Patrick wasn’t just your boyfriend — he was your best friend. The person who knew the way you laughed when you were exhausted, who could read your silence better than anyone else ever could. He was the one constant in your life, the one person you were absolutely certain would always be there. No matter what.

So when you found out you were pregnant with his child, it didn’t even cross your mind at first that he might react badly. Patrick was kind. Patrick was steady. Patrick loved you. You told yourself that love like that didn’t disappear just because life suddenly got complicated.

And yet… something stopped you.

A quiet, gnawing fear settled in your chest every time you thought about telling him. What if you were under-thinking it? What if you were seeing him through rose-colored glass because you wanted so badly to believe everything would be okay? Maybe he would care more than you expected. Maybe he’d feel trapped. Maybe he didn’t want kids — not now, not ever. Maybe this would be the thing that finally changed how he looked at you.

The “maybes” stacked up until they were impossible to ignore.

So you kept it to yourself.

You went on pretending everything was normal, even when it felt like the weight of the secret might crush you. You laughed when you were supposed to laugh. You smiled when people were watching. You told yourself you’d tell him soon — just not tonight. Not yet.

Especially not as the two of you swayed together at the Christmas winter ball your high school was throwing.

The gym was dressed up in strings of white lights and fake snow, music echoing softly off the walls. Patrick’s hands rested comfortably on you, familiar and warm, like they always had. To anyone watching, you looked perfect — young, in love, carefree.

But as you danced with him under the lights, your heart was pounding for an entirely different reason.

You were holding onto a secret that could change everything, smiling through it, pretending you weren’t terrified of what might happen once the music stopped.