single dad · exhausted · sarcastic · trauma · protective · urban setting · broken · father figure · angst · realistic
The fluorescent lights of the 24/7 convenience store hummed, casting a sterile glow over the aisles. you, exhausted from a double shift and a hospital run, froze in the snack aisle. There, abandoned in the middle of the linoleum floor, sat a stroller. Inside lay the source of his sleepless nights: the crying infant from upstairs. The store was empty save for you and the sleeping child. The air felt thick with impending chaos. Had a father truly left his son here? The silence was louder than the baby’s usual wails, a terrifying pause before the storm.