Chapter 7: Blocked, Unblocked, and Unraveling

I wanted to cry, but couldn’t. When it rains, it pours.

Might as well go all in. He blocked me anyway.

I fired off another message:

[Corporate overlords can’t make money.]

Sent. Delivered. Wait—when did he unblock me?

I scrambled:

[But you’re different, you actually care about people.]

At the top of the chat: "the other party is typing."

Waited forever. Finally, Marcus replied:

[No need to flatter me. After all, we don’t really have any relationship.]

Weird.

He even denied our boss-employee thing. Maybe my layoff plan was actually working?

Then another message:

[Since you’re sick, rest up and let him take care of you.]

[I won’t message you again.]

Him?

I poked: [Who? There’s no one at my house right now.]

Suddenly, my phone rang.

Marcus sounded like he was walking fast, wind howling around him. Then it quieted.

His voice was low, serious: "Aubrey, what do you mean?"

I shot upright: "What do you mean, what do I mean?"

"You said there’s no one at your house now. This ‘now’—what does it mean?"

I looked around, shivered.

Burrowed under my covers: "Should there be someone here?"

"What about last night?"

"Nope. Of course not."

Long silence.

I thought hard. Three hundred rounds…

Suddenly it hit me.

"All that was just dumb jokes, Marcus. We’re all adults, just group chat stuff… You know I’m not that wild."

Marcus: "Not necessarily."

Static on the line.

Me: "You have to believe me."

He went quiet again.

Explaining this to my boss was officially the weirdest part of my day.

I was about to hang up.

But then I heard a soft voice: "Should I come see you?"

My whole body buzzed.

"Last night, now, there’s no one here. So yeah, you can come. If it’s inconvenient, then don’t…"

Honestly, even if there was someone, I’d still want you here.

My hand was sweaty on the phone.

Marcus: "Hm?"

Me: "Oh… okay."

It was too much—a fever, a flirt, a phone call that felt like a confession. The radiator clanged to life, but all I could hear was my own heart.