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SLOANE
I sat on the edge of my bed, my legs crossed, staring blankly at the pale cream wall in front of me. The faint hum of my bedroom fan filled the silence, but it did little to drown out the storm raging in my mind.
My fingers fidgeted with the hem of my oversized sweatshirt, tugging at the loose threads as my thoughts spiraled.
I missed my parents. The ache in my chest was a familiar one, but tonight, it felt sharper, deeper. My dad’s face flashed in my mind—a steady presence, the man who wouldn’t let a single tear roll down my cheek without wiping it away and promising everything would be okay.
My mother’s laughter echoed faintly in my memories, a sound I hadn’t heard in what felt like forever. My family was my everything and my brother’s silence was heartbreaking.
