LOGINDominic saw him first.Wednesday morning outside Chang's, two blocks from their place. Just standing there with a coffee cup staring at his phone like he had nowhere to be.Dominic walked past without changing anything. Eyes forward. Turned the corner and put his back flat against the wall.Marcus.Out of everyone. Marcus.Same street growing up. Same crowd all through their teens. Marcus knew his real name, knew his face before the beard, knew things about him that nobody in this town would ever figure out just from looking.Dominic stood there till his head settled then went the long way to work.He called Maya on his lunch."Something came up," he said.Her voice shifted straight away. "What.""Guy from back home," Dominic said. "Saw him outside Chang's this morning just standing there."Quiet for a second."You certain it was him," Maya said."No doubt," Dominic said."Did he look at you," Maya said."Don't think so," Dominic said. "I kept moving and didn't slow down.""Come strai
Maya had been in that room four days when Dominic had enough."Go out," he said. "One hour. Anywhere.""I'm fine," Maya said."You been staring at that wall since Tuesday," he said. "That's not fine."She left it. He was right and she knew it. Four days in one small room and her head was going to bad places. Snapping at nothing, sleeping wrong, eating whatever was close by.Ray had been saying for a while that his wife wanted to meet her. Maya kept finding reasons to say not yet. More people in their business wasn't what she needed. But another full day in that room wasn't helping her either and she could feel it in her body, that stuck feeling that was getting worse not better.She told Dominic she'd go. He grabbed his jacket and left for work.She got herself ready slow. Back hurting same as every morning. Took her time with her shoes and walked out.Ray's place was two streets away. Small house, fence with a broken plank on one side, old truck out front. She knocked and waited.Sho
Maya woke up at three, her back was killing her. She moved around trying to find a good spot and gave up after a while.Dominic was asleep beside her.She just lay there. Pipes were making noise somewhere in the walls. Person upstairs walking around. One car went past outside then nothing. Baby was sitting real low now, had been for weeks. Alice said that was fine. Still didn't help her sleep or fix her back.She got up and sat near the window. It was dark. The lot below was empty and the streetlight on the corner was doing that on and off thing it always did.She started thinking about her mother.She hated when she did that. Never helped. But that time of night her head just went where it wanted.Her mum would have gone mad at all this. Called her stupid for leaving. Called her heartless for not picking up the phone. Would have said Maya dropped off the earth and left her worrying herself sick. She'd have cried about it, then got loud about it, then gone to cook something because th
Month six hit and Maya couldn't see her feet no more, back ached something awful and her ankles were swollen like grapefruits.She holed up in that room reading whatever books the library had, going nuts while Dominic pulled extra shifts to cover what she wasn't bringing in.Tuesday afternoon the fridge was empty and the cabinets too, Dominic wouldn't get back till past nine so she threw on his old hoodie and headed to the corner market.Grabbed what they needed, milk and bread and some soup cans, nothing fancy.Girl at checkout was young and chatty, "Oh wow when you due?""Few months out," Maya kept it short."Your first?""Yep.""That's so cool, got a name picked?""Not yet," Maya lied straight through her teeth, wasn't about to get personal with some stranger.She paid cash like always and got out quick, made it maybe two blocks when this squad car rolled past real slow.Maya didn't break stride, kept her eyes forward but caught the red brake lights flick on in her peripheral.Ches
Three months pregnant and Maya couldn't hide it much longer, shirts getting tight and stomach starting to push out.Linda noticed at the diner one morning while Maya refilled coffee. "You gaining weight Sarah?""Maybe a bit," Maya said keeping her voice normal, "eating more lately."Linda gave her a look but dropped it, went back to the register.Ray cornered her later in the kitchen. "Are you pregnant?"Maya's face got hot. "What?""Come on," Ray said quietly, "got three kids and I can tell, the morning sickness and now showing and won't lift heavy stuff."Maya thought about lying but why bother. "Yeah.""James know?" Ray asked."Yeah he knows," Maya said, "we're dealing with it.""Are you seeing a doctor?" Ray asked."Working on it," Maya lied.Ray shook his head. "Need someone checking on you and the baby, vitamins at least, can't just hope for the best.""I know," Maya said, "we're trying to figure it out.""I can help," Ray said, "my wife knows a midwife who does home births chea
Eight months in and Maya woke up feeling wrong, couldn't say what but her gut felt bad.Thought maybe bad food or too much work, shoved it aside and got ready for shift.Middle of breakfast rush she bolted to the bathroom and threw up, came out pale."You good?" Ray asked from the grill."Yeah," Maya lied, "ate something funky probably."Next day same thing and the day after, always mornings and always sick.Dominic noticed she barely ate. "You sick?""Maybe," Maya said, "stomach's been weird.""Go see someone," Dominic said."Can't," Maya said, "no insurance and these IDs are fake, doctor starts asking stuff we're screwed."Week after puking in the bathroom again it hit her, her period was late and really late and she hadn't even noticed.Counted back weeks and her chest went tight, no way this was happening.Got through shift like a zombie and hit the dollar store walking home, grabbed a test and paid cash and stuffed it deep in her bag.Back at the room and Dominic wasn't there, st
They drove for three hours. Some town Maya didn't recognize. Gas station off the highway. Nothing else around.Dominic pulled in. "Need gas and food."Maya got out. Her legs hurt from sitting so long. Inside she grabbed chips and bottles of water. Dominic paid with cash. Back to the car.His phone
They droze out of the motel at around nine with two cars. Jake drove one with Connor. Dominic drove with Maya."You remember what to do?" Dominic asked."Stay back. Don't jump in. Run if it goes south," Maya said."Yeah.""I'm gonna ignore all that though," Maya said."Figured," Dominic said.They
Maya woke up hearing voices outside. She grabbed the gun sitting next to the her on the bed and jumped up.Dominic was by the window peeking through the curtain. "Just the maid. Relax."Maya set the gun down. Looked at her phone. Two in the afternoon. Six hours out cold."Why didn't you wake me up
Maya woke up to the sound of water dripping somewhere. Her neck hurt from sleeping on concrete. She sat up and every muscle complained."You awake?" Dominic's voice came through the window."Yeah.""How long were we out?""No idea," Maya said. She looked at the light bulb still burning. "Could be m







