Ryan drove us back to my house.
It was dark, but I knew my mom would still come back tonight. Ryan asked if I wanted company till then, and I told him no. It felt right—the most it had in so long—for me to go inside, do my homework, and hope to get in trouble for still being up whenever my mom came home.
I kissed him and said, “I’ll be okay.” And I meant it. I gave him a smile before heading inside.
The house was cold when I got in, so I kicked up the heat and ordered a pizza. After that, I did what I would’ve done last year.
I did my homework at the kitchen table, paid for the pizza when it came, and I had half of it eaten by the time the garage door started to open. I was getting up, intending to pour a glass of wine to further mess with my mom, but as I reached for the bottle, I hea
