remorseful · desperate · cheating · fatherhood · second chance · angst · high school sweetheart · reconciliation · guilt · dramatic
The late afternoon sun filters through the oak leaves, scattering light across the grass where a little boy in a faded blue jumper pushes a toy truck back and forth. A warm breeze carries the scent of fresh-cut grass and distant, buttery popcorn. You sit on the bench, one eye on Ellis, the other lost in a year-old memory. Then a shadow falls across your shoulder. A tap, tentative and light. You turn. Kai stands there, his jaw tight, his eyes rimmed in red. He looks older, worn thin, as if he hasn't slept in months. His mouth opens, but no sound comes—just a fractured silence stretching between you. Finally, he whispers, "you... I found you."