My head was pounding when the alarm went off at 7:30.
"Turn that shit off," Gina groaned, dragging the blanket over her head.
I reached over and silenced it, then lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling. There was no rush to get up, no class to get to, no reason to move at all.
I'd graduated.
That thought should've felt bigger than it did.
The room around me looked cool, I guess. Manga stacked unevenly on my desk, figurines collecting dust, my PC setup still glowing faintly from last night, and a guitar I hadn't touched in months leaning against the wall. Photos from high school were scattered around, frozen moments that felt more distant than they should have.
I sat up and pulled on a pair of drawers, dropping into my chair. I stared at the desk in front of me, tapping it lightly.
"What now?" I muttered.
I'd never really had an answer to that. Whenever anyone asked about my future, I'd joke my way out of it.
Put it all on red.
It always got a laugh, or at least a long lecture on the dangers of gambling. Apparently, that kind of answer stopped working once you actually graduated.
"Your alarm woke me up," she said, her voice thick with sleep.
"That's kind of the point."
"Don't get smart with me, Louvre."
"You can just call me Fin."
"And as you know," she replied, sitting up and brushing her hair back, "this thing we have is strictly sexual. No labels."
I rolled my eyes. "Sure thing, Arkey Barkey."
She didn't even react this time.
I pushed my chair back and moved closer to the bed, reaching out and tracing a finger lightly along her thigh. I felt her shiver under my touch, but before anything could happen, she caught my hand and moved it away.
"I need to start packing."
The mood shifted instantly.
We got dressed in relative silence; it was uncomfortable. I pulled on a black sweatshirt while she buttoned her jeans, and for a moment, it almost felt like we were just two normal people going about a normal morning.
"You're still not going to college?" she asked.
"No."
"You're wasting your talent."
"I just don't care that much."
She turned to face me fully then, her expression tightening. "We're adults now, Fin. You actually have to try."
I shrugged, keeping my tone light. "I'll figure it out."
"Have you ever actually tried for anything?" she shot back.
That made me pause. I leaned back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling again as I thought about it.
"…No," I admitted.
She exhaled, some of the edge leaving her posture as she sat down beside me. "You're not a bum," she said, quieter now. "I just… have plans. A future. I can't build that with someone who doesn't."
I didn't argue. There wasn't really anything to argue.
I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding, and she smirked faintly before standing. As she stood she held her stomach
"Bathroom?"
"Down the hall."
She nodded and swiftly left the room, I soon heard vomiting in the background…weird.
…
She didn't stay long after that. Said she felt sick, so I called an Uber for her and watched her leave, the silence filling the house. The house itself wasn't really mine. It belonged to the church, a place for older kids before they were pushed out to face the world, as they put it anyway. Max was still in school, so he had time. Joel already had a place lined up.
Me? I had a week.
I thought about that for all of five minutes before deciding it sounded like a future problem and booting up my PC instead. A few hours passed like that, lost to games and scrolling, until a knock pulled me out of it.
"Yo, Fin, you alive?"
Max didn't wait for an answer before stepping in, glancing around the room, and sniffing the air, holding his nose.
"So you and Gina had some fun."
"Don't remember much," I said. "But I do remember you getting rejected."
"Fuck you."
Joel appeared behind him, already looking tired. "Max. Clean the toilet."
Max groaned and shuffled out, muttering under his breath, and just like that, things went back to normal.
...
By midday, I found myself sprawled on the couch, scrolling aimlessly through my phone. The longer I sat there, the more bored I became, so I eventually pushed myself up and decided to go for a walk.
The sun was high, the street quiet, everything moving at that slow, lazy pace of a normal day. It felt strange, like the world hadn't caught up to the fact that something had changed for me.
My phone buzzed in my hand. Graduation posts filled the screen, everyone smiling, celebrating. Then Gina's photo popped up. My arm was around her, both of us smiling like everything was simple.
I stared at it for a moment, then locked my phone and shoved it back into my pocket.
Hunger pulled me toward Tony's store. The bell chimed as I walked in.
"Aye, Fin!" Tony greeted me. "Big plans?"
"Not really."
He chuckled. "You'll figure it out."
I grabbed a sandwich and stepped outside, leaning against the wall as I took a bite. It was stale, but it didn't matter.
My phone buzzed again.
Gina: We need to talk.
I replied, "At Tony's, pull up"
…
A pregnancy test was sitting on the table between us.
Positive.
I just stared at it, as if, by looking long enough, it might change.
"I'm pregnant," Gina said, her tone flat.
My chest tightened. "...Okay."
She let out a quiet breath, as she'd already had this conversation in her head a dozen times before I even got there.
"I found out this morning. That's why I wasn't feeling well."
I nodded slowly, still trying to catch up. "So… what are we doing?"
Her eyes flicked up to meet mine.
"I'm handling it," she said.
"What does that mean?" My voice came out sharper than I intended. "Handling it how?"
"It means," she said, leaning back slightly, "I'm not relying on you."
That hit harder than I expected.
"What?"
She didn't hesitate. "You don't have a plan, Fin. You don't even want one. You've spent your whole life just… drifting. That works for you, but I can't afford that anymore."
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
"I tried to get you to think about your future, because I knew. I already knew. And you just brushed it off like it didn't matter."
"It doesn't matter," I snapped.
I clenched my jaw.
"I'm not going to build a future on 'I'll figure it out,' Fin," she said, her voice quieter now, but no less firm. "Not with a child involved."
The word hung there.
Child.
"I'll take care of it," she added. "You don't have to worry."
"You don't get to just decide that," I said, standing up.
"I do," she replied, standing as well. "Because I'm the only one here who's actually thinking about what comes next, and I'm carrying the thing"
That stung.
"I don't think you can step up," she said, meeting my eyes directly now. "And I'm not going to risk finding out the hard way."
Then she turned and walked away, and I didn't follow. I just stood there, my eyes flicking at the empty space she left behind and the test.
My anger came first. Who was she to decide that? Who was she to just cut me out like that? But the more I snowballed the more I realised she was completely right.
That was the part that stuck.
Yes, I didn't have a plan. I never did. I'd spent years coasting, joking my way through everything, avoiding anything that required me to actually… try.
And now, when something real finally showed up, something that mattered…
I had nothing to say, no quip or joke to deflect with.
My hands clenched at my sides.
A kid.
My kid.
The thought hit differently now. Not as some abstract idea, not as a joke or a what-if, but something real. Something that would exist, with or without me.
And for the first time, I actually thought about it.
What kind of father would I be?
Would I just… drift through that too?
Let someone else make all the decisions, all the sacrifices, while I stood on the sidelines pretending it didn't matter?
No. No, I couldn't do that.
I exhaled sharply. I could change that. I would change that.
I turned and bolted out of the store. I spotted her ahead, already halfway down the street.
"Gina!" I shouted.
She didn't stop.
I pushed harder, closing the distance, my heart pounding for a reason that had nothing to do with running.
"Gina, wait!"
She slowed slightly, just enough for me to catch up.
"I-" I wasn't able to finish.
For a split second, I didn't understand what I was hearing.
Then everything disappeared into noise, the world flipped, my body lifted off the ground like it weighed nothing, and then…
Black…
…
End of Chapter
A/N: Hey! If you're new here, welcome to the story, I'm really glad you decided to give it a shot.
I'm currently in the process of rewriting Act 0 to improve the pacing, structure, and overall quality, so you might notice some changes if you've read earlier versions.
If you have any problems, criticisms, or general feedback, feel free to let me know. I genuinely appreciate it and it helps a lot with improving the story moving forward.
Cheers.