Richard’s fingers hovered over the mouse, his cursor resting on the subject line of an email address he hadn’t expected to see again.

Notification from BabyGirlLife.com

He almost chuckled. Of course, it had ended up in his inbox—a cruel reminder of the mess they’d vowed to leave behind. He and the others had all agreed. No more apps. No more clients. After Tessa… Well, there wasn’t much left to say. Their arrangement with her had started out as a thrilling experiment but had ended with a mix of regret, confusion, and something none of them could quite put into words.

It had been Aiden who had deleted his profile first, followed by Marcus and Daniel. Richard had held onto his account the longest, not out of hope but out of sheer habit. He liked to maintain control over loose ends. But even he hadn’t logged in for weeks. The email staring back at him now was nothing more than a ghost from the past.

Spam it is, he thought, his finger itching to hit delete.

But something made him pause. A flicker of curiosity, or maybe guilt. His jaw clenched as he clicked on the email. The subject line expanded, revealing a forwarded message from someone named Rachel.

From: Rachel (via BabyGirlLife.com)
To: Richard
Subject: Tessa Needs Help

Richard’s brow furrowed. Tessa’s name hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the screen as if it might bite him. His heart, traitorous as ever, skipped a beat.

He hesitated for a long moment before opening the email. The body of the message was simple but jarring.

Hi,

I don’t know if this will reach you, but I’m hoping it does. My name is Rachel, and I’m a friend of Tessa’s. She’s been struggling since she left you guys. She’s not doing well, and she’s too proud to reach out herself. I’m begging you to consider contacting her. She needs support, even if she won’t admit it.

Please think about it.

-Rachel

Richard’s pulse quickened as he read the words again. Struggling. Not doing well.

It had been weeks since she’d walked out of their lives, her heels clicking on the marble floor as if she couldn’t leave fast enough. She’d made her choice clear, and the four of them had respected it, however begrudgingly. But this… this was unexpected.

“What the hell are you up to, Tessa?” he muttered to himself.

The sound of footsteps broke his train of thought. He looked up to see Marcus leaning against the doorway, a coffee mug in hand. His dark eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Richard’s expression.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Marcus said, taking a sip from his mug. “What’s going on?”

Richard turned the screen toward him without a word. Marcus’s brows shot up as he read the email. He set his mug down and crossed his arms.

“Rachel, huh? Any idea who she is?” Marcus asked.

Richard shook his head. “No, but she claims to be Tessa’s friend. Says she’s struggling.”

Marcus let out a breath. “Struggling?” He ran his hand through his hair, “We said we were done.” 

“Exactly,” Richard replied, scrubbing at his temple. “We said we’d let her go, didn’t we? She made her decision.” He repeated as though he was trying to convince himself to hit delete on the email.

“She did,” Marcus agreed. “But if this Rachel woman’s telling the truth, maybe it’s not as cut and dry as we thought.”

Richard leaned back in his chair, the email still open on the screen. He hated the conflict swirling in his chest. He’d spent weeks convincing himself that walking away was the right thing to do. That it was for the best. She’d made her choice.

“Do you want to tell the others?” Marcus asked after a moment.

Richard let out a heavy sigh. “We’re going to have to, aren’t we?”

Marcus smirked. “They’re not going to take it well.”

“No shit.” Richard muttered, already dreading the conversation.

Marcus grabbed his coffee mug and headed toward the door. “Well, you’re the one who opened Pandora’s box. You get to break the news.”

Richard groaned as Marcus disappeared down the hall. He looked back at the email one more time before closing it and standing up. His gut told him this was about to spiral into something much bigger than he’d bargained for. And if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stop it.

The living room was tense, a heavy silence settling over the space as Richard finished recounting the email to the others. Aiden leaned against the back of the couch, his arms crossed and his jaw tight. Daniel sat on the edge of a chair, his fingers tapping against his knee in a restless rhythm.

