Chapter 22

I sit on the worn couch in my parents’ living room, the soft hum of the ceiling fan doing little to ease the tension that clings to the air. My hands rest in my lap, fingers twisting together as I try to figure out what to say. I’ve been dreading this conversation since Luke and I returned, since everything came to a head. But it has to happen. It’s time to face the music, to own up to the choices I made and the consequences they’ve had.

My mom sits across from me, her expression tight, her mouth set in that thin line she gets when she’s disappointed. My dad stands by the window, staring out at the backyard, his silence somehow more unnerving than anything else. The weight of their unspoken words presses down on me, and I feel like I’m suffocating under their quiet judgment.

Finally, my mom speaks, her voice carefully measured, but I can hear the hurt beneath it. “Cheryl, do you have any idea what you’ve put us through? What have you put Luke through?”

I wince at the raw edge in her t