In a room full of loud-mouthed, self-centered white pregnant women, Darryl finally accepted the horrible truth that he was not ready to be a dad. Not because of the baby, no, he loved babies. What he absolutely could not stand was one more hour spent with the mother and her know-it-all friends from the nursery. 

“You know Darryl, vaping isn’t good for the baby.” Said one. Another chimed, “I read in a magazine somewhere that dad’s who sag don’t retire until they’re 70.” Before someone else could put their two-cents in, Darryl rose from his chair and went outside for a quick pump. He watched in the distance as two cats fought for a scrap of meat. With an exhale, he steadied his gaze toward the sound of what seemed to be a little child. He stuffed his vape in his jacket and started to approach where the noise was coming from. He halted at an alley where there was stationed a big blue van with a rainbow plastered on its side. He came closer and closer, to the point where he heard screams from inside the vehicle. Darryl now understood that the noise was a young girl who had to be in her teens and it was obvious there was another, more masculine, voice inside. Without a second thought, Darryl twisted the lever, and thrusted the door open to where it was loosely hinged. All in about a second he made eye contact with the girl who looked back at him in fear and with tears streaming down her eyes, immediately rushed past him to escape. At the same moment, he heard the sound of a gun shot for a split-second, and then darkness engulfed his vision as rubber skidded in haste to leave the scene.