The Moment Everything Changed

When Colin rushed into the kitchen moments later, his expression was not one of concern but of irritation, as though he had been interrupted during an important conversation.

He looked at the floor, where a dark stain had begun to spread across the white tile.

“Marissa, what happened?” he asked sharply.

I clutched my abdomen, struggling to remain conscious as the pain intensified.

“Please,” I managed to say, “call 911.”

Instead of reaching for his phone, Colin grabbed mine from the counter.

“No,” he replied quickly. “An ambulance showing up here will start rumors in the neighborhood.”

He tossed my phone onto the far end of the counter.

“I just became partner last month,” he added under his breath. “I’m not going to have police cars outside my house because of a misunderstanding.”

My vision blurred as another wave of pain passed through my body.

I reached weakly toward the phone again, but Colin picked it up before I could.

He leaned down close enough that I could see the irritation in his eyes.

“Listen carefully,” he said quietly. “I’m a lawyer. Situations like this become complicated very quickly.”

His voice softened slightly in a way that felt strangely threatening.

“You don’t want to create problems that could affect both of us.”

The room seemed to tilt around me, yet in that moment something inside my mind suddenly became very clear.

I looked directly at him.

“Then call my father,” I said.

Colin stared at me as if I had just told an absurd joke.

“Your father?” he repeated.

I nodded slowly.

“Call him.”