Michael: Your son Mason was the quiet and shy one from his group of friends. He enjoyed his own company, much like Michael when he was younger, and would often stay in his room playing video games or experimenting on his guitar. It wasn’t that he was anti-social, because he would go to the occasional party or park with his friends, but you knew he would rather stay in his room. Mason’s dyed black hair (No prize for guessing whose idea that was) and lip ring got him enough female attention, however he merely blushed when it was brought up claiming he didn’t want a girlfriend. However, it surprised you one evening when he came home holding the hand of a tallish girl, her hair was dip-dyed blue and you could see that her left ear was pierced in several placed. Mason shyly introduced her as Isabel, and you immediately found yourself liking her. You could see she made your son happy, and you also knew that Michael approved of her which was definitely a bonus. They dated for about five months, before one weekend you realised you hadn’t seen her in a while.
Your son was in the living room with your husband watching tv, and you were in the kitchen drying dishes.
"Hey, Mase?” You called, coming into the living room.
"Yeah mum?" He looked up from his phone, and you noticed he hadn’t been watching television at all.
"Where’s Isabel been lately? I haven’t seen her around."
Mason froze, his eyes locked on his phone screen, and then slowly he looked up to meet your eyes.
"Me and Izzy ah…” He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck “We broke up.”
"Really?" Michael said, sitting up and turning to face his son. "But why?"
"I liked her." You agreed.
"It- It wasn’t working out for us.. and she.. yeah."
"Mason…" You said slowly, sensing there was something he wasn’t telling you. You placed the dishes on one of the kitchen counters and walked over to sit next to him.
"Mason, you can tell us you know. Did something happen?"
He slowly nodded his head, then paused. You noticed tears in his eyes,
"I- I can’t tell you." He whispered, playing with your fingers. Michael came over and sat on the other side of him, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder.
"Of course you can tell us. We just want to know."
Mason took a deep breath, and you saw him stiffen under Michael’s touch.
"I- Izzy got pregnant.” He blurted out.
"She cheated on you?" You asked quietly, going pull him into a hug but he quickly moved away.
"No mum, she didn’t cheat on me."
It took you and Michael a second to figure out what your son was telling you.
"Mason.." Michael said through gritted teeth "Please don’t tell me you got your girlfriend pregnant and then broke up with her."
"I- yeah dad, I did."
"Have I taught you nothing?!" He shouted, making his son flinch. You remained silent, unsure of whose side to take.
"Dad! I’m not ready to be a father! I’m just a kid myself! She wanted to keep it, I can’t do that! I told her if she got rid of it then I’d stay, but she didn’t want to! I’m only eighteen I can’t do this."
"Did you ever stop to think about what she was going through, Mason?" You said, finally speaking "I know this is hard on you sweetie, but a mother’s love grows for her child as soon as she finds out she’ll be a mum. It’s completely her choice whether or not she has an abortion, but if she chooses to keep it then you need to be there for your child. You can’t leave her Mase, think about how she must be feeling.”
"She should have taken the fucking pill." He muttered, and Michael looked almost ready to slice his son in two.
"No, you should have used a condom.” He spoke harshly.
"I did! It probably broke or something I don’t know."
"Mason, listen, you’re a legal adult now, you have to learn to deal with your problems instead of running away from them." Michael said softly, his tone changing drastically "Put yourself in Isabel’s shoes. A single mother, who accidentally got pregnant, and now the father of her child refuses to be with her- because he got her pregnant? Do you think this is fair on her? And just remember, even if you choose to not be a part of the baby’s life, you’ll always be his or her dad. You can’t change that. So no, you don’t have to get back with her. But just realistically think of what would be best for you, for your girlfriend, and most of all- your child."
Mason sighed, brushing away the tears that had fallen on his cheeks, and he stood up.
"You’re right dad, I’m sorry. I’ll call her." And he immediately took his phone out his pocket and called her up. You noticed that she answered straight away, and Mason exhaled in relief.
"Yeah, hey babe- do you think you could come over?" He spoke into the phone, leaving the room.
"I think we handled that quite well." Michael said, and you nodded in agreement, reaching over to kiss him on the mouth.
