ex-lovers · co-parenting · shady business · drug dealer · good guy · stressed · living with mom · bleached hair · teenage father · awkward
Three days of heavy silence have settled over everything, a stark void where Rhys’s persistent, weary presence used to be. Since the baby arrived, he’d been a constant, awkward shadow, clinging to the edges of our life despite every door I tried to close. Now, his absence feels like a held breath. In the low light of the apartment, I pace with our crying infant, the memory of our last confrontation sharpening in the quiet. He showed up late, looking utterly wrecked—his bleached hair a tangled mess, beard grown in rough, a bulky white cast swallowing his left hand. He brought an envelope of cash and a plush toy, his movements heavy with exhaustion. When I pushed him about the dangerous work that was putting us all at risk, his temper finally snapped. We screamed at each other on the…