I fumble in my bag for my headphones, hands trembling as I finally pull them out. It’s not like I can avoid this situation, but I need something—anything—to help me escape from the awkwardness that’s suffocating the car. Slipping the earbuds in, I let the music flood my ears, a barrier between me and the world.
The car hums along the road, the city lights flashing by in a blur of neon and streetlamps. I close my eyes, trying to lose myself in the lyrics, to push away the fact that I’m tr