I needed to disappear.

Not forever—just long enough to remember who I was before Professor Lewis rewired my entire nervous system with his voice, his touch, his relentless psychological games that left me questioning every thought in my head.

So I did what any rational twenty-two-year-old having a complete mental breakdown would do: I packed a bag, turned off my phone, and ran home to the place that created half my issues in the first place.

Brilliant fucking strategy, Sophie.

By the time I reached my childhood home, I was wound tighter than a spring and probably radiating enough frustration to power the entire neighborhood.

The moment I stepped through the front Door, chaos hit me like a freight train.

“I TOLD YOU, ABBY, THAT SHIRT IS MINE!” Madison’s voice shrieked from somewhere upstairs, probably the bathroom where World War III typically broke out over makeup and mirror space.

“NO IT’S NOT, YOU LEFT IT HERE FOR TWO DAYS!” Abby screamed back. “FINDERS KEEPERS!”

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP BEFORE I DONATE ALL YOUR CLOTHES TO GOODWILL!” Dad bellowed from the kitchen.

I dropped my overnight bag by the stairs and immediately felt my shoulders tense.

Nothing had changed.

Not the screaming, not the chaos, not the way this house seemed to exist in a permanent state of barely controlled disaster.

And maybe that’s what hurt the most—coming back to the exact same dysfunction I’d been running from since I was nine years old.

“Girls!” Dad’s voice cracked like a whip. “Jesus Christ, one of you is gonna give me a heart attack before I hit fifty-five!”

I rubbed my temples, already feeling a headache building. “Hi, Dad.”

He looked up from the kitchen table where he was surrounded by a mountain of bills, a broken toaster that looked like it had been through a war, and what appeared to be the remnants of a ham sandwich that had seen better days.

His hair was sticking up at odd angles, and he had that particular look of exhaustion that came from single-handedly managing two teenage girls with the emotional regulation skills of feral cats.

“Sophie.” His face brightened slightly. “Didn’t know you were coming home.”

“Last-minute decision. I needed a break.”

He snorted, gesturing at the chaos around us. “From college or from life in general?”

“Yes.”

“Fair enough.” He reached for his coffee mug, which looked like it had been through several rounds of reheating. “Well, welcome back to the circus. Hope you brought earplugs.”

The rest of the day dissolved into a blur of familiar dysfunction.

Madison slammed her bedroom door so hard the entire house shook because Abby allegedly used her face wash. Abby retaliated by “accidentally” deleting Madison’s Spotify playlist.

Dad burned dinner while trying to fix the toaster with a butter knife and what appeared to be sheer willpower.

By 9 PM, I was curled up on our ancient couch in an oversized hoodie that smelled like fabric softener and childhood trauma, trying to convince myself that coming home had been a good idea.

I was just starting to doze off when Abby appeared in the living room doorway like a harbinger of doom.

“Sophie?” Her voice was small, uncertain. “There’s a car in the driveway.”

I blinked, pulling myself back to consciousness. “Okay…?”

“A man is standing outside.” She twisted her hands together. “Like, just staring at our front door. It’s weird.”

Every nerve in my body went on high alert. “What?”

I shot off the couch so fast my blanket went flying. My heart was already racing as I rushed to the front window and pulled back the faded curtains.

And felt my entire world tilt off its axis.

Adrian.

Standing in my family’s driveway like an avenging angel in a long black coat, hands shoved deep in his pockets, staring at my childhood home like it had personally offended him.

“What the hell…” I whispered, my breath fogging the glass.

“Sophie?” Dad’s voice came from behind me. “What’s going on? Abby said there’s some guy outside.”

I turned, my heart hammering against my ribs. “It’s… It’s just my professor.”

‘The kind who thinks he owns you,’ I thought but didn’t say.

I stared at him, confused. “I’m visiting my family. What are you doing here?”

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