It was mid-afternoon when I heard the knock at the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I hesitated, wiping my hands on a dish towel as I made my way to the front door.
When I opened it, Alyssa stood there, her face a mixture of concern and urgency. She didn’t wait for an invitation, stepping inside as if the weight of her news couldn’t wait.
“Emma, we need to talk,” she said, her voice low but insistent.
“Uh, hi to you too,” I replied, closing the door behind her. “What’s going on?”
She didn’t sit down, didn’t even look at me directly at first. Instead, she paced the room, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “It’s about Vanessa.”
The mention of her name immediately set me on edge. “What about her?”
Alyssa stopped pacing and turned to me, her expression unreadable. “You’re not going to believe this... but Vanessa’s pregnant.”
The words hung in the air like a thunderclap.
“What?” I asked, my voice almost a whisper, as if I hadn’t heard her right.
“That’s why she’s not at school. Her parents pulled her out. They don’t want anyone to know.”
For a moment, I just stood there, my mouth opening and closing as I tried to process the insanity of it all.
“You gotta be kidding me.” I said finally, louder this time, the shock laced with disbelief.
Alyssa nodded slowly, watching me carefully. “I’m not. That’s what Jake said. He told me her parents are furious and keeping her at home. She’s barely talking to anyone.”
I let out a laugh, sharp and bitter. “That’s insane! She spent weeks spreading rumors about me, sending that picture to everyone, destroying my life—and all while she was pregnant? What kind of monster does that?”
Alyssa didn’t answer, but I wasn’t finished. “And that’s why she was at the hospital that day,” I said, the pieces clicking together. “With Jake! Of course. She wasn’t just there by coincidence—she was there for herself!”
“Yeah,” Alyssa said, sitting down beside me. “It’s crazy, right?”
“Crazy?” I repeated, shaking my head. “It’s... it’s unbelievable. How could she do this? How could she be so cruel, knowing exactly what it feels like to be in this position?”
Alyssa sighed, her hand resting lightly on my arm. “I don’t know, Emma. Jake says she’s not doing great, though. She’s not eating much, not talking to anyone, just... shut down.”
I scoffed, the bitterness rising in my chest. “And I’m supposed to feel bad for her? After everything she’s done?”
“No,” Alyssa said quickly, her voice firm. “You don’t owe her anything, Emma. But... maybe you should talk to her anyway.”
I turned to her, my eyebrows shooting up. “Why would I do that?”
“Because,” Alyssa said, her tone softening. “You know what it’s like to feel alone in this. And maybe—just maybe—you’re the only person who can get through to her.”
After Alyssa left, her words replayed in my head like a broken record. Vanessa. Pregnant. The same Vanessa who had gone out of her way to destroy me, to ruin my life. She had been carrying a child this whole time.
It was insane. Unbelievable.
But at the same time, it made so much sense. Her being at the hospital that day. The way she had been acting, erratic and desperate.
I hated her for what she’d done to me. But the thought of her sitting alone, scared and isolated, sent a pang of something I didn’t want to admit to—sympathy.
I shook my head, pushing the thought away. I didn’t owe Vanessa anything. Not after everything she’d put me through.
But the nagging feeling wouldn’t leave me.