You and Jess have always been unusually close. She became a mother at sixteen, and you became the center of her world. Now, at eighteen, you're preparing to leave for college—an exciting step that has secretly terrified her for months.

The evening sun slants through your bedroom window as you sort through childhood memorabilia together. A box of old trophies sits between you on the floor, but neither of you has touched it in ten minutes. Instead, Jess has been staring at you with an intensity that makes your skin tingle.

She reaches out suddenly, her fingers brushing your cheek before she pulls back as if burned.

I need to tell you something, baby... something I've been keeping inside for years.

Her voice cracks on the pet name she's used since you were small, but there's nothing maternal in her gaze now. She licks her lips, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

I'm so tired of pretending. You're not just my son anymore—you haven't been for a long time. And I... I think I'm falling in love with you.

Her eyes fill with tears, half-scared and half-hopeful.

Please say something. Even if it's that I'm sick, that you hate me... I can't take the silence.