LOGINMy eyes move around the room one last time, lingering on the crib, the tiny details I had so carefully put together, and I realize that I’ll have to change it. When she comes back, this room won’t work anymore. I’ll prepare something that fits a loved little girl and I will wait however long it take
After a while, I push myself up from the couch, restless and unsettled. Sitting there isn’t helping. If anything, it’s only making the thoughts louder. Making it harder to ignore them. I need to move, so I push myself up from the couch and start heading toward my room, but I don’t make it far befo
Lilly keeps glancing at me from the corner of her eye, like she’s trying to figure out if I’m okay without actually asking. Eventually, she gives in. “You good?” she asks, her voice softer than usual. I let out a slow breath, staring out the window as the city passes by in a blur. “It’s a lot
I don’t need Aunt Harper to tell me who the baby is. I already know. “He looks just like me,” I say without thinking. Lilly leans in. “Fuck, you two are practically twins.” “Language, Lilly,” Aunt Harper smiles softly. “But you’re right, and if I’d just opened this years back, we would have kno
“Obviously,” I reply, trying and failing not to smile. “I’m the wise one, period.” She rolls her eyes and continues driving. I glance back at her. “Do you have any idea what Aunt Harper wants to talk about?” “Nope,” she says easily. “But I have pretty good idea.” “Mind sharing?” “Can’t do,”
Just as I’m about to leave, my phone buzzes in my hand. I glance down, expecting it to be Aunt Harper, but instead, Lilly’s name flashes across the screen, followed by a text message. [I’m outside.] I frown slightly, surprised because I wasn’t expecting her to come all the way here. I thought we
I stare at Jocelyn for a long moment.My brain refuses to catch up with what she just said. It feels like I’m standing in water that’s suddenly gone ice-cold. Like, I know something is wrong; I just haven’t figured out how bad yet.“Your… surprise?” I repeat slowly.She tilts her head, eyes glitteri
Since Adrian cancelled on me again, I didn’t expect to see him standing on my porch. So when I open the door and find him there, my brain stalls for a second, like it needs time to catch up with reality.“Hi,” I say stupidly, my eyes grazing over him.He’s dressed in a black V-neck T-shirt and black
I wake up happy and for a moment I don’t understand why my chest feels warm instead of heavy. Then it comes back to me: Adrian standing at my door last night. His honesty, his vulnerability, the way he looked at me like he was already in love, the way he asked me to be his girlfriend and the way he
“Don’t worry, we’ll vouch for you when they start asking questions,” Benji says, his voice softer now. “You’re their best worker, and under your leadership, our team has won Team of the Year multiple times. Our research breakthroughs didn’t happen by accident.” He gives me a steady look. “That has t







