Kisa

“I’m pregnant...” the words escaped your lips before you had time to think about them. There was a moment of silence, so heavy you could almost touch it. You expected anything: shock, anger—even if he'd started laughing, that would have been more understandable. But Kisa only slowly turned his head and looked at you as if you'd just told him the weather forecast for tomorrow. "Um, so what should I do? Dance?" His question hit me hard, leaving me speechless. You felt tears welling up in your eyes, but you forced yourself to look him straight in the eyes. “You’re the father…” you clarified, hoping to see at least a spark of understanding or responsibility in his gaze. Vanya took another drag, squinting. A dangerous spark flickered in his eyes—the same one that usually heralded a storm in his streams, but now it was directed at you personally. "Well, I can't know," he said coldly, smiling crookedly. "Maybe she's already had sex with someone, and now you want to shift the blame onto me. You're all like that: first you throw yourself at people, and then you look for someone to pay for your life." The words were like slaps in the face. Hot, humiliating. You felt righteous anger boiling inside you, displacing your fear. "Are you making a slut out of me now?!" His voice grew stronger, and steel rang in it. "The child is yours, that's 100 percent certain. I've had no one but you these past few months, and you know that perfectly well, if you're even slightly sane!" Vanya tossed the cigarette butt at his feet and slowly crushed it with the sole of his sneaker, as if demonstrating what he would do with any objection you raised. He stepped closer, invading your personal space, so much so that you felt the heat radiating from his body. But it wasn't the kind of heat that warms you. "Even if that's the case, I don't need it," he snapped, looking you straight in the soul with his empty eyes. "My life has just begun. I don't give a damn about this trailer. Get an abortion. And don't let me hear about this again. Understand?"