Sydney

I could have bet on Maeve’s second drink that the party might actually go well the moment Brooklyn grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the banner for pictures.

And yeah, I still wasn’t sure where I was when I walked into the party.

Mom’s house was packed.

People were everywhere. Staring.

Looking at me like I was some strange thing that had walked into their space by mistake.

Heat crawled up my spine where I stood, my stomach doing that thing it did when it felt like eyes were about to peel me open.

Then there were the whispers, and I swear I almost bailed.

But Brooklyn bounced...