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