"Okay," Maya said slowly, folding her arms across her chest. "We need to talk."
Tessa froze.
She sat on the edge of the bed, spine stiff, shoulders drawn inward like she was bracing for impact. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun that refused to stay neat, loose strands falling around her face. She wore one of Maya's oversized T-shirts, the hem brushing her thighs, swallowing her smaller frame.
Her hands rested on her legs, fingers tapping nervously against her skin.
"Talk about what?" she asked, eyes fixed stubbornly on the floor.
Maya tilted her head, studying her. "Don't do that."
Tessa swallowed. "Do what?" She turned her face away.
"That thing," Maya said calmly, "where you suddenly forget how to look at me when you're hiding something."
Tessa sighed, leaning back on her palms. The mattress dipped under her weight. "I'm not hiding anything."
Maya snorted. "Tessa, please. You showed up at my door yesterday morning looking like you'd been through war. You barely said ten words. And now you're telling me you spent the night 'somewhere.'"
She lifted her fingers and made air quotes.
Tessa shrugged, the movement stiff. "That's because I did."
Maya stepped closer. "Where is somewhere?"
Tessa's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Her mind betrayed her instantly.
The club lights flashed behind her eyes—too bright, too fast. Music pounding so hard it felt like it rattled her bones. Glasses clinking. Laughter that had been too loud, too careless. And then him.
Tall. Solid. Watching her like she was something unexpected.
Her chest tightened.
"Tessa," Maya said gently. "Hey. Come back."
Tessa blinked, dragging herself out of the memory.
Maya's expression softened. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Tessa lied quickly. "Just tired."
Maya didn't argue. Instead, she lowered herself onto the bed beside her, close enough that their knees brushed.
"You don't have to protect me from the truth," Maya said quietly. "You know that, right?"
Tessa swallowed. "I know."
"Then tell me."
Silence filled the room.
Not awkward. Not empty.
Heavy.
Tessa rubbed her palms together, the friction grounding her. "I just… I don't want to talk about it."
Maya studied her face carefully. "Did someone hurt you?"
"No!" Tessa answered too fast. "No, nothing like that."
"Then what?"
Tessa stood abruptly, pacing once, then stopping. "Maya."
"Yes?"
"I messed up."
Maya's expression softened even more. "Okay. That happens."
"I messed up badly."
"Talk to me."
Tessa shook her head. "I can't."
Maya exhaled slowly, choosing her words. "Did you sleep with someone?"
Tessa stiffened.
Her shoulders tensed. Her jaw tightened.
Maya blinked. "Oh."
Tessa's face burned. "Please don't say anything."
Maya lifted her hands. "Hey. No judgment. None."
"I don't even remember half of it," Tessa whispered, shame curling in her chest.
Maya's smile faded. "Tess…"
"I was drunk," Tessa rushed on. "Really drunk. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't plan for any of it to happen."
Maya's voice softened even more. "Did you want to?"
Tessa hesitated.
Did she?
She remembered laughing—really laughing. The way she'd leaned into him without thinking. The way she hadn't stopped him. Hadn't wanted to.
"I don't know," she admitted quietly.
Maya reached out and squeezed her hand. "Okay. Then we don't talk about details."
Relief flooded Tessa so suddenly she nearly sagged.
"Thank you."
"But," Maya added gently, "you didn't come home yesterday. You ran away from your parents. You're already carrying so much. You don't have to carry this alone too."
Tessa nodded, eyes stinging.
"I just need time," she said. "To forget."
Maya smiled faintly. "You're really bad at forgetting, you know that?"
Tessa let out a weak huff. "Unfortunately."
Maya stood. "I'll give you space. I'm ordering food. Shower if you want."
She paused at the door and looked back.
"And Tess?"
"Yes?" Tessa lifted her gaze.
"You're safe here."
The door closed softly behind her.
Tessa sat back down slowly.
Safe.
The word echoed in her head.
She pressed her palms to her face, breathing in, breathing out.
The memories came anyway.
Clearer now.
Painfully clear.
She remembered his apartment—the silence, the polished surfaces, the way everything looked too expensive to touch. The floor-to-ceiling windows. The city stretched out beneath her like a world she didn't belong in.
She remembered how small she'd felt standing there, barefoot and reckless.
She remembered his hands—strong, confident, unhesitating against her heated skin. The way his touch had felt certain, like he always knew what he was doing. The way he'd looked at her like she wasn't part of the plan.
Her stomach twisted.
Then the morning.
The bed—too big.
The quiet.
The money.
Her throat tightened. Her jaw clenched so hard it ached.
"I'm not that," she whispered again. "I'm not."
Anger flared suddenly, sharp and bitter. "How dare he?" she muttered, forehead creasing.
She lay back and stared at the ceiling, blinking rapidly.
Her phone buzzed on the bed beside her.
She ignored it.
It buzzed again.
Annoyed, she grabbed it.
Mom.
Her heart dropped.
Her fingers went cold.
She stared at the screen like it might explode.
The phone buzzed again.
Mom: Tessa, please answer me.
Her chest tightened. She'd forgotten to block them.
She hadn't spoken to her mother since the night she ran away.
The shouting came back in flashes. Her father's voice—hard, unyielding. Her mother crying quietly in the background.
You will marry him.
It's for your own good.
He will take care of you.
The phone buzzed again.
She sucked her teeth in frustration.
Mom: Your sister is worried. We all are.
Her breath hitched.
Lily.
She opened the message thread, fingers hovering uselessly.
Another message came.
Mom: Just tell me where you are. I won't force you to come home.
Her hands shook.
She typed.
Deleted.
Typed again.
Deleted.
The phone buzzed once more.
This time, it was Lily.
Lily: Tess, please. Dad is losing it. Mom hasn't slept. Are you okay?
Tears filled her eyes instantly.
She hugged the phone to her chest.
"I can't go back," she whispered. "I can't."
Her gaze drifted downward, settling unconsciously on her flat stomach.
She frowned.
A strange wave of nausea rolled through her.
She pressed a hand to her mouth. "What…?"
Her stomach churned again.
She ignored it.
Then it churned harder.
Tessa bolted upright and rushed to the bathroom, barely making it to the sink before gagging.
She stood there, breathing hard, staring at her pale reflection.
"This is just stress," she muttered. "Just stress."
Her phone buzzed again in the other room.
She wiped her mouth and walked back slowly.
Another message from Lily.
Lily: Please respond. I'm scared.
Tessa sank onto the bed.
Her gaze drifted back to her stomach.
The nausea lingered.
Her heart began to pound.
"No," she whispered. "No, no, no… this can't be happening."
Family on one side.
A night she couldn't undo on the other.
And a body that suddenly felt unfamiliar.
Her phone slipped from her fingers onto the bed.
Tessa stared ahead, fear curling tight in her chest as a single thought took root and refused to let go.