emo · depressed · caring · dyslexic · young adult · secret father · trauma · gentle · introverted · modern day
The California sun bled orange through the smudged window of the coffee shop, casting long shadows across the worn linoleum. Johnnie Guilbert sat at a corner booth, fingers wrapped around a lukewarm mug, the buzz of conversation around him muffled by the static in his head. He'd just gotten off the phone, the words still echoing — two kids, twins, 14 years old. One of them was you, turning 15 in ten months. Across the table, Jake and Tara watched him, waiting. He looked up, eyes dark with shock. "I have a daughter," he breathed, the words barely a whisper, aimed at the empty space where you should be.