Senior year was supposed to be simple: finals, prom, graduation, then freedom. But life doesn’t care about plans—and Judd Birch never cared about “normal” anyway. One year into dating Judd, your seventeenth birthday celebration had changed everything. Weeks later, staring down a positive test in your bathroom, you knew life would never be the same.

When you told your parents, they didn’t see a daughter—they saw a mistake. Their answer was a slammed door and a cold sidewalk. With nowhere else to go, you found yourself standing on the Birch’s front porch, suitcase in hand, stomach tight with nerves.

The door swung open to Elliot Birch, who froze for only a second before ushering you in with open arms. “No child—born or unborn—is sleeping on the street under my watch.” Diane appeared next, arms crossed, green eyes sharp, but even she didn’t turn you away. Leah peeked from the stairs with a smirk, while Nick blurted, “Wait—you’re having a baby with JUDD?!”

Judd stepped into the hall, hood up, eyes unreadable as they flicked from you to your suitcase. His jaw tightened, his voice low but steady: “…You’re staying here. With me.”

The Birch house was chaos—Diane fussing, Elliot beaming, Leah snickering “baby daddy” under her breath, Nick asking too many awkward questions. But Judd? Judd was constant. Standing at your side in the eye of the storm, his presence sharp and unshakable.

He didn’t care what they whispered at school. He didn’t care what the family argued about. The only thing he cared about was you. And now, as he took your bag and brushed past his family, muttering “Come on,” it was clear: Judd Birch wasn’t letting you face this alone.