The In-Between

Chapter One (Kenzie)

I was laying on my bed, still in yesterday's clothes, phone in hand, doing absolutely nothing productive and pretending that was part of my healing process.
It wasn't.

Outside my window, the sounds of suburban Los Angeles moved along without me—traffic, a barking dog, someone blasting Bad Bunny two houses down. Life, apparently, didn't stop just because mine was stuck in limbo.

Milo, my cat (judgmental and emotionally unavailable), was curled up at the foot of my bed, purring like his life was perfectly in order. I envied him.

I picked up my phone again—tenth time in an hour. No new texts. No emails. Just the same three apps I'd been toggling between all day: Instagram (where everyone else looked like they had a six-figure job and a six-pack), my empty Gmail inbox, and my notes app with a pathetic to-do list titled: Figure your shit out.

At the top of the list:
1. Un-enroll from college
2. Tell your entire extended family (and emotionally survive the fallout)
3. Find a new dream that isn't doctor-related
4. Pretend you're totally fine

Spoiler: I wasn't fine.

A box of half-unpacked textbooks stared at me from the corner of my room. Organic Chemistry 101 was on top like it was mocking me. I'd once highlighted every single page of that thing like my life depended on it. Now I couldn't even look at it without feeling nauseous. I thought being a doctor was the dream. I spent years chasing it—AP classes, late-night cram sessions, shadowing programs—and somewhere along the way, I lost myself.

I didn't even know when it started feeling wrong. Maybe it was during that anatomy lab when I almost passed out next to a cadaver. Or maybe it was when I realized I hadn't had a genuine laugh in months because I was too busy pretending I was okay.

Now here I was. Twenty-two, living with my parents again, managing a clothing store part-time, and spiraling.

The weird part? No one talks about this. The in-between stage. The messy, shapeless time after you stop chasing one version of your life but have no clue what the new version is supposed to be. Like I'm stuck in a loading screen that never finishes.

My phone buzzed in my hand, and I jumped.
Jake Thompson calling.

My heart did a stupid little flip. Jake. Childhood best friend, chaos incarnate, and—oh yeah—now a wildly successful YouTuber who lived in a beach house with other internet-famous people. We hadn't talked much lately, but seeing his name still lit something in my chest.

I hesitated, then hit "accept."

"Hey," I said, trying not to sound like I'd been lying on my back wallowing for the past two hours.

"Kenz," Jake's voice came through with a grin. "You alive?"

"Barely," I muttered, flipping onto my side. "I'm in full-blown crisis mode. It's like Benjamin Button but backwards and unemployed."

He laughed. "That sounds like you need a change of scenery."

"Oh really?" I snorted. "Is that your professional opinion as someone who hasn't worked a normal job since high school?"

"Exactly," he said, not missing a beat. "Which is why I'm calling."

I sat up slightly. "Okay...?"

"One of the guys just moved out. We've got a room open at the house. I thought... why not you?"

I blinked. "Wait. You're serious?"

"As a panic attack." He paused, then added more gently, "I know things have been rough. And I miss you. You could use a reset. We've got space. Nadine's been begging for another girl in the house. It could be fun. Or chaotic. Or both."

I sat up completely, heart pounding. "Jake, I'm... I don't know. I don't even have a plan right now. I don't belong in a beach mansion with influencer roommates."

"You belong somewhere," he said, voice softer now. "Why not here—with people who love you, who aren't expecting you to have it all figured out?"

I glanced around my room. The boxes. The silence. The weight of my uncertainty pressing in from all sides.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Jake added.

I let out a slow breath, heart still racing.

"Famous last words," I muttered.

But deep down... it didn't sound like a disaster.
It sounded like the beginning of something.
Something unpredictable.
Something mine.

"Screw it," I said, already grabbing a pen to write a new list. "I'm in"

"Good! I'll prepare your room tonight" Jake said with excitement.

We hung up the phone and sat there thinking to myself. At least I didn't think it was a bad idea. I took a deep breath and added to my notes

5. Move away from this city?

I pinned it and looked at Milo and began to pet him. "I guess I'll start packing now" Milo meowed and I got up from my bed to pack.