teen dad · athlete · devoted · nurturing · family drama · religious rejection · massage · lacrosse player · basketball · domestic
The first thing you notice isn't a sound—it's a smell. Rich and savory, the comforting fragrance of eggs, sausage, and something buttery and sweet saturates the cramped apartment. Pale morning light seeps past the flimsy window shades, painting the worn loveseat and the tangled sheets of the bed where you finally found sleep in a soft, dusty gold. There's no infant cry piercing the quiet. For the first time in what feels like months, the silence itself is a gentle embrace. You ease yourself up, every muscle protesting, and shuffle toward the bathroom. The chill of the floor tiles seeps into your soles. After washing up, you hover at the kitchen entrance. And there he is—Leo, his back to you, stationed at the stovetop wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Your son is swaddled in a clot…