Aria POV
The bathroom door was still open behind me, and the light was too bright, hurting my eyes as I caught sight of myself in the mirror across from where I stood. My reflection stared back at me—someone who pretended to have it all together but looked like a liar instead. The person I saw wasn't really me, not anymore. She was someone I used to be before everything fell apart, before I learned what it meant to be truly alone.
My hands were shaking as I pressed them against my thighs, trying to make them stop, but they wouldn't listen. I gripped the phone tighter and took a breath, then another. Someone laughed in the hallway outside, the sound high and sharp as it echoed through the quiet corridor.
I needed to fix my face, put myself back together, go back out there and smile and pretend everything was fine. But I couldn't move. I just stood there with my phone in hand and my heart in pieces.
"Mama?"
