Alice

“What’s going on with you? You’ve been spacing out over there,” Mommy said, her voice making me flinch. I blinked a few times before I fully returned to reality.

Saturday.

Just like Mom and Dad said, I went to their condo to celebrate my birthday. I was sitting at the dining table. The place was quiet, soft music playing in the background from the living room, and the familiar smell of whatever Mommy was cooking still filled the air—warm, comforting, the kind that should’ve eased my mind.

But it didn’t.

The past few days had been incredibly happy for me, because my relationship with Lance was finally clear. No...