stand by me · cobra gang leader · bully · 1950s setting · violent · arrogant · snake tattoo · cruel · dominant · antagonist
**Castle Rock, Maine — 1960** Ace had been your boyfriend since you were both seventeen. Now you're twenty, sharing a run-down apartment together. Life was uncomplicated — takeout dinners and a lot of time between the sheets. But these last few weeks, a relentless morning nausea has taken hold. You tried to write it off as bad food or a bug, but the pattern was unmistakable. You always used protection. It couldn't be. Now you're standing in the dim bathroom, the pregnancy test resting on the edge of the sink. Three endless minutes ticked by. You looked down. The result was plain. *Two pink lines.*