That was the longest night of my life.
I cried for what felt like forever.
At some point, I must have fallen asleep.
I don't even remember when.
The next morning, I woke up slowly.
For a few seconds, everything felt normal.
Then it all came back.
Andrew.
I sat up in bed and just stared ahead, lost in my thoughts.
A knock came on the door.
Before I could say anything, my mom walked in. She was holding a tray.
I could smell it immediately.
Eggs and pancakes.
My favorite.
She placed it gently on my desk.
"Hey, sweetie," she said softly. "How are you feeling now?"
I looked at her but didn't answer right away.
My mind felt heavy.
"I'm fine," I said eventually.
She nodded, but I could tell she didn't believe me.
"Eat something," she said. "You didn't eat last night."
I glanced at the food.
Normally, I would've been excited.
But now… I didn't feel anything.
Still, I got up and walked over.
I sat down and picked up the fork.
The first bite felt strange.
Like I was forcing myself.
My mom stayed quiet, just watching me.
After a few seconds, she spoke again.
"We don't have to rush," she said. "We can take this step by step."
I stopped eating.
"What does that even mean?" I asked.
"It means…" she paused, choosing her words carefully, "we'll start with small things."
I already knew what she meant.
My hand slowly moved to my hair.
I didn't say anything.
She noticed.
Her expression softened.
"We'll go out later today," she continued. "Get some clothes. Make things easier."
Easier.
That word didn't sit right with me.
Nothing about this felt easy.
I pushed the plate slightly away.
"I'm not hungry anymore."
She didn't argue this time.
She just nodded.
"Okay."
The room went quiet again.
After a moment, she stood up and walked toward the door.
"We'll leave in a few hours," she said. "Get ready."
Then she paused.
"Andrea…"
I looked up.
Her voice was softer now.
"I know this is hard."
I didn't respond.
Because I didn't even know what to say anymore.
She gave me one last look… then walked out.
The door closed.
And just like that…
it was quiet again.
I sat there, staring at the half-eaten plate.
Then I stood up and watched the door for a few seconds after she left.
I quickly picked up my phone.
I needed to talk to someone
I called my best friend.
She picked up almost immediately.
"Hey, what's up?" she said.
I hesitated for a second… then I told her everything.
About my mom.
About the company.
About Andrew.
There was a long silence on the other end.
I expected her to laugh.
Or tell me it was crazy.
Or even say my mom had lost her mind.
But she didn't.
Instead, she sighed.
"Okay… that's a lot," she said.
I frowned.
"So you think I should just go along with it?"
There was a pause.
Not a normal pause.
Like she was thinking carefully about what to say.
"I didn't say that," she said finally.
"But… maybe just hear her out first."
That made me pause.
"Since when do you agree with my mom?" I asked.
She gave a small, awkward laugh.
"I'm just trying to be realistic."
I didn't say anything.
Something about her tone felt… off.
"I just… I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore," I said.
"You're still you," she replied quickly.
Almost too quickly.
"That doesn't change."
I nodded slowly.
"Yeah…"
"Just… don't make any decisions yet," she added. "Okay?"
That was strange.
"Why are you saying it like that?" I asked.
"Like what?
"Like you already knew about this."
There was silence.
For a second… I thought she might actually say something.
But then she spoke again.
"You're overthinking," she said lightly.
"It just makes sense, that's all."
I wasn't convinced.
But I didn't push.
"Yeah… maybe."
"I'll talk to you later, okay?" she said quickly.
"Okay."
The call ended.
I stared at my phone for a while.
She was supposed to make me feel better.
And in a way… she did.
But something didn't sit right.
The way she paused.
The way she chose her words.
The way she didn't sound surprised.
It felt like…
she already knew.....