“No,” she said firmly. “You’ve been surviving. And thriving, actually. And you inspired me. So don’t apologize for that.”
I blinked hard, swallowing a lump in my throat.
Susan. Dating again.
Her life expanding while mine felt like it was blowing up.
But somehow… somehow it made me breathe easier.
Like maybe everything didn’t have to be falling apart.
Maybe some things could still grow.
“I’m proud of you,” I said quietly.
“I’m proud ofyou,” she answered. “Now call Shani. I’ll keep the porch lights off and pretend I’m not home.”
I smiled into the darkness.
“Okay. Deal.”
But when I hung up, I didn’t drive yet.
I just sat there with the engine off and the November cold seeping into the car…
thinking about everything.
The game.
The cameras.
The chaos.
The fact that Aunt Susan is dating again.
The fact that I’m barely holding it together.
The ache in my chest I refused to name.
And Leo.
Always Leo.
My hands clenched tighter on the steering wheel.
“I can’t do this,” I whispered to myself.
But I could.
And I would.
Because everything was changing, whether I was ready or not.
And I’d rather face it head-on than let the world swallow me whole.
I finally work up the nerve to grab my phone.
My hands are still shaking from the crowd outside my house, but I type anyway.
