*Chapter 8: The Motel*

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I didn't go home.

I couldn't.

Instead, I drove to a motel on the edge of town—the kind with flickering neon signs and forgettable furniture. The kind of place where no one asked questions, and no one remembered faces. The kind of place where you could disappear into the background and no one would notice. Perfect, I thought.

I sat on the bed, phone in hand, staring at Josh's unread message:

*"We need to talk. Please don't shut me out again."*

Again.

As if *I* was the one who disappeared.

As if he hadn't left wreckage in his wake and vanished for weeks like none of it mattered.

I tossed the phone onto the pillow beside me and pressed a hand gently to my stomach, feeling the faintest flutter, a small but undeniable sign of life.

Barely ten weeks along.

I hadn't told a soul.

Not my sister. Not my best friend. No one.

Because once it was spoken, it would be real.

And real things could break.

A knock at the door made me jump, the sound sharp in the quiet room.

I froze, heart pounding.

Another knock—sharper this time.

Slowly, I crept to the peephole, barely daring to breathe.

No one.

I cracked the door open, just a sliver.

Empty hallway.

But something was there.

An envelope on the floor. No name. No return address.

I knelt down and picked it up.

Inside was a flash drive.

And a single slip of paper with six words:

*"Watch this before you trust him again."*

My breath caught.

Because that handwriting… it wasn't Josh's.

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Oh, great.

I wasn't with my laptop.

I needed to get home—but the time was already half past eleven.

Wow.

I guess I'd have to keep this for later.

Whatever was on that flash drive…

I'd watch it at home.

Eventually.

When I was ready.

When the silence around me wasn't so loud.

When I had the courage to face whatever truth someone thought I needed to see.

---

I didn't even know when I fell asleep,

but I did—and woke up to sunlight stabbing my eyeballs like it had a personal vendetta.

Weirdly enough, I actually slept well.

Which is saying something, considering the room felt like it could be haunted.

Maybe it was because it wasn't my house.

And maybe because I'd never been here with Josh before.

I got out of bed and *hopped* into the bathroom like I was on some kind of mission—

and *hopped right back out* just as fast.

Why was it *that* dirty?

I mean... was someone mud-wrestling in there?

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After hopping out of the bathroom like it was cursed, I made my way back to the bed and grabbed my hoodie from where I'd tossed it the night before.

Then came the essentials—car keys, phone,

and yes, the envelope with the mysterious flash drive.

I double-checked everything, like I was about to leave town for good. My heart hammered, the weight of what I might find on that flash drive pressing down on me.

I headed downstairs and checked out.

Once I reached my car, I slid into the driver's seat and leaned back,

taking a deep breath.

Outside, the world was waking up, the first hints of morning light cutting through the darkness.

But inside me, a storm was just beginning.

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