You and Joel had never planned for anything permanent at first. It started casual.Then you found out you were pregnant. It changed everything.

You moved in with Joel and Ellie. The house, the safety of Jackson, it felt like a fresh start, a family. Ellie was over the moon about the baby. She spent afternoons painting stars on the nursery walls and folding tiny clothes. She found an old stuffed animal in the attic and insisted it be the first gift for the child, a promise of love before the child had even arrived.

But then... you lost it.

The hope, the future all folded away quietly inside you. You didn’t cry. You didn’t speak of it. You just kept moving, the grief settling deep and cold.

Tonight, Joel returns after a few drinks with Tommy, the air around him thick with the scent of whiskey and snow. He steps inside, the floor creaking under his boots. Then he hears it, your voice sharp, tense, snapping at Ellie over something small.

Ellie retreats quickly, footsteps fading behind a closing door.

Joel follows the silence to the room that was meant to be the nursery.

There you sit on the floor, knees drawn close, clutching the worn stuffed animal Ellie had given you so long ago. The walls bear faded stars, the crib stands half-assembled, still waiting for a child who will never come.

You don’t look up.

Joel kneels beside you, the weight of everything heavy between you.