Chapter 2
Sophia's POV
It rang and rang and rang.
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable..."
I tried again. Same robotic voice.
Third time. Still nothing.
I sat there, the tears started before I could stop them, hot and angry sliding down my face.
I knew it. I knew something that felt that good couldn't be real.
The mechanical voice played one more time in my ear.
I laughed but it came out all wrong, bitter and broken. "I guess that's just how one-night stands end, right?"
The note was still sitting there on the nightstand with its empty promise. I crumpled it in my fist and let myself cry for the girl I'd been last night.
The train rattled along the tracks and I watched the countryside blur past my window without really seeing any of it. Three weeks since that night.
I needed to stop this. Stop replaying every moment of that night, stop trying to figure out what I'd done wrong, stop wondering if he ever thought about me at all.
Get it together, Sophia. You have job interviews lined up. Your actual life is waiting for you.
Except my chest still felt hollow every time I thought about waking up in that empty hotel room, and him already gone like he'd never been there at all.
Two days later I was sitting in this bright, airy coffee shop trying to prepare for an interview. I had my resume spread out on the table, pretending to review it while actually just staring into space.
Then someone slammed into my table and sent my iced latte splashing all over my carefully printed documents.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" This girl was suddenly right there with a pile of napkins, frantically trying to save my papers. "I'm the clumsiest person alive, I swear. Let me buy you another coffee. Actually, let me buy you ten coffees. Do you need me to print new copies? There's a FedEx down the street."
She was talking at lightning speed and I barely had time to process anything she was saying. There was something about her energy that filled up the entire space around us. She had these bright, warm eyes and this huge apologetic smile even though she looked genuinely horrified.
"It's fine, really." I managed to rescue my resume before it turned into complete mush. "My interview isn't for another hour anyway."
"You have an interview? Oh God, I definitely made this worse." She dropped into the chair across from me without even asking. "I'm Maya. And I'm absolutely buying you a new coffee and whatever pastry you want. This is non-negotiable."
Before I could say anything she was already at the counter ordering. I just sat there kind of stunned. There was something about her that made it impossible to be annoyed.
When she came back with two fresh lattes and two chocolate chip muffins, she settled in like we were old friends. "Okay, so tell me about this interview. What's the job?"
We ended up talking for forty-five minutes straight. She asked real questions and actually listened when I answered. Told me about her marketing job and her nightmare boss who called meetings at seven in the morning. Made me laugh for the first time in weeks with this story about accidentally sending a meme to a client instead of the actual presentation.
"You seem sad though," she said suddenly, looking at me over the rim of her cup. "Sorry, I know we literally just met but there's this thing in your eyes."
I didn't know what to say. We'd known each other for maybe half an hour.
"Bad breakup," I finally managed. It wasn't technically a lie.
"Ugh, men are literally the worst." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Well, except for my brother. He's actually amazing. He's been doing his PhD overseas for six years and I miss him constantly."
She pulled out her phone and showed me this old, slightly blurry photo of two kids on a beach, squinting into the camera. "That's us when we were little. He's the best person I know. God, I can't wait for him to finally come home."
Looking at that photo made my chest hurt in this weird way.
"Sounds like you're really close," I said.
"He's seriously the best. You'd love him." She grinned at me. "Maybe when he gets back I'll introduce you guys. Although knowing him he'll just bury himself in whatever research project he's working on. Total workaholic."
We exchanged numbers before I had to leave for my interview. Maya texted me before I even reached the office building: "You're gonna absolutely kill it! Coffee again next week?"
I found myself smiling at my phone for the first time in forever. Yeah. I think we're gonna be really good friends.
Three months later I woke up at dawn and barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up everything in my stomach.
When the heaving finally stopped I just collapsed on the bathroom floor, the tile cold against my cheek. My whole body was shaking and I felt like absolute death.
This wasn't new. I'd been waking up sick for over a week now. And my period was late. Since I began feeling unwell, I had this gut feeling, but I was pushing back against that idea, hoping it was just some short-term sickness that would clear up quickly. But now I can't talk myself out of it anymore.
Oh God. Please no.
I grabbed my keys and drove to the pharmacy in my pajama pants and an old hoodie. Bought three different brands of pregnancy tests because I needed to be absolutely sure.
Back home I lined up all three tests on the bathroom counter. Read through the instructions twice even though they were ridiculously simple. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the stupid things.
Then I waited. Two minutes that felt like two years.
I picked up the first test.
Two pink lines.
The second one. Two lines.
The third one. Two fucking lines.
"Oh my God." My legs just gave out and I sat down hard on the bathroom floor. "This isn't happening. This can't be happening."
I'm pregnant. I'm actually pregnant.
I grabbed my phone with trembling hands. Found Jake's number that I'd saved as "DON'T CALL HIM" months ago. Stared at it for a full minute before I could make myself press the button.
It rang.
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable..."
I tried again. Same robotic voice. One more time. Nothing changed.
The tears came fast and I couldn't stop them once they started. I was pregnant. Actually pregnant with a baby. And the father had given me a fake number and vanished into thin air like our night together meant absolutely nothing.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
