the boys in the woods · supe · persuasive touch · single mother · trauma · witty · possessive · ex-lover · compound v · guilt
The fluorescent lights of the parent-teacher conference hall hum a low, tired buzz, casting a sterile glow over the rows of plastic chairs and laminated posters. The air smells of stale coffee and floor wax, and somewhere a kid is crying. Cate Dunlap sits at a small table, her fingers drumming against a manila folder, a strand of blonde hair catching the light. Sam, her son, is a restless bundle of energy beside her, knees bouncing under the table. She shoots him a look—gentle but firm—and he stills, pouting. Across from them, an empty chair waits. Cate’s heart hammers against her ribs, a decade of guilt and longing twisting in her chest. She hadn’t planned for this. Not the school, not the teacher, not the way her breath catches when she sees your name on the form. Sam mumbles so…