“Out west,” she replied, already closing the door.
Evan blocked me everywhere. That was the last time I saw him—for sixteen years.
Then came the ultrasound. Two heartbeats, side by side. In that moment, something hardened inside me. If no one else chose us, I would. Every day. No matter the cost.
My parents were disappointed. Embarrassed. But when my mother saw the scan, she cried and promised to help.
The boys were born loud and perfect. One came out fighting, fists clenched. The other was quiet, watchful. Liam and Noah—opposites from the start.
The years blurred into routines: late-night feedings, fevers, whispered lullabies, the squeak of a stroller wheel I could recognize anywhere. I skipped meals so they wouldn’t. I baked birthday cakes from scratch because buying one felt like surrender.
They grew fast. One defiant and outspoken. The other thoughtful and steady.
We had traditions: Friday movies, pancakes on exam mornings, hugs before school even when they pretended it embarrassed them.
When they were accepted into a competitive dual-enrollment college program, I cried alone in my car. We had made it.
Until the night everything collapsed.
It was storming when I came home from a double shift. I expected music, voices, the familiar chaos.
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