Chapter Eight:When the Past Knocks
738 Words
The kitchen smelled of lavender and honey.
Nicole stood at the counter, carefully stirring melted soap base, her movements slow and deliberate. Michelle sat at the small table nearby, wrapped in a hoodie too big for her, staring blankly at her phone.
Nicole had suggested making soap because Michelle needed something anything to hold onto. Something gentle. Something grounding.
“This one’s for you,” Nicole said softly. “Lavender helps with anxiety.”
Michelle nodded without looking up. “Thanks.”
Her phone buzzed.
She looked.
Then her face crumpled.
“He blocked me,” she whispered. “Noah blocked me.”
Nicole’s chest tightened. “Michelle…”
“He broke up with me. Said he doesn’t want a baby. Said he doesn’t want me.” Her voice cracked. “And then he blocked me like I never existed.”
Nicole moved instantly, pulling her into her arms as Michelle sobbed, her whole body shaking.
“I’ve decided,” Michelle said through tears. “I’m going to get an abortion.”
Nicole stiffened not in judgment, only in the weight of the moment.
“I can’t do this alone,” Michelle continued. “I can’t bring a child into the world knowing their father didn’t want them. I don’t have the strength.”
Nicole cupped her face gently. “Whatever you choose, I’m with you. Every step. You hear me?”
Michelle nodded, crying harder. “I hate that I’m relieved.”
“You’re allowed to feel everything,” Nicole whispered. “There’s no right way to survive this.”
They sat on the kitchen floor afterward, soap forgotten, just breathing together in silence.
---
Kai’s First Date
Across town, Kai adjusted his collar for the third time, heart racing.
Mr. Lawson, he reminded himself sat across from him at a small, quiet restaurant, smiling softly.
“You okay?” Ethan asked.
Kai laughed nervously. “I’ve never been on a date with my boss before.”
Ethan chuckled. “Neither have I. For the record, tonight I’m just Ethan.”
That helped.
They talked slowly at first. About books. About music. About growing into yourself later than you expected.
“I spent years pretending I was someone else,” Kai admitted quietly. “Because it felt safer.”
Ethan nodded. “I did too. Until I got tired of being lonely.”
Their eyes met.
Something settled.
When they parted outside, Ethan touched Kai’s arm lightly. “I’d like to see you again.”
Kai smiled wide, real, unafraid. “I’d like that too.”
For the first time, Kai didn’t feel like he was asking permission to exist.
---
The Knock
Back at Nicole’s apartment, the soap had hardened into neat little bars. Nicole wrapped them carefully in paper, tying string around each one.
“For tomorrow,” she said gently. “For after.”
Michelle nodded, eyes tired but grateful. “Thank you for not judging me.”
Nicole squeezed her hand. “Never.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Nicole frowned. “James?”
She wiped her hands and walked over, opening it without thinking.
Her breath left her body.
Michael Scott stood there.
Older. Familiar. Real.
“Nikki,” he said softly, like he still had the right. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”
The room tilted.
Michelle froze behind her.
Nicole’s heart pounded not with longing, but shock.
“You can’t just show up,” Nicole said, voice trembling despite herself. “How did you even”
“I made a mistake,” Michael interrupted. “Leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Nicole stared at him, memories crashing like waves summer laughter, promises, the night he walked away.
“I needed time,” he continued. “But now I know. I want us back.”
Silence filled the apartment.
Nicole felt something strange then.
Not hope.
Not love.
Anger.
Pain.
And clarity.
“I’m not the girl you left behind,” she said quietly. “You don’t get to come back when it’s convenient.”
Michael’s eyes flicked past her to the apartment. To the signs of a life still moving forward.
“I just want to talk,” he said.
Nicole stepped back slightly,but didn’t invite him in.
And somewhere down the hall, unseen, James stood frozen, having just returned from walking his dog,witnessing the past he didn’t know how to compete with.
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