step toward campus felt like I was walking through mud. I kept my head low, hoping no one would talk to me.Of course, that didn’t last.“Hey, hey, hey! Why are

ELI “Let’s break up.”I stared at him like I didn’t hear right. The café was loud. There were students behind me laughing, someone playing music too loud through their AirPods, the clink of cutlery and cups, but all I heard were those three words. I blinked once. Twice. My fingers tightened around the paper cup in front of me.“What?” I said. My voice barely came out.Liam didn’t even look up. He kept stirring his drink slowly like it didn’t matter. Like I wasn’t falling apart right in front of him.“I’m done, Eli,” he said. “It’s not working anymore. We’re just… not right for each other.”My chest started hurting. I sat up straighter, feeling that panic crawl up my throat. “Liam, please. Can we just talk? Whatever it is, I can fix it.”He sighed, finally looking at me. His face was calm. Too calm. “You can’t fix this, Eli. You’ve been… heavy. For a while now.”“Heavy?” I repeated, not understanding.“Yeah. Everything with your past, your mom, the scars.” he shrugged. “It’s just too