All Chapters of Among the Quiet Ruins: Chapter 11 - Chapter 15

Lola had always believed bathrooms held a strange kind of truth. There was something about the harsh lighting, the close walls, the hum of plumbing that made a person confront things they didn’t want to see. That morning, as she stood barefoot on the cold tile of her small apartment bathroom, she felt that truth rise around her in a quiet, suffocating wave.The pregnancy test lay on the counter.She had set it down carefully, almost tenderly, as though she were afraid it might shatter. The little plastic stick looked harmless. Ordinary. Like something that couldn’t possibly change the course of a life. But it had. The moment the second pink line formed, steady, unmistakable, her life had split into a before and after she wasn’t ready for.Lola hadn’t moved in nearly five minutes. She just stood there, arms wrapped around herself, breath trembling, staring at the word she thought she’d never see.Pregnant.Her mind replayed the moment she’d bought the test. She’d left work early after

Spring in the little lakeside town was softer than Lola expected. Gentle. Forgiving. Like the world was nudging her forward with open palms.Three months into her pregnancy, she had settled into her new life. Working part-time at a small community clinic, attending prenatal yoga, spending evenings on her tiny balcony feeling the baby flutter beneath her ribs.The loneliness surprised her at first, but slowly, it transformed into something else.Peace.She still thought of Melvin, some days with sadness, some with fondness, some with gratitude. Healing wasn’t linear, but it was happening.On a breezy April morning, her phone buzzed with a text from Harper.Someone’s been asking about you.Lola’s breath caught. She knew exactly who.Later that afternoon, as she left the clinic, she saw him.Melvin stood across the parking lot, sunlight catching on the faint stubble on his jaw. He looked healthier—still grieving, but lighter. Like he had begun stepping out of the ruins rather than livin