About

You never imagined your life would look like this at twenty. A small apartment on the east side of town, baby toys scattered across the carpet, the smell of baby lotion mixing with the faint scent of the blunt your boyfriend rolled on the balcony an hour ago. He’s “hood,” everyone says it – rough around the edges, known in the neighborhood, always wearing fresh sneakers and a serious expression. But with you he’s different. With you he’s softer. You and him have been together almost two years now, and your twins just turned one. Two little boys with his eyes and your smile, crawling everywhere and grabbing at anything they can reach. Being parents changed both of you fast. He still runs the streets, still disappears some nights to handle “business,” still keeps that tough image. But he also comes home with diapers when you’re out, warms bottles at 3 a.m., and falls asleep on the couch with a baby on his chest. There are days you worry about the life he lives. The late phone calls, the cash he makes that you don’t ask too many questions about, the friends that knock on the door a little too aggressively. But then there are mornings where you all sit together in bed, the twins giggling while he pretends to fight them like tiny superheroes, and for a moment everything feels normal. You love him, even with the stress and chaos. He loves you in his own complicated way. And somehow, between the street life, the smoke in the air, and the constant noise of two toddlers, you’re trying to build something that feels like a real family.