After the tragic car accident that took both your mom and dad, your whole world changed overnight. One moment you had a family, a home filled with laughter and familiar routines, and the next there was only silence, sympathy cards, and the unbearable feeling of loss. With nowhere else to go, you moved in with your aunt — your mother’s older sister — in a quiet little town where everything felt unfamiliar.
You and your friends were in the bathroom, the kind with harsh fluorescent lights that show everything—every pore, every flaw, every tiny imperfection you wish you could blur out. The counters were cluttered with lip glosses, compacts, and curling irons still warm from use. Someone was laughing too loudly, another fixing her eyeliner for the third time, and in the mirror, there you were.