Chapter 39: What The System Already Knew
The phone kept ringing in his hand.
Maya.
Of all the phones she could be calling, why the hell would she pick Rose at this hour of the night. His thumb hovered over the screen for a beat.
No. He definitely wasn’t answering that.
The bathroom door opened.
Rose stepped out with a towel wrapped around her, her hair still damp. She stopped when she saw him standing there with her phone in his hand.
"Who’s calling?"
He looked at the screen once more. Then at her.
"You know Maya?"
Rose blinked. "What do you mean?"
He turned the phone toward her, just enough. "Maya."
"Ofcourse I do." Rose’s expression tightened slightly, like she was trying to figure out what he’d missed. "She’s my sister."
Sister.
He went still. For a second, that was the only word he could process.
"Your sister?" He needed to hear it again.
"Yeah." Rose’s amusement faded. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Adrian waited for the punchline. Nothing. Rose was serious.
"But. It doesn’t make any sense," he said quietly.
Rose frowned. "What doesn’t?"
"You’re West."
He looked at the phone.
"Maya’s Reed." He added. "You don’t even have the same last names."
"She was adopted. My mom’s side." Rose said it like it was the most ordinary explanation in the world.
He sat down, needing a moment for his brain to catch up. Rose watched him do it and sat too, slower, the towel still cinched at her collarbone. Neither of them spoke.
"Maya’s my ex."
Rose stared at him for a beat. Then her eyes widened.
"The Maya?"
He nodded. Small. Enough.
Rose’s expression shifted. The warmth between them was still there. It just wasn’t the only thing in the room anymore.
He wasn’t angry. Rose hadn’t done anything wrong.
She was still Rose. Fingers curled slightly into the edge of the towel. Eyes on him instead of away. Nothing about her had changed in the last ninety seconds except what he now knew about her life.
The problem was the damn reveal.
He’d spent enough time thinking about Maya today already. Somehow, he’d ended up in her sister’s apartment and made everything with Rose more complicated.
Of course.
He didn’t need to walk through it twice. He already knew he’d fucked up.
His eyes dropped to the phone in his hand, and from there to the system app underneath it, dormant, waiting.
How the fuck did it know...
He just couldn’t decide whether it was the coincidence or the system he didn’t trust.
If the system had known about Maya, then had it planned this exact moment? Or was this just one hell of a coincidence?
"Adrian?" Rose had noticed him staring at nothing. "You good?"
His eyes remained on his screen.
"I don’t know." A pause, Rose didn’t look convinced. "I need to think."
He stood. He couldn’t sit there anymore. Thinking about it wasn’t helping. Rose watched him from the couch, didn’t reach for him, didn’t ask him to stay.
"It’s not..." He stopped. "I mean, this isn’t as bad as it sounds, right?"
"I don’t know either." She tilted her head. "Can we talk about this tomorrow? Please?"
He took another glance at the system which had pep talked him to this very moment.
"Yeah." He nodded once. "Tomorrow."
He crossed to the door and it clicked shut behind him.
Adrian stood there for a second longer than made sense, staring at the door. Then he exhaled and went upstairs.
206 felt wrong the second he stepped into it. Nothing had changed. Same chair. Same walls. Same bed.
Adrian just couldn’t look at any of it without thinking about tonight. He locked the door out of habit. Walked to the chair. Sat.
Yesterday, he’d thought his life couldn’t get any more complicated.Apparently, he’d been wrong
Every time he closed his eyes, the same things came back: Rose’s hand against his, the sound of the phone ringing, she’s my sister, Maya’s sister. Yet none of it stayed in one place for more than a second.
He got into bed anyway, hoping sleep would fix what thinking couldn’t. Lights off. Eyes closed.
Nothing, but the same thoughts from before.
His eyes opened on their own. Lying still was making it worse. But what else was he supposed to do at this hour?
Maybe call Rose or something?
No. The fuck. The hell would he even do that.
Bzzzt.
His phone buzzed.
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DAILY TASKS
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☑️ Eat one proper meal. Preferably in the company of another person. ⓘ
☑️ Maintain personal hygiene. ⓘ
☑️ Accumulate 90 minutes of physical activity. ⓘ
☐ Get at least 7 hours of sleep. ⓘ
☑️ Have at least one meaningful social interaction. ⓘ
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Everything else from the day had already been completed. Only sleep remained.
Motherfucker.
After all that had happened today, the system wanted him to go to sleep.
Great timing.
He stared at the checkbox like it owed him an explanation. Sleep wasn’t happening anytime soon.
Fine. He needed to get out of his own head, and lying here wasn’t helping.
He sat on the edge of the bed, phone in hand, thumb moving through contacts without much direction. He stopped.
Rose
Definitely wasn’t an option, not tonight, not with the reveal still fresh in his memory.
Drew would probably ask questions Adrian didn’t have answers for yet. Three texts later, he’d somehow be conducting an interrogation. So that left...
Jenna.
His eyes stayed on her contact for a moment longer.
He didn’t need to think about it. If anyone could get him to stop thinking about tonight, it was her.
Adrian: you up?
The reply came almost immediately.
Jenna: it’s eight Adrian. obviously not. i’m asleep right now typing this in my sleep
Adrian: wanna go out
A short pause stretched.
Jenna: what
Jenna: ok now i’m actually concerned. what’s going on
Adrian: complicated night
Jenna: that’s not good enough.
Adrian ran a hand through his hair. He had no idea how much he was supposed to tell her. Then his phone buzzed.
Jenna: fine. where
He almost smiled. Almost.
Adrian: i’ll pick you up
Adrian put the phone down and pulled a shirt over his head.
He could already think of several reasons to stay home. None of them were particularly useful.
So he ignored them, grabbed his shoes and keys, and headed for the door.