Morning Light

River stared at the tiny pink lines on the pregnancy test, her heart hammering against her ribs. Twenty years old and engaged to Jake for six months now, she'd dreamed of this moment countless times. But seeing it real made her hands shake.

"River? Everything okay in there?" Jake's voice drifted through the bathroom door of their shared apartment in Maple City.

She opened the door slowly, holding up the test. Jake's brown eyes widened, then crinkled with the biggest smile she'd ever seen.

"Are you serious?" He swept her into his arms, spinning her around their tiny living room. "We're having a baby!"

River laughed, tears streaming down her freckled cheeks. "We're really doing this."

Jake set her down gently, his hands cupping her face. "I love you so much. This is perfect."

For a moment, everything felt magical in their small world. Then River's phone buzzed with a text from her mother: "Dinner tonight. Don't be late."

Her stomach dropped. Telling Jake had been pure joy. Telling her mother would be something else entirely.

The Weight of Words

River sat across from her mother at the familiar kitchen table, watching steam rise from two cups of chamomile tea. The dinner dishes had been cleared away, leaving only the elephant in the room.

"So," her mother said, folding her hands. "What's this big news you couldn't tell me over the phone?"

River's fingers found Jake's engagement ring, twisting it nervously. "Mom, I'm pregnant."

The words hung in the air like smoke. Her mother's face went completely blank, then slowly hardened into something River had never seen before.

"You're what?" The voice was ice-cold.

"Jake and I are having a baby. We're so happy, and—"

"Happy?" Her mother's chair scraped against the floor as she stood. "You're twenty years old, River. Twenty. You have no idea what you're doing."

"But Mom, we love each other. We're engaged. This is good news."

"Good news? This is a disaster." Her mother's voice rose. "Get out."

River blinked. "What?"

"I said get out of my house. If you think you're adult enough to make these choices, then you're adult enough to live with the consequences."

The front door slammed behind River minutes later, her overnight bag clutched in shaking hands.