She said she wanted to keep the baby—he nodded and drove her straight to a hospital.

Sounds that break the silence

The minutes dragged on endlessly, and every little sound - passing cars, distant voices, the rustling of leaves - tore my racing thoughts apart only to throw them right back into turmoil. Every sound seemed to add to my growing unease. "Is this your plan, Drew?" I finally asked, my voice softer but brittle with tension. He twitched barely perceptibly, and a shadow of doubt flitted across his face before he lapsed back into silence. No answer. Just this crushing, deafening silence in which I could literally feel the weight of his unspoken intentions - heavy, menacing, inescapable.

A disruptive ring

Suddenly, a soft chime shattered the tense silence, followed by the vibrating of Drew's cell phone. His attention drifted away from me for a moment and he reached into his pocket to pull out the device. His eyes slid over the display and a fine crease formed on his forehead. "Just give me a second," he murmured, more to himself than to me. I watched his every move, wary, every gesture seeming heavy with meaning. His sudden distraction set my alarm bells ringing - whatever this message was, it was pulling him further away from us. And deep down, I knew this was no coincidence. This phone call had something to do with the reason we were here in the first place.