Chapter 208: You're Special, Sav

Savannah Flashback(20 years ago) I still remember the summer I turned ten—the one that always sits like a bruise under my skin when I think about my childhood. Everyone else swears it was one of our “happiest” family summers, a golden memory, a picture-perfect era of cookouts and sunshine and music. But when I look back, all I can see is the way the sunlight burned too hot, the way the laughter felt like it was happening through a wall, and the way my father’s hand had left a sting on my cheek that my mother would pretend not to notice all day. That afternoon, the backyard was full. Not just full—stuffed. Bodies everywhere. Aunts, uncles, cousins, neighborhood friends. The kind of crowd where everyone is too distracted to notice anything smaller than an explosion. Which was me. Alyssa had set up her ridiculous “teen tent” under the oak tree. I had my own makeshift “fort” beside her, but I wasn’t really playing. I sat on the grass, hugging my legs, staring at the scene like I was lookin