ANOTHER BAD NEWS FOR SHAYYLA

Shayla’s phone buzzed twice.
Then once more.
Then a long pause.

She almost didn’t answer. It was too early, and she wasn’t in the mood. She’d just finished washing last night’s mascara off her face — the one she didn’t wear for a man, but to remind herself she was still beautiful even while healing.

Then it buzzed again.

Unknown Number.

Curious and cautious, she answered.
“Hello?”

The voice on the other end was quiet. Shaky.
“Is this Shayla?”

“Yes. Who’s calling?”

A pause. Then the sentence that made her knees buckle.

“This is St. Joseph’s Medical Center. I’m calling on behalf of Amber Williams. You’re listed as her emergency contact.”

Amber?

Her former best friend?
The same Amber who betrayed her…
Who kept secrets…
Who stood by while Anthony broke her heart?

Shayla sat down slowly. Her voice dropped.

“What happened?”

“She was found unconscious outside her apartment building. No ID, but she had a phone with your name listed under ICE — In Case of Emergency.”

Shayla’s heart started pounding.

She hadn’t spoken to Amber in months. Not since the fight. Not since the text messages between Amber and Anthony were exposed.

So why was her name still in Amber’s phone?

Then came the second punch.

“There’s something else…” the nurse said carefully. “When we checked her in… she was several weeks pregnant.”

Silence.

The room spun.
Shayla stared ahead, frozen.

Pregnant?

And Anthony had been missing for two weeks.

It couldn’t be.

The nurse’s voice continued, but it was distant now — as if underwater.

“We’re trying to reach next of kin, but you’re the only contact she has.”

Shayla didn’t reply.

Her mind was racing — to the past, to the lies, to the silence from Anthony, to the coldness in Amber’s last message, to everything that now suddenly made horrifying sense.

She stood up slowly.

Not because she knew what to do — but because her body needed to move, or she’d scream.

Bad news doesn’t always come loud.

Sometimes, it whispers.

And that whisper had just cracked everything wide open