When time falls short

When Time Falls Short

Evelyn had always been the type of girl who had everything under control. A straight-A student, passionate about becoming a therapist, with a circle of friends who admired her, especially Adam. He’d been her best friend for years. Her constant. The person she trusted more than anyone else.

Until that night.

It was the night of Adam’s birthday party. The night everything changed.

Evelyn hadn’t planned to drink much, but it was impossible not to get caught up in the chaos of the party. The music blared, the laughter echoed off the walls, and the air was thick with the smell of cheap alcohol and the warm body heat of teenagers packed into a small house. But she’d been stressed—stressed about finals, about her future—and when Adam had handed her a drink, she’d taken it. One drink turned into two, then three, until the room was spinning and her thoughts were hazy.

The last thing she remembered was Adam’s voice, soft but urgent. "Come with me, Ev. Just for a minute."

She could hardly process the words, but she followed him anyway. Adam had always looked out for her, right? He had always been the one who knew when she needed space, when she needed a laugh, when she just needed someone to talk to.

The next few moments were a blur. She didn’t understand what was happening. His hands on her body, her confusion, her attempt to push him away. But she couldn’t fight him. Not in her drunken state. Not when everything felt so distant, so disconnected.

Adam. Her best friend. The one person who’d promised to protect her. How had this happened?

Four Weeks Later

The test was positive.

Evelyn had known it even before she took it. The signs had been there. Sensitive breasts, nausea, a few skipped periods. But even still, she hadn’t wanted to believe it. Maybe she was just stressed. Maybe it was something else.

But it wasn’t.

She was pregnant.

The weight of it hit her like a ton of bricks. She hadn’t even told Adam yet. How could she? What would she even say to him? She wasn’t even sure what had happened that night. She had told herself it was just a misunderstanding, that maybe it wasn’t as bad as it felt. But now the truth was undeniable.

Her body betrayed her, and time was running out.

The Conversation with Adam

A week later, after the initial shock had worn off, Evelyn found herself sitting in front of Adam. The one person who should’ve known her better than anyone. The one person who had always promised to be there, no matter what.

“Adam,” she said, her voice trembling, “I need to talk to you.”

He didn’t look at her. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding her eyes. He knew. He had to know.

“I’m pregnant,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Adam’s face paled. He blinked, his mouth opening and closing as though trying to form words, but nothing came out.

For a long moment, there was silence between them.

“I don’t—” he started, but Evelyn cut him off.

“I don’t know what happened that night. I don’t know what to believe. But I’m pregnant. And I need to know… Adam, were you—” She couldn’t finish the sentence. She couldn’t say the words aloud. She couldn’t acknowledge what had happened between them.

He shifted again, looking away. The guilt on his face was enough.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen, Ev,” he said, his voice low, almost pleading. “I—I didn’t want this.”

The words were like a slap to her chest. The silence that followed was thick with unspoken truths, with the weight of his betrayal. How could he do this to her? How could he be the one to hurt her, the one person who had always known everything about her?

Evelyn stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to scream, to shout at him. But there were no words that could fix this. No words that could unbreak the trust between them.

“You don’t get to apologize, Adam,” she said finally, standing up. Her legs were shaking, but she forced herself to be steady. “You don’t get to undo what you did. And you don’t get to decide what happens next.”

She left without another word. She didn’t need him to make this decision for her. She had to make it herself.

The Pressure of Time

Days passed, but the weight of the decision didn’t lighten. Time was slipping away faster than Evelyn could grasp it, and with every passing moment, she felt more suffocated by the ticking clock.

Her phone buzzed. Adam. Again. The missed calls. The unread messages. He’d sent a million apologies—every single one of them seemed hollow.

But Evelyn didn’t want to hear it. Nothing Adam could say would undo what had happened, and nothing he said could make the decision any easier.

She had always been so sure of her future—graduating from college, starting her career as a therapist, helping others heal. But now, everything felt like it was slipping through her fingers.

What did she do? What did she want?

The clock on the wall ticked loudly as she sat in her room, feeling the pressure mount. Tick. Tick. Tick. She was running out of time. If she didn’t make a decision soon, she wouldn’t have one. The window for an abortion would close. She could already feel the weight of it pressing down on her, the constant reminder that time wasn’t on her side.

Her mother had asked her to be sure. To take her time. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that time wasn’t a luxury she had.

She wasn’t ready to have a baby. Not now. Not with everything else that was at stake. She had worked too hard for her future to give it up for something she wasn’t prepared for.

But there was also the guilt. The guilt of it all. The guilt of not being able to keep the life that had been created inside her. The guilt of having to make the choice that felt like it would haunt her forever.

She couldn’t keep running. She couldn’t keep waiting. Every day that passed felt like a day lost, a day that could never be recovered.

The Decision

Evelyn stood at the clinic door, the weight of her decision pressing down on her like a ton of bricks. She could still hear Adam’s voice in her head, still feel the coldness of his betrayal. But she couldn’t let him control this part of her life anymore. She couldn’t let this baby control her life either.

Time was running out.

When the nurse called her name, she stood up, walking through the door as though she were walking toward the end of something she couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye to.

It was the hardest thing she had ever done.

She couldn’t be a mother—not yet. Not with everything else she still had to do. She needed time.

The procedure was over faster than she expected.

She lay there afterward, staring up at the ceiling, her heart heavy, as the clock on the wall ticked away the moments, her life forever changed.

But she knew one thing: She had made the choice. And the time for decisions had passed.

Aftermath

The days that followed felt like a fog. Evelyn went through the motions—studying, working, pretending. But it all felt distant, detached. She hadn’t told anyone else yet. She hadn’t found the words to explain what she had done, what had happened. She didn’t know how.

Adam kept texting her, sending messages of apology, of remorse. But she couldn’t find it in herself to respond. She didn’t have the energy for him anymore. She didn’t have the energy for anything.

The clock kept ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick. Time was still running out, but this time, Evelyn wasn’t waiting anymore. She had made her choice. And for the first time in weeks, she allowed herself to breathe.