It was as familiar to me as a song I'd been hearing my whole life, covered by various people but the basic tune the same.

I was bored. Sad. Lonely. It was only a matter of time before I cracked.

Two a.m.' He swallowed, then said, "You know. The person you can call at two a.m. and, no matter what, you can count on them. Even if they're asleep or it's cold or you need to be bailed out of jail...they'll come for you. It's like, the highest level of friendship.

You're not supposed to have it all figured out in high school. If you knew it all, and it was the best, it's all downhill from there.

Clearly, sharing something could take you a long way, or at least to a different place than you'd planned. Like a friendship or a family, or even jsut alone on a curb on a Saturday, trying to get your bearings as best you can.

I knew this feeling, the 2 a.m. loneliness that I'd practically invented.

Forgiveness is hard. Acceptance is doable.