I woke up with red, swollen eyes, the kind that made it obvious I had cried myself to sleep. My face felt puffy, my head throbbed with a dull ache, and my chest felt like it had been hollowed out overnight. The pain from overhearing Sam and Ben’s conversation still sat heavy inside me, like a stone lodged in my heart that refused to move.

Mia was already awake, sitting on her bed and scrolling through her phone. When she looked up and saw my face, her expression shifted from casual indifference to mild curiosity.

“Why are you like this?” she asked, tilting her head. There was no real concern...