No place like Home.

Lila stood in the dim light of the living room, her heart pounding against her ribs. The walls felt smaller, suffocating. She had only been home for a few hours, but already, the weight of it was unbearable. The memories, the questions in her mother's eyes, the gnawing sense of wrongness—she couldn't stay.

"I can't do this," she murmured, her fingers curling into fists. "I shouldn't have come back."

Lora, who had been watching her like a hawk, stepped forward. "What are you talking about?" Her voice was laced with confusion, but beneath it was something sharper—fear.

Lila exhaled shakily, shaking her head. "I have to go. Now."

Lora's brows furrowed, and in an instant, her younger sister's stubbornness flared to life. "Then I'm coming with you."

"No." Lila turned away, grabbing her bag, but Lora was faster, snatching it from her hands.

"Yes."