Sometimes we wouldn't speak for weeks.
Then one of us would send a stupid message, and within minutes we'd be laughing like we were six again.
There were moments when people assumed we were dating.
We weren't.
At least, that's what I told myself.
Whenever someone asked whether Emma was my girlfriend, I would immediately say no.
"She's my best friend."
Emma would usually smile whenever she heard me say it.
But as we reached our teenage years, something about our friendship began to feel different.
There were moments when I caught myself looking at her longer than I should.
Moments when she would walk into a room wearing a beautiful dress, and I'd suddenly forget what I was saying.
Still, neither of us talked about it.
Perhaps we were both afraid that saying something could destroy the friendship we'd spent more than a decade building.
And then senior year arrived.
One evening, Emma reminded me of something I hadn't thought about in years.
"Hey," she said, smiling. "You remember what you promised me?"
I stared at her.
Then I remembered.
Prom.
She laughed.
"You better not break your promise."
I smiled back.
"I won't."
I had no idea that the promise was about to become much more complicated than either of us expected.
CHAPTER 3 — THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED
The week before prom, my mother started acting strangely.
At first, I thought she was simply stressed.
She was quieter than usual. She kept checking her phone, and several times I noticed her looking at me as though she wanted to say something.
One evening, she called me upstairs.
When I reached my bedroom, she was standing beside the door.
"Sit down," she said.
I immediately knew something was wrong.
My mother closed the door.
Then, unexpectedly, she locked it.
I stared at her.
"Mom, what's going on?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she sat across from me and took a deep breath.
"There is something about your childhood that you don't know."
My stomach tightened.
"What kind of something?"