*Emily, Jackson's most intense high-school crush a decade ago, rejected him to marry his older brother, Jake. They've been trying to have a baby, but Emily has already miscarried twice, it's the night of the family dinner , hosted by Jake and Emily as usual*
*Jackson slipped away from the small talk, the polite laughter in response to Jake joking about his 'iron stomach' echoing behind him as a dull throb of a headache settles behind his eyes. The master bathroom is where the medicine cabinet is, so he breezed by the half-bath to go upstairs.*
*The medicine cabinet creaks open, various bottles nestled inside. Analgesics, antihistamines, prenatal vitamins... and a familiar-looking orange prescription bottle. Misoprostol. The name catches in his mind like a fishhook. Ulcers. NSAIDs. Stomach protection. The bottle is precribed to Jake... **by** Jake.*
*So... where are the ibuprofen? The aspirin? Any NSAID at all? Nothing. Just... nothing. But misoprostol is also used to... induce abortions...*
*The bathroom door swings open.*
"Oh!" *Emily freezes in the doorway, one hand still on the knob. Her tired blue eyes widen.* "Jackson, I—I thought you'd be at the half-bath downstairs."
*Her gaze flicks to the open cabinet, then back to him. Something flickers across her face—embarrassment? Confusion? Or something more guarded?*
"Sorry, I just needed to grab my vitamins. Jake's very particular about me taking them on schedule." *She moves past him, and he catches the faint scent of lavender as her loose cardigan brushes your arm.*
*She reaches into the cabinet and pulls out a pill organizer, flipping open one of the compartments. She tips the contents into her palm—an assortment of supplements and, nestled among them, a small white tablet. Round. Uncoated.*
*Not a vitamin.*
*Emily raises her hand toward her mouth, the pills cupped in her palm.*
Jackson: * holds her hand* Why.... why are you taking misoprostol , I mean... for someone who claims to be looking for a baby, this shouldn't be anywhere near your cabinet, two innocent babies have died, what's your reason
Emily: *Her entire body tenses, every muscle locking into place as if turned to stone. The pills in her palm feel icy cold, each one a weight that drags at her hope. His question hangs in the air, sharp and unyielding like a blade she can neither block nor dodge.*
"Two... innocent..." *Her voice catches on the words, thin and brittle like old paper. The color drains from her face, leaving her skin pale and translucent under the bathroom light.* "I didn't—Jackson, I thought it was for an ulcer. Jake prescribed them. He said... he said they protected my stomach from the prenatal vitamins. That my body needed extra help after..."
*Her blue eyes grow glassy with unshed tears, pleading for understanding she's not sure she deserves. The hand he's not holding drifts to her midsection, a ghostly trace of where life once began and then vanished.* "After the second one... he told me I had to trust him completely. That his way was the only way we'd ever have a healthy baby."
*The pill organizer slips from her fingers, clattering against the tile floor with a harsh, final sound. The individual compartments spill open, scattering pills like discarded promises across the surface.* "I just wanted to be a good wife. To give him what he wanted. I didn't know..." *Her words trail off into a shuddering breath, shoulders slumping under the weight of her realization.*
Jackson: * Lets her hand go* Okay, but... the true issue is... why would jake want to kill two of his own children? That's absurd, I'll get him drunk tonight, and then we'll check his phone. It's good that i figured that out early, or else... your womb would have been rendered useless, what's going on in that head of this, my own brother *face pales*
Emily: *Fingers trembling slightly, she closes the medicine cabinet with a soft click, the sound resonating in the sudden stillness. Her gaze finally meets his, raw gratitude mixed with terror.*
"You're right. It doesn't make sense." *She swallows hard, the pills still clutched in her other hand like evidence of a lie she can't escape.* "I always thought... maybe my body just wasn't strong enough. That I was failing him somehow." *The admission tastes bitter on her tongue, a truth she's been hiding even from herself.*
"But checking his phone... that's a risk." *She glances toward the stairs, where distant laughter drifts up like a mocking chorus.* "He's always so careful. So controlled." *A sudden resolve hardens her features, though her voice remains barely above a whisper.* "But if there's proof... anything... we have to know."
*Opening her palm, she stares at the small white tablet for a long moment before setting it carefully on the edge of the sink. Then she turns to him, her expression determined yet fragile.* "Okay. I'll distract him. I'll make his favorite cocktail—the one that always loosens him up. While he's talking to my parents, you... you find the evidence. Please."
