Chapter 8: Unraveling

Jazmine POV

Jazmine woke up to silence. No baby crying. No sound of Huey moving around in the kitchen. Just stillness.

At first, she thought maybe she had overslept, that Huey was just in the other room with Adia. But as she sat up and looked around the bedroom, the emptiness settled in again. He was gone. They were gone.

Dragging herself out of bed, she shuffled into the living room. The sight of Adia's toys scattered around the floor made her stomach turn. Huey had left in a hurry, but he hadn't taken everything. The baby bottles were still in the sink, the blanket Adia loved was still on the couch. It was like a ghost of her family remained, taunting her with reminders of what she had lost—or, more accurately, what she had pushed away.

Jazmine's body felt heavy, like her limbs had forgotten how to move properly. She walked into the kitchen, turned on the coffee maker, then immediately turned it off. What was the point? The only thing she had to look forward to was sitting in this house, alone with her own thoughts.

She picked up her phone. There were missed calls—Riley, Cindy, even her mom had tried to reach her. She ignored them all. She didn't want to hear anyone say the words she was already thinking: You're failing. You're a bad mother. Huey was right to leave.

Instead, she curled up on the couch, pulling Adia's blanket around her, inhaling what little scent of her daughter remained. She closed her eyes and tried to will herself back to sleep, but her mind wouldn't shut up. The silence of the house was suffocating.

Huey POV

Huey wasn't sure how much longer he could do this.

Riley's house was fine, and Cindy was helping with Adia, but nothing felt right. It had been two days, and Huey still hadn't figured out if he missed Jazmine or if he was just pissed at her. Probably both.

"You good?" Riley asked, plopping down on the couch next to him.

Huey rubbed his face, sighing. "I don't fucking know, man."

"She reached out yet?"

"Nope."

Riley muttered low. "Damn. I thought for sure she'd be blowin' up your phone by now."

"Nah," Huey muttered. "She's too deep in whatever the hell this is to even care."

"You sure that's what it is?" Cindy asked, walking in with Adia on her hip. "Or is she just… lost?"

Huey frowned. "Lost?"

Cindy sat down, bouncing Adia gently. "Postpartum depression, Huey. I told you, this doesn't sound like Jazmine. She's not doing this on purpose. She's drowning."

Huey shook his head. "I get that. I do. But I can't ignore the fact that she let Adia cry herself to sleep while she sat on the fucking couch like a damn zombie."

Cindy sighed. "I know you're mad, and you have every right to be. But this isn't something she can just snap out of. She needs help, Huey. Real help."

Huey leaned back, exhaling sharply. "I don't know if I can do that right now. I need to sleep on it."

Cindy nodded. "That's fair. But don't take too long. She might not have that much time."

Those words sat uncomfortably in Huey's chest long after the conversation ended.

Huey sat alone in Riley's dimly lit living room, staring at the ceiling. Cindy's words echoed in his mind, but he couldn't shake the anger that simmered beneath the surface. His fists clenched as he thought about Jazmine ignoring Adia. He was pissed, but fuck, he was also tired.

His mind drifted, pulling him back to a time when things were simpler. When he and Jazmine were good.

The first time he admitted he had feelings for her, they had been sitting in his car, parked outside her apartment. It was late, way past midnight, and she was leaning back in the passenger seat, laughing about some dumb joke he had made.

"You're stupid," she giggled, shaking her head.

"Yeah?" Huey smirked, watching the way the streetlight caught the highlights in her hair. "But you love it."

She rolled her eyes. "Who said I love anything?"

He swallowed, pulse quickening. "I did."

Jazmine blinked at him, her playful expression shifting into something unreadable. "Huey…"

"I mean it," he said, gripping the steering wheel. "I think about you all the time. And not just in a damn, she's pretty way. Like in a fuck, I don't wanna go through my life without her way."

Silence settled between them, heavy and charged. Then, she reached over, taking his hand. "Good," she murmured. "Because I feel the same way."

The day he decided to make Jazmine his was the best day of his life. Just two kids in love with each other. Two years of dating made him realize he wanted more.

The night he decided to propose. It wasn't planned, not really. It was just a normal evening—Jazmine in their tiny apartment, wearing one of his hoodies, singing to herself as she cooked something in the kitchen.

She turned, a wooden spoon in her hand. "You're staring," she teased.

Huey didn't even try to deny it. He was staring. Because in that moment, he realized he never wanted to go a day without her.

"Marry me," he blurted out.

Jazmine's eyes widened, her grip on the spoon tightening. "What?"

"Marry me," he repeated, standing up and walking toward her. "I don't have a ring yet. I don't have some big, grand plan. But fuck all that. Just say yes."

She dropped the spoon, her hands flying to her mouth as she laughed. "You're serious?"

"Dead serious."

She launched herself at him, nearly knocking him over. "Yes, you idiot," she whispered against his lips. "Yes."

Huey exhaled sharply, running a hand down his face as the memories faded. How the fuck had they gone from that to this?

Cindy was right—Jazmine wasn't okay. But knowing that didn't erase the anger, didn't undo the fact that she had shut him and Adia out completely.

He needed to think. Needed space. Maybe a night of sleep would help clear his head.

Jazmine POV

The next day, Jazmine barely moved from the couch. She ignored the phone again, ignored the hunger gnawing at her stomach. The only thing that got her up was the realization that she was out of coffee.

The simple act of walking outside felt surreal, like she was stepping into a world that no longer belonged to her. The air was crisp, the streets were alive with people who had their shit together. Families with kids. Couples laughing. Normal people who weren't crumbling apart.

The grocery store was a blur. She didn't even remember picking up the items—coffee, frozen meals, snacks—but somehow, she ended up at the register. She barely made eye contact with the cashier, paid, and left.

But as she walked back toward her car, she passed the liquor store.

She hadn't had a drink since before she was pregnant. It wasn't even something she thought about. But now? Now she just wanted the noise in her head to stop. Just for a little while.

She hesitated outside the door, staring at the neon "OPEN" sign flickering in the window. This is a bad idea, a small voice in her head whispered.

But another voice—the louder one, the one that told her she was a failure and nothing mattered anymore—pushed her inside.

She barely looked at the shelves, grabbing the first bottle of vodka she saw. The cashier didn't bat an eye, didn't know or care that she was a mother who was unraveling one day at a time.

By the time she got home, she was shaking.

Jazmine twisted the cap off the bottle and took a long drink straight from it, wincing as the burn traveled down her throat. It didn't taste good, but she didn't care.

She sat on the couch, bottle in hand, staring at the blank TV screen. Maybe if she drank enough, she'd finally stop thinking. Maybe she'd finally be able to sleep without waking up feeling like she was suffocating.

She took another drink. And another. The warmth spread through her limbs, numbing the ache in her chest just a little bit.

Then, she heard the front door close.

Her body froze. Slowly, she turned her head, heart pounding as her eyes landed on Huey standing in the doorway. His arms were folded, his face unreadable, but she could feel the tension radiating off of him.

She swallowed thickly, gripping the bottle tighter. Their eyes met, and she could see the fire in his.

"…Fuck," she muttered under her breath.

The room was dead silent.

And then Huey spoke.

"What the fuck are you doing, Jazmine?"

A/N I know this is a shorter chapter, but I promise to make the next chapter much longer. Please review, and while your waiting, check out my other new stories!