Sky
I woke up at dawn with my eyes all puffy and my throat feeling like I'd swallowed sandpaper from crying into that stupid pillow half the night without making a sound, and the first thing I did was roll over real quietly so I wouldn't wake Daniel because the last thing I needed was another round of whatever the hell that "too late" crap was supposed to mean. I slipped out of the guest room like some kind of ninja, barefoot on the cold floor, and headed straight for the kitchen because coffee was the only thing that might stop my head from pounding.
Mom was already up, humming under her breath while she flipped pancakes on the griddle like it was any normal morning and not the day after I'd basically told Daniel I was done with this whole fake-boyfriend circus. She didn't even turn around at first, just said, "Morning, sweetie, coffee's fresh, pour yourself a cup," and I grabbed one and took a sip that burned my tongue but I didn't care.
