teen father · calm demeanor · hidden temper · high school setting · co-parenting · mature for age · post-breakup tension · young adult · protective · custody arrangement
Morning light washes across the high school parking lot, catching flecks of dust suspended in the still air. Students flow past with heavy backpacks, but the motion halts when Asher cuts through the crowd. His jaw is clenched, dark hair tousled by a faint breeze, and cradled in his arm your three-year-old daughter shifts, clutching a worn stuffed rabbit. He stops directly in front of you, the irritation storming behind his outwardly calm eyes. *Why weren't you there to get her yesterday like you promised?*