Chapter 2

The next few days were a grind. My rating was in the red. Every delivery felt like I was walking on eggshells, terrified of another bogus complaint. The pay was definitely lower, QuickEats algorithms punishing me for that one-star review. Sarah kept trying to give me money from her Michael fund, and I kept refusing. It felt wrong to take what she' d saved for so long, for something so important to her.

One afternoon, I was at the downtown gig hub, a crowded, noisy warehouse space where drivers waited for orders. I was trying to fix a loose strap on my delivery bag when I heard a familiar, grating voice.

"Well, well, look who it is."

I turned. Kevin stood there, smirking. Tiffany was beside him, clinging to his arm. And they weren't alone. Two of Kevin's buddies, big guys who looked like they enjoyed trouble, flanked them.

"What do you want, Kevin?" I asked, my hand instinctively going to my phone in my pocket.

"We need to talk," Kevin said, his voice louder now, drawing stares from other drivers. "About responsibility."

Tiffany put a hand on her stomach, a dramatic, sorrowful look on her face. "Remember that night, Alex? When you were so late with our, uh, protection?"

My heart began to pound. This couldn't be good.

"Yeah?" I said, bracing myself.

"Well," Kevin announced, his voice dripping with fake solemnity, "because you were late, and we, you know, couldn't wait..." He paused for effect. "...Tiffany's pregnant."

A ripple of murmurs went through the other drivers. My mind reeled. Pregnant? Because I was ten minutes late with condoms they probably weren't even going to use right?

"You're kidding me," I said, trying to keep the disbelief out of my voice. "That's impossible."

"Oh, it's possible, alright," Tiffany said, her voice quavering. "The doctor confirmed it."

Kevin stepped closer, his friends taking a step with him. "So, we figure you owe us. For prenatal care, you know, setting up a nursery, emotional damages for Tiffany. Let's say, twenty thousand dollars. A small price to pay for ruining our lives and bringing an innocent child into hardship."

Twenty thousand dollars? They were insane.

"You're out of your minds," I said, my voice rising. "I'm not giving you a dime. That's blackmail, and it's based on a lie."

"A lie?" Kevin' s face darkened. "You calling my girlfriend a liar?"

"I'm saying it's not my responsibility," I shot back. "You made your choices. If she's pregnant, it's on you two. Not me. And frankly, given how quickly you cooked this up, I doubt it's even real."

I tried to reason with them, to point out the absurdity. "Look, even if you didn't use the condoms I delivered, that's your decision. How is that my fault? And how can you be so sure, so fast? It's only been a few days."

Kevin just sneered. "Don't try to get technical, delivery boy. You messed up. You pay up."

Tiffany nodded. "We have proof."

"Proof of what?" I asked. "That you're trying to scam me again?"

"Proof that I'm pregnant," Tiffany said, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. "And that you're a heartless jerk."

This was a nightmare. The other drivers were watching, some with sympathy, some with amusement. I felt cornered. These people were relentless. They wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted, or until they destroyed me.