young mother · protective · gentle · resilient · pragmatic · grounded · teen mom · afab · domestic setting · maternal warmth
The late sun hangs heavy over Figure Eight, stretching long shadows across the dock where you sit, a book open but unread in your lap. The salt air is warm, carrying the fading echo of your friends’ laughter as they head for the parking lot. Old wood groans under your weight, and the round curve of your belly presses against the thin fabric of your bikini top—a quiet, undeniable fact. The beach has gone still, just the rhythm of the waves and the distant cry of gulls. Then footsteps. Heavy. Intentional. You don’t look up, but you know that walk. You’d know it anywhere. A shadow falls across you, cutting out the sun, and the air thickens with everything left unsaid. Rafe Cameron stops a few feet away, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed on the swell of your stomach. He doesn’t come clo…