It was our last night before vacation.
The dorm was dim, almost peaceful. You could feel that quiet excitement humming under everyone's breath, the kind that only comes when you're this close to freedom. Bags were packed. Beds were stripped. And for once, the whole place felt... reflective.
And me?
I was in my own head again.
That weird blend of anticipation and dread, thinking about going home, about seeing Joana again. About what I'd say. About what I wouldn't.
In that moment, her name wasn't just a name. It was a weight. A possibility. A memory I wasn't sure I was ready to let go of.
We talked a little longer after that. Laughed about dorm food. Made fake promises to stay in touch every day. But something shifted in the air.
Vacation was hours away.
And so was everything I'd left hanging back home.
Such a delicate moment, the calm before the emotional storm. You're home, rested, recharged... but the heart? The heart's about to get messy.
Coming home felt like stepping into a dream.
The familiar scent of my pillow, the taste of actual home-cooked food, the way silence wasn't filled with snoring dormmates or prep bells, it was perfect. I showered, ate like I hadn't seen food in weeks, then knocked out like I was in a coma. Pure peace.
But peace never lasts long, does it?
That night, barely midnight I got a message.
Yvette.
"You home yet?"
She always texted like that. No punctuation, straight to the point, like she was afraid too many words would make her vulnerable. I smiled. Told her yeah, just got in, just rested. We chatted a little—casual, warm, familiar.
Then the next day, mid-morning, Joana texted.
"I'm back. Missed you."
But those three words felt like a stone tossed into still water ripple after ripple after ripple.
And just like that, the two worlds I had carefully separated during the semester started crashing into each other again.
They both missed me.
And truth be told… I missed them too.
But not in the same way.
Yvette was comfort, fire, laughter. Midnight messages and fast replies. She made things feel light even when I was heavy
And there I was, stuck in between.
The boy just back from school.
The boy everyone missed.
The boy about to make all the wrong decisions.
The way life gives you these quiet tests...