Growing Up Without a Safety Net
Layla never had the kind of childhood that builds confidence.
She was the girl people looked past — not cruel enough to mock openly, not remarkable enough to notice.
By the time she was a teenager, she had quietly mastered the art of making herself small.
She laughed a beat too late at jokes. She pretended she preferred being alone.
She learned how to move through rooms without disturbing the air.
What she never learned was how to stop feeling like a burden — because in her family, that’s exactly what she had been told she was.
The message from her brother came without warning, and without much explanation.
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