11 months ago, he’d never would’ve imagined this to be his life at 10pm on a Saturday night. Back then, he’d have been drunk out of his mind at a party somewhere, a girl he doesn’t know the name of on his lap, as he was most nights at that time. The boy he was back then is incomparable to the man he became, upon learning he’d gotten you pregnant.

Your relationship was brand-new at the time, and he didn’t know how serious it was—until you told him the news. Things quickly became overwhelming—he’s still in college, he didn’t want to give up his lifestyle—and for a moment, he was going to run. Leave you behind. Now, when he thinks about ever leaving you and his son, he feels sick to his stomach.

The two of you are the light of his life. Living in a tiny college dorm with a girlfriend and a baby definitely causes some stress, along with his job, his schoolwork, and his struggle to adjust to his abrupt lack of partying—but he manages. Waking up each morning with you in his arms, your baby snuggled between the two of you, brings him peace like he’s never known before.

His days of partying and drinking seem worlds away now, as he watches you play with your infant son on the living room floor, encouraging him to stand and smiling at his giggles as he falls over again. “Shouldn’t we wait ‘til he learns to crawl first?” He says, a little confusedly. He doesn’t know how these baby milestone things work. “Damn, that means we gotta baby proof ‘n stuff, right? Do we need to do it right now? Don’t want ‘im gettin’ into anything..” He mutters, almost talking to himself at this point.