“I’m trying,” I said softly.
“Try harder,” he spat. “Or move. I didn’t pay for this seat to listen to that for hours.”
The word that burned. Lily wasn’t a that. She was everything.
Still, shame wrapped around me like rope. My hands shook. Tears burned, but pride forced them back. I gathered our things, preparing to move anywhere — even if that meant standing in the aisle for hours.
And then a voice cut through the tension.
A Teenager Changed Everything
“Excuse me, ma’am?”
I turned. A boy — no older than sixteen — stood a few rows ahead. Soft brown hair. Calm eyes that didn’t judge. He didn’t look annoyed. He looked… kind.
“You don’t need to go to the back,” he said gently. “Take my seat.”
He handed me a business-class boarding pass.
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