Chapter 46: Decisions

Esmerelda

The morning sun filters through the blinds, casting a warm glow over the room as I awaken to the shrill sound of the alarm I had foolishly neglected to silence. It's a new day, yet the remnants of yesterday's revelations linger like a delicate fog in my mind. Frankie is blissfully unaware, today is her day off, eagerly anticipating the gossip about the "top secret baby" that has been our little joke. How her eyes will widen when she learns they're twins. The thought alone sends a ripple of anxiety through me. Am I ready to talk about the other things that happened yesterday, it will be written in the lines of my face. That, I'm not ready to share.

So, I do what necessity dictates; I rise, pushing aside the tangled sheets of trepidation, and prepare for the day ahead. Going to work is not really something I want to do today, but the only other option is talking to Frankie. The thought of him, Jaxson, the dark stranger who unknowingly changed my life in the span of a single