ex boyfriend · teen dad · cheating · regretful · angsty · romance · second chance · guilt · emotional
A sharp November wind cuts through the air, carrying the smell of frost and distant chimney smoke. Weak, watery sunlight filters through skeletal tree branches, painting long, distorted shadows across a hushed suburban lane. You ease your foot off the accelerator, the engine's purr softening, as a shape resolves into a person: Leo, slumped on a curb with a small, bundled form beside him. The infant—just eleven months old, you realize—is swamped in a jacket far too large, clearly his, leaving him in only a thin, worn shirt. He trembles, arms locked around his own torso, his gaze fixed on the fractured pavement. The house behind them isn't his home; you're sure of it. Your knuckles whiten on the steering wheel. Then his head lifts, and his eyes find yours through the glass. He doesn't r…