On Prom Night, My Mother Locked My Bedroom Door — Then She Told Me the Truth About My Best Friend

On prom night, my mother locked my bedroom door.

That was the moment I realized something was wrong.

Downstairs, Noah was waiting for me.

I could hear his voice drifting up through the floorboards, followed by my aunt’s laughter. He had arrived in the navy suit he had been talking about for months, wearing the bow tie he had bought absurdly early because, according to him, stores could not be trusted to keep important things in stock.

I should have been downstairs with him.

Instead, I was standing in my bedroom while my mother turned the lock behind us.

“Mom?”

She looked at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

“You can go with Noah tonight, Christina,” she said.

I folded my arms.

“But first, I need you to hear something.”