Chapter 14. Class

Zac frowned, sitting down beside her on the cold kitchen floor. He did not say anything for a moment, letting the weight of her words hang in the air. Finally, he said softly, “That’s a pretty heavy thing to say, Anna. What’s going on? Do you want to talk about it?”

Anna hugged her knees tighter, staring at the floor. “It’s my mom,” She said, her voice barely above a whisper. “She does not get it. She does not understand why I needed to leave, why I needed to start over somewhere else.” Her voice cracked, and she took a shaky breath. “And now she’s threatening to cut me off if I don’t come back. She said she’d make Dad and my brother stop talking to me too.” 

Zach let out a low whistle, leaning back against the cabinets. “That is…a lot.” 

“She thinks I’m being selfish,” She continued, her voice rising with a mix of anger and despair. “That I’m reckless for coming here. But what else was I supposed to do? Stay home and keep living in fear? I needed to get out of