Darren wasn't coming.

Raquel realized that after about an hour. She had hung out at the bar, chatting with her coworkers and smiling as if nothing in the world was wrong, but after continuously glancing at the door and watching strangers filtering in and out, Raquel realized the truth. Darren wasn't coming, even though he said he would be right over after stopping by her place. Raquel had even texted him asking where he was, and she got no response.

I can't believe him.

This wasn't the first time he had ignored her or had decided to ditch her in favor of doing something else. Right now he was probably wrapped up in playing some new game on his Nintendo Switch or competing against his buddies in Rocket League on her TV, and he had forgotten all about her work outing. The thought pissed her off quite a bit, but she had to hide her annoyance in front of her coworkers.

Izabella's boyfriend Michael eventually showed up, and the two of them asked Raquel if Darren was coming soon.

"No, sorry. Something apparently came up at work, so he won't be able to make it," Raquel lied, smiling apologetically at them. She wasn't in the mood to explain her boyfriend's thoughtlessness to her friends – at least not tonight.

Raquel privately decided to stay for only a few more minutes before she would leave. She would make sure to say goodbye to her friends and to Gabriel, of course, and then she would pay for her drinks before ducking out.

Raquel now walked up to the counter and got the bartender's attention, indicating she wanted to close out her tab. When she handed over her card and he walked it over to the till, she sensed someone approach her from behind.

"Leaving already, Murillo?"

Raquel turned and saw Sergio standing there, gazing at her with amused interest. He was still on his first rum and Coke, and he had one hand casually tucked into his trouser pocket. Despite his cool and casual demeanor, Raquel knew he had come to annoy her right now, and she really wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

She shot him a fake smile. "Yup. Gonna miss me?"

"Like a carbuncle," Sergio said dryly, giving her a onceover. "Wasn't your boyfriend supposed to stop by? I was hoping to meet him."

God, she really needed to get out of here. "Nope. He had to stay late at work," she lied. "So I'm going to call it an early night and head home."

She deliberately turned back to the bar so she wouldn't have to look at him. The bartender showed up at that moment to give her her receipt and credit card, and she accepted them from him with a polite smile.

"That's a shame," Sergio remarked, moving to stand beside her and leaning against the bar. Raquel ignored him as she scribbled her signature and tip amount on the receipt. "You didn't even get a chance to ask me any embarrassing questions."

Raquel glanced up at him. "Is that an invitation?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow with amused skepticism.

"Nope. Just an observation," Sergio noted, bringing his glass up to his lips and taking a sip. He eyed her with a smirk as he brought his drink down. "Should I be worried?"

Raquel knew he was goading her. Part of her was annoyed at him, as usual, but another smaller part of her couldn't help but feel grateful at the familiarity of their back-and-forth. It helped distract her from angry thoughts about her boyfriend.

"How about this..." Raquel said, handing her signed receipt back to the bartender and putting her credit card back into her wallet. She turned to look up at Sergio. "I'll ask you one embarrassing question before I leave, and if you answer it honestly, I promise not to make fun of you."

Sergio stared at her for a moment, frowning. "That's it? You ask me a question and I'm just supposed to trust you're not going to make fun of me?"

"Yup," Raquel smirked, placing a hand on her hip as she gazed up at him. "Ready for the question?"

Sergio sighed, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "I don't know why the hell I agreed to this, but alright. Ask away."

Raquel looked away as she contemplated her question. Several options ran through her mind: Did you wet the bed as a child? What was your most embarrassing sexual experience? Do you wear boxers or briefs?

None of those questions seemed like the right ones to ask, however. One question popped into her mind that she couldn't seem to let go of, and she asked it before she lost her nerve:

"...Have you ever been in love?"

Even she wasn't entirely sure why she picked that question, and the bemusement showed on Sergio's face. "Seriously? That's what you want to know?" he asked skeptically. "Come on, Murillo, you can do better than that."

"Answer the question," she said firmly, crossing her arms. "'Have you ever been in love?' Come on, Marquina, is it really so hard for you to be vulnerable with me?"

Sergio simply stared at her, a look of surprise crossing his face as he seemed to assess her sincerity. Raquel held his gaze, and for a brief moment, she almost felt as if something passed between the two of them.

Which was ridiculous, of course.

"...No," Sergio said after a beat, still holding her gaze. There was an unreadable expression on his face. "No, I've never been in love."

Raquel didn't say anything for a moment as she continued to look at him, and she felt something odd zinging through her bloodstream. Despite their oftentimes snide and sarcastic back and forths, she knew in this moment he was telling the truth.

"I actually believe you," she said, lifting her chin slightly as she gave him a quick onceover. "I didn't know that was possible."

Sergio offered her a small smirk, looking once again like his usual self. "Trust is a sign of maturity, Murillo. I'm glad you've finally realized that."

"You think I trust you?" Raquel asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at him before hooking her purse over her shoulder and turning toward the door. "See you tomorrow, Marquina."

Raquel was halfway to the door when she heard Sergio say from behind her: "Bright and early, Murillo."

~/~

Raquel hailed a taxi to take her back home, not bothering to call Darren again. She had no idea where he was at the moment, and a part of her honestly didn't care – she would talk to him tomorrow about where the hell he was tonight, but right now she just wanted to go home.

