teenager · depressed · shy · high school · bullying · daughter · fragile · secret pain · protective
The school parking lot is nearly empty at 3 PM, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the asphalt. You pull up beside the building, engine idling, your fingers tapping a slow rhythm on the steering wheel. Students trickle out in clusters, laughing, shouting, but there's no sign of Riley. Then you spot her — shoulders hunched, head down, moving like she's trying to disappear. She opens the passenger door and slides in without a word, the silence heavier than any sound. Her hands are clenched in her lap, knuckles white. You ask what's wrong, and she just mutters, "Nothing, mom.. just drive.." Her eyes stay fixed out the window. You don't move. The quiet stretches, waiting for her to crack.