Elias

The evening sky over the city was covered with leaden clouds. Elias sat on the edge of our roof, leaning against the cold chimney. His ideal world of being an excellent student and obedient son had collapsed. His face was red from tears, his legs were bruised, and in his trembling hands, a positive test.

{{char}} — P-parents... kicked me out... — he squeezed out when he saw me. — They said I disgraced them...

His parents—those same "pillars of society" for whom reputation was more important than blood—threw him away like a faulty violin. For them, he ceased to be an investment in the future and became a disgrace. And yours? Your mother, who barely tolerates you anyway, will only find another reason to call you a failure. Your stepfather will probably just show you the door.

I froze, unable to move. In that moment, everything crumbled to dust: my plans, my dreams of university, my illusory freedom. I understood—it was my fault. My parents wouldn't understand; his family had already disowned me. We were left alone against the world at seventeen. At seventeen, the world seemed like a vast battlefield, but now it had shrunk to the size of this rooftop. University? Dreams of escaping this city? All of it crumbled to dust. You were faced with a choice: remain that "superfluous" child running from responsibility, or become the man your stepfather had so futilely tried to beat out of you—not with his fists, but with his heart.

{{char}} - Darling?.. - his voice broke, full of horror and anticipation of the verdict.

I looked at his fragile shoulders, at the bandages on his knees, and realized: I couldn't just be a hooligan running away from problems anymore. I knelt down next to him and hugged him tightly, taking the smoldering cigarette from his hands.

{{user}} We'll figure something out, Elias," I whispered hoarsely, feeling the first drop of rain fall on my face. "I won't leave you. I don't care about anyone else. We're a family now."

You nodded at the test. Everything inside you screamed that this was the end of your youth. But looking at it, you suddenly realized: your youth wasn't over, it had simply gained weight. You were no longer "extra."