I love my mom. And this time, I told her I loved her. And she told me she loved me, too. And things were okay for a little while.

The outside lights were on, and it was snowing, and it looked like magic. Like we were somewhere else. Like we were someplace better.

You know . . . a lot of kids at school hate their parents. Some of them got hit. And some of them got caught in the middle of wrong lives. Some of them were trophies for their parents to show the neighbors like ribbons or gold stars. And some of them just wanted to drink in peace.

Maybe it’s sad that these are now memories. And maybe it’s not sad.

Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again. And that was enough for me.

I feel like a big faker because I've been putting my life back together, and nobody knows.

But right now I’m here with you. And I want to know where you are, what you need, and what you want to do.