Chapter 20: Andrew’s Return

It had been days since I had heard from Andrew. He departed my flat after a wild night, leaving a suffocating and unrelenting hole of stillness. I listened to his words over and over again for hours, wondering what threat had come to me. My expanding belly served as a continual reminder of the impending storm, and Ryan's enigmatic warnings plagued me.

Like any other day, it started quietly and unassumingly. The doorbell rang when I was folding baby clothes that I had been stealthily gathering from thrift stores and gifts. My heart leaped.

Staring at the door as though it were alive, I froze. Unannounced visits were infrequent, and every noise outside my flat felt dangerous after everything that had transpired.

I inhaled deeply and moved carefully while looking through the peephole. My heart stopped beating. Andrew.