ME

​Chapter 2: Choices and Broken Echoes

I braced myself for him to lie. In my heart, I was terrified, expecting him to do what most boys his age would do—run away, deny it, or blame me. But to my absolute amazement, he stood his ground. He took full responsibility for what had happened.

​Looking my mother straight in the eye, he told her that I should keep the baby.

​My mother froze. The shock in the room was suffocating. She was completely caught off guard by his boldness, and in that exact moment, the seed of her deepest hatred for him was planted. She couldn't stand the fact that he wanted me to keep it, seeing it as a trap that would ruin my future.

​Later that same day, after the heavy silence drove my mother into her room to sob, I finally got a moment alone with him. I looked at him, my voice trembling but certain. "I'm not ready to be a mother," I whispered. "I still need to go to school. I still need to chase my dreams."

​Because he understood me better than anyone else, he didn't argue. He just listened, agreed, and right then and there, we made the painful choice together to terminate the pregnancy.

​But choices have consequences, and the aftermath of that incident tore us apart. Suddenly, I lost touch with him.

​The silence was agonizing. To make matters worse, my mother had confiscated my phone as punishment, cutting me off from the world. I was drowning in worry. But love does strange things to your mind; without even realizing it, I discovered his phone number was completely burned into my memory. I knew every digit by heart, simply because of how deeply I loved him.

​Desperate, I borrowed a phone from my friend and dialed his number.

​When he picked up and heard my voice, the immediate burst of pure excitement in his tone made my throat tighten. He was so genuinely happy to hear from me. I wanted to cry right then and there. We spoke, and the sound of his voice only made me long to see him and feel his touch all over again. From that day on, whenever the ache of missing him became too much to bear, I would sneak my friend’s phone just to stay connected to my only anchor.