This wasn't the first time Darren had done something like this. Earlier on in their relationship, Raquel had felt insecure that his behavior indicated that he was cheating on her – she had even snooped through his phone and social media accounts to see if he actually was having an affair. But she ended up finding nothing: it turned out he was just a bit thoughtless sometimes, and Raquel had decided to just let his behavior slide, rationalizing that there were worse things a boyfriend could be.

Raquel seriously doubted Darren skipped out on drinks tonight because he was having an affair. He had already promised her he would stop by – it wouldn't exactly be subtle of him if he were sneaking off with some other girl when Raquel was expecting him. Raquel would bet money that Darren was just wrapped up playing some video game and had lost track of time.

"...'Scuse me, Lady? We're here."

Raquel blinked, realizing that the cab driver had pulled up to her building. "Right, sorry," she muttered, shaking herself out of her thoughts. She quickly paid the cab fee before grabbing her purse and stepping out of the cab. She hurried up the steps toward the front doors, eager to get into her apartment, change into some comfy pajamas, and zone out in front of some TLC reality show.

Raquel took the elevator up to her floor and walked over to her front door, pulling out her keys. She stuck her key into the keyhole, but she didn't feel it click, meaning the door was already unlocked.

What?

Raquel frowned. Did Darren leave her door unlocked? He knew how dangerous that was, especially in New York City. When she tentatively opened the door and stepped inside, all the lights were on...

And Darren was sitting on her couch.

Raquel's shoulders dropped in half-relief and half-annoyance. She shut the door behind as she glared at her boyfriend, walking over to her dining room table to set her things down. "Darren, what the hell? I've been texting you all night – where were you?"

Darren didn't respond. He was sitting forward on the couch, his elbows on his knees and his head bowed. His posture indicated something serious, and Raquel stopped in her tracks, staring at him. "Darren? What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

Darren finally looked up at her, his face a stony mask. He was clearly furious about something, but was trying to control himself. "I'm sorry I wasn't responding to your texts tonight. I came across something here in your apartment, and I was hoping you could explain," he said, his voice calm and restrained.

He reached for something beside him that Raquel couldn't see, and she felt her mind racing with panic at what he might have found.

What the hell is he talking about?

He dropped the item on her coffee table: it was a small, empty, slightly-squashed box, with a picture of a blue medical logo on the front.

It was Alyra's pregnancy test box. He must have found it in her bathroom.

Raquel immediately felt herself relax. "Oh. No, Darren, that's not –"

"Not what? It's not what I think?" Darren snapped, his voice raising in anger. Raquel felt momentarily taken aback. "You think I don't know what a fucking pregnancy test looks like?!"

Raquel felt a bit stunned by his reaction, and she instinctively tried to diffuse the situation. "No, Darren. It's not –"

"You thought you could fucking hide this from me?!" he cut her off, lurching to his feet and starting to pace the area in front of her coffee table. "A fucking BABY!? How the hell could you let this happen!? You're on BIRTH CONTROL! We were being SAFE! We aren't ready for this, Raquel!"

He was getting louder and more agitated as he continued to pace around, running his hands over his head and tugging at his hair. Raquel had never seen Darren this angry before – the ambivalent, mellow guy she had known for the past two years was completely gone now, replaced with this enraged psychopath completely melting down at the very idea of becoming a father.

Raquel's shock was starting to turn into anger. "Darren, calm down..."

"I swear to God, Raquel, if you tell me right now that you're pregnant and you want to keep it, I will walk out," Darren threatened, pointing toward the front door. "I didn't fucking sign up for this. It's either me or the kid!"

Raquel could only stare at him, as if she were seeing him for the very first time. "You told me you wanted to have kids with me someday," she said quietly, her voice low and shaky. "You said that."

"Yeah, when we first started dating!" Darren snapped. "I wanted to sleep with you! Every guy says shit like that when they want to fuck a girl – you can't be that clueless!"

Now Raquel really began to shake with suppressed rage. "Get out," she hissed at him, her jaw clenched.

"No. Not until you tell me if you're fucking pregnant," Darren insisted angrily, jabbing a finger at her. "I have a right to know –!"

"I'm not pregnant!" Raquel stated, loud enough for him to go quiet. "That's not even my pregnancy test, Darren!"

That finally shut him up. He looked down at the box on the coffee table. "It's not?" he frowned, looking back up at her. "Then whose is it?"

Raquel let out a loud humorless laugh. "Does it really matter? After what you just said to me?" she shook her head. "You need to leave."

Darren seemed to deflate, clearly realizing how badly he had fucked up. "Raquel..."

"Get out of my apartment!" Raquel shouted, her voice suddenly shaking from suppressed tears as she pointed toward the door. "You wanted to get out of here ten seconds ago, so go! Get out, and never fucking come back!"

Darren didn't move, clearly trying to figure out a way to fix this. Raquel took a step toward him, ready to physically push him out the door, which got him to finally grab his coat and keys and quickly leave.

The door slammed shut behind him, and Raquel immediately broke down into tears. 

~/~

Hope you like this chapter feel free to vote and comment.

I am so sorry for not posting but I got my medical results today and I have 5th level depression. Ya you guys will think how could this happen but it happened hope I will be healthy soon and will post on regular basis.