na's
can you
e up from somewher
bleeding into each other. Gray pavement. Blue sky. . A quick r
ne says. "Don't try
e I'm on
aces above me, hovering, warped around the edges like I'm looking through broken glass. Strangers.
inted, I
ne call an
stay w
harp wave of dizziness through me, and my stomach flips violently
orry,"
hy I say it. It
, softer, my teeth chatte
ache that pulses with my heartbeat. My hands tremble
d sit," som
I brush myself off automatically, smoothing my clothes like
othing
le of concerned faces loosens. No one stops me. Nobody reall
en it h
ryth
ce sneering, "
ivorce papers cutt
, cruel threat h
balance fl
ale face again
my head.We can't move forwar
tightens
me, crowded and loud, but I feel completely alone in it. People brush past me, talking, laughing, l
my mouth as tears
fai
absolute. I failed my mother. I failed myself. I fail
io was
never
ed in a way that has nothing to do with the crowd around me. Like ev
eaking down my face unchecked.
have th
until the noise shifts. Louder. Sharper. The sound
s
a constant stream, wind whipping my hair into my face. Exhaust burns my n
oesn't slow
neve
making her feel like the center of his universe The fake papers were spread out tidily on the tel
r, the words barely au
ive m
hing. I picture her face, tired but kind, the way she always
ep fo
explodes
and their tires are screeching to dodge me . Someone's screaming from a
dramatic. I do
eel
allowing everything else. For a split second, I register the d
here's
down hard. Pain flares white-hot through me, sharp and overwhelming-and
world
far away. Somewhere, brakes lock and metal g
for what just happened. Traffic comes to a halt around me, c
distant, a faint wail th
sion n
an see n
nes. Silence. I reach for that image in my mind, clinging
o tell he
tell her
of everyt
s my mother's face...th
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