— So it's true? You're going to have a baby?
— Yes, it's true.
They were at Moccha Flavour, at Maya's request, hoping they could have a civilized conversation. In the four days since they had last seen each other, Bogdan seemed to have aged ten years. He was obviously worried, while she still didn't know what to do with all the emotions she was experiencing.
They sat in a deathly silence while, around them, the murmur of the other customers could be heard. Maya gathered her courage and addressed their shared problem.
— Did you cheat on me?
— Maya, you know I would never do something like that. I care about you very much. I don't want to hurt you. This happened before college started.
— And how? I mean… uh… when you were with me, you protected yourself. I mean…
Realizing where the conversation was heading, Bogdan spoke up.
— I was with Diana a few times, in September. And I used protection then too. Maybe I wasn't careful enough, I have no idea. She contacted me at the end of October, saying she didn't feel well and wanted to take a test. When she called and you answered, she had just come back from the doctor. He confirmed the pregnancy. Seven weeks.
— What are you going to do?
— What can I do? I have to take responsibility for my actions. I have to tell my parents, although I'm not very optimistic about their reaction. They always told me not to ruin my future for a few nights of pleasure. Now I know I did exactly that. I disappointed them. And it's too late to try to change anything. I can throw most of my dreams away. I managed to disappoint myself, my mom and dad, who didn't want me to learn what family means too early… and you. I disappointed you, and that's my biggest regret, because I wanted you by my side, not her.
Maya felt the glass had overflowed. She stood up and, slinging her bag over her shoulder, cast one last glance at Bogdan.
— It's too late for regrets. Be happy!
She left the café as quickly as she could, without waiting for another word from him. She was angry with herself for allowing something like this to happen. She had never intended to fall in love with him. Indeed, he looked incredibly good and she was attracted to him, but she didn't consider herself the type to simply fall into love's trap. Unexpectedly, Bogdan entered deeper and deeper into her soul and body, only to shatter her into a thousand pieces upon leaving.
From that moment on, she was determined to reject anything that came from him. It was painful enough as it was. One day, unimaginable happiness had turned into the most abrupt fall, leaving her now with an amputated soul. She wanted to prove to herself and to those around her that she could not be broken so easily.
She chose to walk home, giving herself more time to put her thoughts in order. Delia was going to spend the night at a friend's place, and the apartment was at Maya's disposal. The first thing she did when she got home was take a hot shower. The water flowed gently over her body, relaxing every muscle, offering her what felt like a kind of protection against everything bad. Until then she had held back her tears, now it was time to finally let them run freely down her face.
After the shower she put herself a cup of tea and a sleeping pill, because she was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink without help from pills.
What Maya didn't know was that there was another person in the same situation as hers.
That evening Cristi was lying on his back on the bed, supporting his head with his hands and resting his feet against the wall. At that moment, nothing seemed more interesting to him than the white ceiling. On the nightstand beside the bed, on a tray, were a half-empty bottle of Stalinskaya, a glass with ice, and a box of aspirin. He wasn't a heavy drinker, but he knew he would have a solid hangover the next day. And yet, he didn't care.
He was a failure in life, and the bottle next to him served as confirmation. He had ruined his life in the worst possible way. He was tormented by the thought that Diana would always be close to him, and at the same time thousands of kilometers away. He didn't have the strength of character to live in the same house with his brother and his future sister-in-law—the one person who was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He knew that every time he would see Diana with Bogdan, he would be reminded that he was good for nothing.
He also knew that it wouldn't go well when Bogdan gathered the whole family. Usually, if there were problems, their parents were the only ones who found out. Now, more than ever, he had called both him and their younger brother, Andrei, as well. Cristi replayed in his mind the scene in which Bogdan dropped the bomb.
— I did something that will affect us all, and I can't change the past. My ex-girlfriend is pregnant. And from what she told me, the child is mine. We were together right before we broke up, and the doctor told her seven weeks. The datas match.
And then… silence.
Cristi watched his parents' reactions closely. At last, the family angel had stepped out of line and landed deep in trouble. He was used to the role of the black sheep, but Bogdan had no experience with it. Knowing it would be hard for him once their parents recovered from the initial shock and started asking questions, he tried to help his brother by drawing their angry gazes toward himself.
— Come on, Bogdan. There have been worse things. Remember when I went to prison?
— Cristian David Sami! Don't interfere, let him continue. Go on, Bogdan. Tell us everything. Who is the girl, do we know her?
— Do you remember our former neighbors, the ones who moved to the entrance of the town?
— Yes.
— It's their younger daughter, Diana.
Cristi suddenly went on high alert.
— Diana? That Diana I grew up with?
— That's her.
He didn't want to know anything more. What he had heard was enough. He left the kitchen abruptly and rushed to his room, locking himself inside.
Diana was the love of his life, the only person who could brighten his day. Hoping to forget, at least for the moment, what he had heard, he opened the bottle of Stalinskaya and began to drink, only to realize later that he had done even more harm.
He was going to spend the rest of the day in agony.