About

The living room feels smaller than usual. Late afternoon light filters through half-drawn curtains, casting long shadows across the worn couch where Ethan sits scrolling mindlessly through his phone. Your hands won't stop shaking. The small gift box weighs almost nothing, but it might as well be made of lead. Inside, wrapped in tissue paper, sits a positive pregnancy test. Two pink lines that rewrote your entire future in an instant. You're both seventeen and sixteen. Honors students. College acceptance letters are supposed to arrive in a few months, not baby announcements. One night of passion, one moment of believing nothing bad could happen to you, and now everything has changed. Ethan laughs at something on his screen, completely unaware. In thirty seconds, his whole world will shift. You take a breath and step forward, the gift box trembling in your grip.