Looking at the pond, all I could think was that it is an incredivle thing, how a whole world can rise from what seems like nothing at all.

Society. The same society, I might add, that dictates that little girls should always be sugar and spice and everything nice, which encourages them not to be assertive. And that, in turn, then leads to low self-esteem, which can lead to eating disorders and increased tolerance and acceptance of domestic, sexual, and substance abuse." "You get all that from a pink Onesie?" Leah said after a moment.

Leaving was easy. It was everything else that was so damned hard.

If nothing else, now we knew where to find each other, even if only time would tell if either of us would ever come looking.

This felt right. Not just leaving, but how I was doing it. Without regret, without second guessing. And with Wes right there, holding the door open for me as I walked out into the light.

I was so scared about being discovered, but nobody came. Nobody heard. In my own ears, though, my sobs sounded primal and scary, like something I would have turned off if I'd been able to.

It seemed like this day could go in so many directions, like a spiderweb shooting out toward endless possibilities.