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“A lonely place to grow up in when you’re different. No one prepares you for this.”
“It was a Tuesday night. I find you hunched over in the bathroom; you couldn’t stop coughing. This was the last time I saw you.”
“We were driving to the grocery store when you finally asked me. I looked over at you, ‘well yeah, Mom.’ You smirked, ‘good, because I always knew.’”
“I cared too much. And I didn’t wanna care anymore. But I realized I can’t run from it — it’ll still be there.”
“Sitting alone, feeling everything collapse in front of me. I wiped my face but the tears kept coming. And then you came, walked up to my window. You handed me a tissue. You asked if I was okay. I didn’t know you but you knew exactly what I needed.”
“You told me I was hard to love. And I believed it.”
“‘Find your center.’ It’s here — a place of consolation and cigarettes.”
“‘Your pupils are dilated.’ I learned your knees were as sensitive as mine. I could feel your pull. I liked the warmth.”