"After exams, he'll be leaving to start college there," his mother said softly, not looking up from her hands that rested tightly clenched in her lap.
The sun outside filtered lazily through the curtains, casting warm light across the small living room, but nothing about the moment felt warm. The weight of the future pressed heavily on her shoulders — a future that had been decided without her voice.
Ryan's father looked over at her, a calm smile pulling at his lips. He gave a slight nod, his voice firm and laced with pride.
"You did well. Don't worry — it's good for him, for his future."
That line. "For his future." How many times had she heard it in the past few weeks? It rang like a bell in her ears, over and over, louder each time someone else said it. Teachers, family friends, neighbors — they all repeated the same chorus, clapping Ryan on the back like the decision was as natural as breathing.
But none of them had sat up late with him during his bad days. None of them had seen the quiet cracks forming beneath his smile.
She looked up, eyes searching her husband's face. "What if he's not happy with it?"
Her voice trembled slightly. A mother's voice — unsure, worried, unheard.
There was a moment of silence before he responded.
"He'll be happy once he sees how his life would get better. And Chad and Kevin will go with him too, so he won't be alone."
She nodded slowly, a rehearsed gesture — polite, obedient, submissive. She faked a smile. Her lips curved upward like they were supposed to, but her heart didn't move.
The room grew quiet again. The kind of quiet that didn't bring peace.
Oh God, my son…
She turned her eyes toward the hallway, where Ryan had just disappeared after dinner, headphones in, head low. He hadn't said much lately. He never fought the decision — never said yes, never said no. Just went along with it.
That scared her more than anything.
---
Lily had made up her mind.
She was going to fix it.
She sat alone in her bedroom, phone in hand, screen blank, messages unsent. Her heart pounded like it was trying to break through her chest. The guilt had been eating away at her for days now — chewing through her confidence, making her replay every terrible moment on a loop.
The fight. The look on Joy's face when she found out. The crack in her voice.
The silence after.
She had hurt her best friend — the one person who always showed up for her, who never asked for much, who had loved Ryan quietly for so long. And Lily had ruined it with one moment of selfishness. One kiss that shouldn't have happened. One secret she didn't know how to carry.
But she wasn't going to let her friendship die. Not over a boy. Not over a stupid, one-time mistake.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror — her eyes tired, cheeks slightly flushed with shame. But her resolve was steady.
She wouldn't run from it anymore.
Lily was going to make things right.
She had to.
Even if it meant swallowing her pride. Even if it meant admitting she'd been awful.
Even if it meant stepping aside.
Because if Joy still liked Ryan — and it was painfully obvious she did — then Lily wasn't going to fight it. She wasn't going to hold onto something that didn't belong to her.
Not when it could cost her the person who mattered most.
Now's the time to save her friendship.
And she wasn't stupid enough to let it die.
Because she might die.