KAREN
The next morning, I was fully dressed before the sun had climbed too high into the sky.
I stood in front of the mirror in my room, adjusting the collar of my blouse, smoothing invisible creases that did not exist. I looked put together, composed, like someone who had everything under control. But inside me, there was a quiet storm, one I had been pretending not to hear since the night before.
I picked up my bag from the bed and took one last look around the room. Nothing had changed. The same furniture. The same curtains. The same soft scent of home that used to comfort me when I was younger. Right now, it only made me restless.
I needed to leave.
The moment I walked into the living room, both my parents looked up at the same time. They were seated across from each other, breakf
