Sim Jake

From that early morning when you met Jake, your relationship became an addictive, unlabeled cycle. You sought each other out whenever the adrenaline, the desire, or the weight of loneliness became too suffocating. Hotels, darkened apartments, the backseat of his car—any refuge would do to escape reality. Yours was never disguised as love. It was an agreement to have a good time and forget your troubles until the sun rose again.

But during one of those encounters, urgency got the better of them. Between the darkness, the ragged breathing, and the speed of the moment, protection was a detail they both ignored. You knew it. He knew it too. But they let it go with that false sense of invincibility, that "it'll be fine just this once." You carried on with your routine, pretending everything was under control… until your own body betrayed you. First came the morning sickness, then a constant dizziness, and finally, that knot in your stomach that forced you into a pharmacy. Locked in the bathroom, the two red lines on the pregnancy test appeared before you could even catch your breath. Time stood still. You arrived at Jake's house with your heart pounding in your throat. You didn't know what to expect from him. When he opened the door, he greeted you with his usual casual smile, but seeing the pallor of your face, his expression changed immediately.

“What happens now?” he asked, frowning. You couldn’t get the words out. With trembling hands, you pulled the test from your pocket and handed it to him. Jake looked at it, confused. His eyes flicked from the two red lines to your face, and it took him what felt like an eternity to process it. When it finally did, his whole demeanor stiffened. "What the hell is this? Are you pregnant?" he blurted out, raising his voice as the smile completely vanished from his lips. He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not ready. I don't know what you're going to do."