no tomorrow

It was as if every ounce of joy and hope had been drained out of me. I was a dead man at seventeen.

“I am not expecting anything from you. You are free to go.” We both knew I was not.

“Dammit Lisa, I’m gonna be a lawyer!” There was no point denying my disappointment and regret.

Her eyes, red and swollen ugly from crying, widened like saucers. “I…I already said you were free to go, Ray…I…” A huge sob fest followed. “I…hate you!”

Great. Like I didn’t already hate both her and me. Dammit.

I scanned the open field. A hundred meters away, half a dozen kids played kickball. Good thing we weren’t at the pizza place; this would’ve caused a racket. We were like a friggin’ soap opera scene.

“Listen. I gotta go for a while, okay? I need time to, uh, think this through.”

More sobbing.

“I gotta think…I gotta go, okay? I’ll call you.”

I couldn’t wait for her answer. I turned and I ran as fast as I could, neither knowing nor caring where I was headed.

Lisa was pregnant. Tomorrow was gone.

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A fresh snippet for my work-in-progress. Writing prompt, “no tomorrow,” courtesy of Inspiration Monday 🙂