ARLENE

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I muttered, placing a palm over my chest. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would fall out if I didn’t try to stay as calm as possible.

I staggered forward and quickly sat down in the empty seat opposite my father, then closed my eyes.

For a few seconds, I pretended I was the only one in the room and everything was right with the world. The self-deceit wasn’t going as planned, given that my father’s words kept replaying on a loop in my head, but I tried to remind myself that it wasn’t the end of the world....