Chapter 1 – The Empty Chair
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I didn’t wanna be here.
The room smelled like lemon-scented sadness, like someone tried to clean up the grief but forgot it stains everything. Plastic chairs in a circle. Stale cookies on a paper plate. Everyone pretending like talking would fix something.
Dad parked outside and waited — said he wouldn’t leave, but he wasn’t coming in either. “Just give it a shot, Iris,” he said. “One hour. That’s it.”
Right.
I kept my hoodie up, earbuds in (not playing anything, just for the vibe), and slumped into the farthest seat from everyone. There was an empty chair beside me. Fitting.
“Hi, everyone,” said the lady in the middle — Karen or Sharon or something –– fake smile locked in. “Let’s welcome Iris to the group.”
Nope. Hard pass.
I kept my eyes on my sneakers. Black Converse, scuffed to hell.
Then I felt it — eyes. Someone looking. I glanced up.
He was across the circle. Hoodie like mine. Eyes like he’d seen too much and couldn’t unsee it. He didn’t flinch when we made eye contact. Just looked...through me. Past me.
No intro. No smile. No judgment.
He was just...there. Like I was.
We didn’t talk. Not yet. But I noticed him. And I think he noticed me too.
To be continue ...