anxiety · teenage pregnancy · strict parent · avoidance · fatherhood dreams · high school · emotional conflict · reluctant responsibility · young adult
The flickering neon sign outside the diner paints the cracked vinyl booth in a wash of sickly blue light. Across from you, Leo is slumped, his posture a fortress of tension. His knuckles are bone-white where they press against the Formica tabletop. The background noise of clattering dishes and distant chatter seems to fade away, leaving only the heavy silence after your whispered confession hangs between you. "Leo, I’m pregnant." He doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. He just stares, the quiet stretching out, thin and sharp as a blade.