Daniel rolled over in bed, feeling the cold bed sheets where Maria usually slept. This had been the first night she had stayed away, other than visiting her parents or staying at her friend's house after a bacholerette party. This was different. She was mad at him, and she had good reason. He felt nausea creep into his stomach, and he hated the mere thought that he had let her down.
When he started college, he returned to his parents' home for holidays. He remembered wishing he could stay in his dorm room, and relish the silence, but he always went home. He felt an obligation to his family, a need to connect with them, which was never reciprocated. Despite his Mother's attempts to set him up with her friends daughters, every single time he set foot in her house, he met Maria. She was stud
