Engineered to Love / Chapter 4: The Night Call
Engineered to Love

Engineered to Love

Author: Malik Williams

Chapter 4: The Night Call

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I was so tired. After finally being freed, I climbed into bed early to sleep.

My sheets felt like heaven, and I didn’t even bother with my nightly scroll through TikTok. I crashed face-first, still wearing my socks.

Until my phone kept ringing on the desk.

The vibration rattled across the wood, buzzing-buzzing, waking me up just as I was dreaming of swimming in a pool of mashed potatoes.

Annoyed, I sat up and glared at the culprit.

I squinted at the glowing screen, wondering who had the nerve to disturb my sacred Netflix time.

Who is it! Interrupting my date with Lord Netflix!

I considered chucking the phone out the window, but curiosity won.

So annoying!

My inner peace shattered, I debated tossing my pillow instead.

"Camila," I called, half-squinting. "Help me get my phone, see who's ruining my sweet dreams."

She hopped off her bed, grabbed the phone, and checked the screen before handing it over.

Camila handed it over, glanced at it, and suddenly got excited. "It's Julian Carter!"

She wiggled her eyebrows, grinning like she’d just discovered a new celebrity scandal.

Hearing that name made me even more annoyed. I took the phone and hung up immediately.

One ring, done. That’ll teach him.

Then I covered myself and tried to keep sleeping.

I burrowed under the covers, wishing I could disappear.

"You're not answering?" Camila asked.

She peered over her glasses, intrigued by my stubbornness.

"No."

But the next second, Julian called again. I hung up again, and he called yet again.

The man had the persistence of a telemarketer. I groaned into my pillow.

I give up, I surrender. I really can't compete with his persistence.

There was only one way out—answer and hope he got bored quickly.

So I answered, annoyed. "What?"

I tried to sound as grumpy as possible, hoping it would scare him off.

"Didn't you say you needed me to help you sleep?" Julian replied, with a hint of laughter. "I'll explain the steps and precautions again, or you can repeat them."

He was clearly enjoying himself. I rolled my eyes so hard my vision blurred. "You're on speaker, by the way," I deadpanned, even though he wasn’t.

I'm going crazy. I snapped, "Julian, I'm already asleep!"

I flopped back down, praying he’d take the hint.

"Oh, sorry about that," he continued. "But I'm afraid you still won't remember. How about you leave it on and listen while you sleep?"

A low-key threat disguised as helpfulness. I sighed, resigned.

Needing his help, I had to give in.

I took a deep breath, silently chanting 'don't get angry,' resisting the urge to curse him. "Okay, thank you, Julian."

My tone was as diplomatic as I could manage. Camila snickered from her bed.

"You're welcome."

He sounded smug, but I let it slide. Sleep was more important than pride tonight.

I was forced to listen to him talk, but I have to admit it was hypnotic; after two sentences, I fell asleep.

His voice blended with the hum of my fan. I drifted off, phone still cradled in my hand.

The next morning, I found the call had lasted a whole hour.

A full hour, and my call log glowed with 1:00:07 next to his name; my battery sat at 2% like a tiny red scolding.

This guy can talk to himself that long—impressive.

I considered adding "can monologue endlessly" to his resume.

The next day, Camila saw me awake, excitedly nudged my waist, and leaned in. "Autumn, Julian said 'good night' to you before hanging up!"

She practically bounced on the bed, eyes shining.

I raised my eyebrow, not understanding her excitement. "He probably just said it casually."

My skepticism was met with a dramatic sigh.

"No, no," Camila shook her head, blissfully clasping her hands. "He said it so gently, I felt like I was falling in love!"

She clasped her chest, making heart eyes. I had to laugh.

Seeing her like that, I still couldn't imagine Julian being gentle; she must be bewitched to say that.

If only she knew the real Julian—the one who left Legos in my shoes.

"Alright." I pushed her toward the teaching building. "You can fall in love, just not with that guy."

She laughed, slinging her backpack over one shoulder and humming the theme to her favorite true-crime podcast.

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