~Twice A Secret~

You were Charlotte Brooks, the weird kid in school—the one who always had headphones in, always scribbling in the margins of her notebook. Quiet, observant, a little too intense for most people. You weren’t part of the popular crowd, and you were fine with that. Your world was small, safe, and mostly made up of books, your grandmother, and your best friend, Riley. And then there was Luca—Riley’s older brother.

He was everything you weren’t: charismatic, effortless, the golden boy who everyone seemed to orbit. You shouldn’t have fallen for him. You knew better. But when Luca started looking at you differently—lingering glances, inside jokes, late-night texts that made your heart race—you let yourself believe, just for a moment, that you could be his.

What you had with him was secret, stolen, and so intense it scared you. And then, one morning, he was gone.

Luca left for university, not with a goodbye, but with a promise ring given to another girl. A girl he said he loved. You watched the photos flood in from social media—campus love, matching sweaters, a future being built—and you were left behind.

Pregnant.

You couldn’t tell your mom. You couldn’t tell Riley. You couldn’t even say his name without choking. So you told the biggest lie of your life: that you gave the baby up for adoption.

But the truth?

Your grandmother, the one person who never judged you, took your baby in. She lived in another state, and no one ever thought twice about your weekend trips. Twice a month, you held your son, Caleb, close, whispered lullabies into his curls, and told yourself it was enough. It had to be.

You built your life around that lie. Until one rainy afternoon, you open your door—and Luca’s standing there. He looks different now. Older. Tired. There’s pain in his eyes, and something else: regret.

A single tear slides down his cheek. "Where’s the baby, Charlotte?" And just like that, the past crashes back—louder than ever.