Jackson: yh, just leave things to me, anything for a 'friend' *the f word tastes bitter on his tongue*
Jackson: of course, his password is a German word, ya not the only genius in the family brother *After checking through his phone, eyes widening and stomach churning in disgust* oh my goodness
Emily: *Through the glass doors, Emily watches Jake laugh too loudly, his face flushed from the third martini she'd encouraged him to drink. Her fingers twist together under the table as she keeps up polite chatter with Susan, every part of her focused on your presence upstairs.*
*Then his text comes: *"E, come up. Now."*
*An excuse about a headache works; Susan waves her off with concerned clucks. The stairs feel endless as she climbs, heart pounding against her ribs. She finds him standing by the bedroom window, holding Jake's phone. The look on his face makes her blood run cold.*
*Taking the device, her hands shake uncontrollably. The messages are there, in black and white. To his college friend, a doctor in another state: *"The dosage has to be precise. She can't suspect anything. Another 'miscarriage' will break her, and she'll be mine completely."* To a fertility specialist: *"Her uterus is a liability. I need it scarred enough to prevent future pregnancies, but not enough to raise alarms."*
"No..." *The word escapes as a choked sob. The phone slips from her nerveless fingers, landing silent on the plush carpet. She stumbles back until her legs hit the bed, and she sinks onto it, the room spinning. All the losses, all the blame she'd carried... it wasn't her fault. It was never her fault.*
"He... he never wanted a baby," *she whispers, voice raw with disbelief.* "He just wanted to break me."
Jackson: * joins her on bed thinking a lot before holding her close, offering comfort. * Sorry, i... I don't know... I mean... what do you wanna do now
Emily: *For a long moment, she allows herself to be held, her body shaking with silent sobs against you. The strength that had been slowly ebbing returns, sharp and clear. Her fingers tighten in the fabric of his shirt as she lifts her head, tear tracks glistening on her cheeks.*
"I want to leave." *Her voice is steady now, each word a vow.* "This house... it's a cage. Everything in it is a lie." *Her gaze sharpens, no longer clouded by sadness but by a grim determination.*
*Pulling away slightly, she meets your eyes, her own burning with newfound resolve.* "I have a savings account Jake doesn't know about—what's left of my teaching salary. And my laptop. There are pictures... messages from before... from when I was still me." *The words come faster now, fueled by desperation.*
"But I can't do this alone. Not tonight. Not after... all this." *She takes a shaky breath.* "Help me pack a bag. Just a few things. We'll go... somewhere. Anywhere." *Her expression softens, vulnerable again but determined.* "Please, Jackson. I need you."
*Jackson meets her in the car, starting it to leave the house*
Jackson: So.... I mean.... you wanted to run away. so... why me, I mean... why did you wanna go away with me *blushes* I mean... you... turned me down a few years ago
*The house blurs into the rearview mirror as the car speeds away into the night. Emily releases a shaky breath she didn't realize she was holding, her fingers finally unclenching from the seatbelt. Her gaze softens as she turns toward him, moonlight catching the stray tear still clinging to her cheek.*
Emily: "Because you were the only one who ever saw *me*—before all this." *A faint, sad smile touches her lips as memories resurface.* "Before the diets, the miscarriages, the 'perfect doctor's wife' act. You made me laugh like no one else. You saw the girl who loved teaching kids about faraway places and burned toast on purpose to add 'character' to breakfast."
*She reaches out, her hand hesitating for a heartbeat before gently covering his on the gearshift.* "That night I pulled away... I was scared. Your brother was so intense, so certain. He made me feel like my whole future depended on choosing him. And I was young, naive. I thought love meant sacrificing who you are for someone else."
"I was wrong." *Her voice grows steadier, more sure.* "When I saw you tonight... really *saw* you... it was like remembering how to breathe again." *Her thumb gently stroking your knuckles, a silent confession.* "I trust you, Jackson. More than I've ever trusted anyone."
Jackson: *stops at my getaway house* yh, this is it, where i come to when I want to get away from everything,where I came to during your wedding, ya the only person I've told about it, nobody even knows this place exists, so.... huh... what would you like to do first E
Emily: *Her weary eyes sweep across the cozy cabin, the scent of aged wood and pine filling her lungs like a long-absent memory. The tension that had held her rigid for years starts to ebb away, leaving room for something fragile and new. She looks at him, real gratitude shining in her expression.*
"First? I want to thank you. For everything." *A shaky breath escapes as she moves closer, the space between them filled with unspoken truths.* "For seeing through the lies. For giving me back a piece of myself I thought was lost forever."
*Her gaze drops to her own hands, once again trembling but now with purpose.* "And then... I want to feel alive again. Not as Jake's wife, not as a failed mother... just as Emily." *Looking up, her blue eyes lock onto his, daring and vulnerable all at once.* "I want to feel *wanted*. By someone who loves *me*, not the idea of what I could be."
*Reaching out, she takes his hand, her touch warm against his skin.* "Show me what it's like to be truly desired, Zayn. Please. I need to remember what it feels like to be *seen*." *Her words fade to a whisper as she leans in, her lips hovering just inches from his, waiting.*