Jessa

The glow of the TV flickered across the living room, splashing the walls with bursts of color and laugh-track echoes. Some reality show about couples arguing in tropical villas played, but I wasn’t even following the plot anymore. I just needed noise. A distraction. Something, anything, to drown out the thoughts buzzing in my head like angry hornets.

Homework sat untouched on the coffee table, spread open like an accusation. Math problems I didn’t understand. An essay I hadn’t ...