"Okay," Maya said slowly, folding her arms across her chest. "We need to talk."her lips were curved into a soft smile.
Tessa froze.
She sat on the edge of the bed, hair pulled into a messy bun, wearing one of Maya's oversized T-shirts. Her hands rested on her thighs, fingers nervously tapping against her skin.
"Talk about what?" she asked, pretending to be focused on the floor.
Maya tilted her head. "Don't do that."she stared at her
"Do what?"she averted her gaze
"That thing where you suddenly forget how to look at me when you're hiding something."
Tessa sighed and leaned back on her palms. "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 used air quotes.
Tessa shrugged. "That's because I did."
Maya stepped closer. "Where is somewhere?"
Tessa's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Her mind instantly betrayed her.
The club lights flashed behind her eyes. Music pounding. Glasses clinking. Laughter too loud to be safe. His gaze—steady, unreadable, watching her like she was something he hadn't planned for.
Her chest tightened.
"Tessa," Maya pressed gently. "Hey. Come back."
Tessa blinked and looked up.
Maya softened. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Tessa lied. "Just tired."
Maya lowered herself onto the bed beside her. "You don't have to protect me from the truth. You know that, right?"
Tessa swallowed. "I know."
"Then tell me."
Silence.
The kind that stretched and pressed and begged to be broken.
Tessa rubbed her palms together. "I just… I don't want to talk about it."
Maya studied her face. "Did someone hurt you?"
"No!" Tessa answered too fast. "No, nothing like that."
"Then what?"
Tessa stood abruptly. "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. "Did you sleep with someone?"
Tessa stiffened.
That was answer enough.
Maya blinked. "Oh."
Tessa's face burned. "Please don't say anything."
Maya raised her hands. "Hey. No judgment. None."
"I don't even remember half of it," Tessa whispered.
Maya's smile faded. "Tess…"
"I was drunk," Tessa said quickly. "Really drunk, I wasn't thinking straight, I didn't plan for any of it to happen"
Maya's voice softened. "Did you want to?"
Tessa hesitated.
Did she?
She remembered how she'd laughed. How she'd leaned into him. How she hadn't stopped him.
"I don't know," she admitted.
Maya reached out and squeezed her hand. "Okay. Then we don't talk about details."
Tessa let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"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 gave her a small smile. "You're really bad at forgetting, you know that?"
Tessa huffed. "Unfortunately."
Maya stood. "I'll give you space. I'm ordering food. Shower if you want."
She paused at the door. "And Tess?"
"Yes?"she turned her gaze in her direction
"You're safe here."
The door closed.
Tessa sat back down slowly.
Safe.
She pressed her palms to her face.
The memories came anyway.
Clearer now.
Painfully clear.
She remembered his apartment. How quiet it had been. How expensive everything looked. How small she'd felt standing there, barefoot and reckless.
She remembered his hands—strong, confident against her hot skin.The way his hands had roamed to places it shouldn't have gone.The way he'd looked at her like she was unexpected.
Her stomach twisted.
Then in the morning.
The bed was too big.
The silence.
The money.
Her throat tightened,her jaw clenched so tight.
"I'm not that," she whispered again, as if repeating it enough times would make it true. "I'm not, How dare he?" She muttered to herself as her forehead creased
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 reached for it.
Mom
Her heart dropped.
Her fingers went cold.
She stared at the screen like it might explode.
Her phone buzzed again.
Mom: Tessa, please answer me.
Her chest tightened, she had forgotten to block her family from reaching out to her.
She hadn't spoken to her mother since the night she ran away.
She remembered the shouting. Her father's voice. Her mother crying quietly in the background.
You will marry him.
It's for your own good, he will take care of you.
Her phone buzzed again.
She kissed her teeth in frustration.
Mom: Your sister is worried. We all are.
Tessa's breath hitched.
Her sister.
She opened the message thread but didn't type anything.
Another message came in.
Mom: Just tell me where you are. I won't force you to come home.
Tessa's hands shook.
She typed.
Then deleted.
Typed again.
Deleted.
Her phone buzzed once more.
This time, it was her younger sister.
Lily: Tess, please. Dad is losing it. Mom hasn't slept. Are you okay?
Tears filled her eyes.
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 her stomach churned again, stronger this time.
She 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"
She looked at her phone again.
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 tightly in her chest as a single thought took root and refused to let go.