Page 10 of I'm sorry, Princess

But tonight, isn’t about him.

It’s about us. About friendship. About forgetting.

Tomorrow is Saturday.

I’m already planning to lock myself inside, read something escapist, and try not to think about Monday.

The first day at the FBI.

The first day of this new chapter I didn’t really choose.

“Are you flying to Japan tomorrow?” I ask, eager to shift the energy back to something light. Sienna’s face softens, color returns to her cheeks like someone turned the lights back on.

“Yes! I’m so excited. I’ve never been to Japan.”

Her green eyes sparkle again. She glances at me while driving, her lips curling into a mischievous pout.

“I wish you could come with me. We could have a girls’ weekend before you start your new job. It’d be perfect!”

I shake my head, laughing. “Sienna, I start Monday. How would that even work?”

She thinks for a second, her smile turning wicked.

“Call in sick?”

“On my first day?” I raise an eyebrow, just as my phone vibrates in my lap.

I glance down.

A text from my mother.

Cold. Robotic. Mechanical.

Lauren:Congratulations on your job.

That’s it.

No heart emoji. No warmth.

Just an obligation fulfilled.

I shove my phone back into my bag and focus on Sienna’s face.

“Okay, okay,” she sighs, reading the no on my face. “Maybe not the best idea. But you promise you’ll see me when I get back, right? I want every single detail about your first day.”

I nod, this time with real affection.

“Of course.”

She pulls into my driveway, parking like she owns the whole street.

We sit there for another ten minutes, teasing each other, laughing, hugging too long, not wanting to say goodbye.

She kisses my cheek, a loud, wet, obnoxious kiss, and I smile even though my heart feels heavy.

Because I know once she leaves, it’ll just be me again.

Alone. With my thoughts. With the silence.