“So, what’s the plan?” Aiden asked, his voice low but sharp. “We just show up and pretend everything’s fine?”

“No one said that,” Marcus replied. “But if Rachel’s right and she’s not doing well, can we really ignore it?”

“We could,” Daniel muttered, though the conflicted look in his eyes betrayed his words. “But it would feel like shit.”

Richard leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Look, I know this isn’t easy. None of us wanted things to end the way they did. But if she’s in trouble—”

“She’s not in trouble,” Aiden interrupted. “She’s hurting. And yeah, that’s killing me too, but what if showing up makes it worse?”

“It’s a risk,” Richard admitted. “But Rachel thinks it’s worth taking. She suggested we meet her at their apartment.”

Daniel frowned. “Rachel won’t be there?”

“No. She said Tessa’s been avoiding people, barely going out. She thinks seeing us might help.”

The room fell silent again as the weight of the situation sank in. Finally, Marcus spoke, his tone softer than before. “If there’s even a chance we can help her, I say we try.”

Aiden sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fine. But we do this carefully. No pressure, no expectations.”

Richard nodded. “Agreed. I’ll coordinate with Rachel and set up a time.”

The apartment felt like a different world. The air was heavy, the kind of quiet that pressed down on the chest. Tessa’s curtains were drawn, blocking out the sunlight. Inside her bedroom, the faint strains of melancholy music played from a speaker on the nightstand.

Tessa stirred beneath the covers, her eyes puffy from a restless night. She reached over to silence the music, her heart sinking as the silence filled the room. Another day of nothingness stretched before her.

A knock at the door startled her, the sound pulling her from her haze. She hesitated, her pulse quickening. No one ever came to see her. She had no family and her only friend was Rachel.

Dragging herself out of bed, she shuffled toward the door, tightening the robe around her waist. When she opened it, the sight before her stole her breath. Standing in the hallway were the four men she thought she’d never see again.

“Tessa,” Richard said softly, his expression a mix of concern and longing.

Her heart slammed against her ribcage as she took them in, their familiar faces a jarring reminder of everything she’d tried to forget.

“What… what are you doing here?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

None of them answered right away. Instead, they looked at her with the kind of intensity that made her knees weak.

“We came for you,” Marcus finally said, his voice steady. “Can we come in?”

Tessa stared back at the four men she’d been sobbing about for weeks. She could only imagine what she looked like. She’d managed to shower but hadn’t brushed her hair since yesterday morning, it must look like a rat's nest. Besides going to class she never left the house. She lived in her ratty bathrobe and fuzzy socks. She didn't dare turn on the Tv, she never knew what might set off one of her crying fits, last time it was a Hallmark commercial.  

Someone cleared their throat pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Baby girl?” Tessa gasped at the term that had brought her so much comfort and pain hit her in the chest. 

“Baby girl, can we come in?” Daniel asked, cocking his head to one side, his eyes full of concern.

“Y-yes,” Tessa said, stepping back to let them in as she smoothed down her hair.

She watched as the four of them filled her tiny apartment. She looked at her space through their eyes. It was a stark contrast to the penthouse that was for sure. She and Rachel had furnished it from thrift shops and garage sales, the occasional lamp they found on the side of the road lit the small space.

Richard sat in one of the arm chairs they owned, the arm scratched heavily from cats they didn’t own. It had been one of their yard sale finds.

She bit her lip and held back a tiny sad laugh as she watched Marcus, Aiden, and Daniel squish together on the tiny love seat. 

“H-How did you find me?” Tessa asked softly as she bit her thumb nail. 

Marcus leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, “You’re friend Rachel. She, well,” He glanced at her from head to toe. Tessa blushed in embarrassment. 

“Your friend said you were having a hard time,” Aiden finished. 

Tessa’s stomach plummeted. They probably thought she was some charity case. Some crazy girl who couldn’t keep herself together. Out of a job and living in a neighborhood where every window and door had bars on it.