The Call at 2 A.M.
At first I thought someone had died.
Claire was sobbing so hard I could barely make out her words. Her voice sounded smaller than I remembered, stripped of all the confidence she used to wear like perfume.
“He left me, Emma,” she cried. “Daniel left me.”
I sat up in bed, heart pounding.
For a moment I said nothing.
Then she kept going.
“But this time there’s a child. She’s four, Emma. Her name’s Lily. She’s sick. Something with her kidneys. I have no money, no insurance, and nobody left.”
Her voice broke on that last word.
Nobody.
I wanted to say, “Now you know how it feels.”
I wanted to remind her about the text. I wanted to ask if being chosen still felt like winning. I wanted to hang up and protect the peace I’d fought so hard to build.
But then I heard a small cough in the background.
A child.
Not Daniel’s betrayal. Not Claire’s cruelty. Not my past.
A child.
Claire whispered my name like she wasn’t sure I’d still answer to it.
“Emma?”
I closed my eyes.
Then I said, “Get in the car.”
