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He tugs my hands and pulls ne He’s slowly becoo of o of it

He looks down grinning, "I just cleaned the on the phone" I can smell the vanilla hand sanitizer in the air

I look at him, "Shit I need to text Michelle" I pullDoret there’

He doesn’t answer I know he’s pissed I don’t wait for him to call I put the phone in my pocket

"So what have you been up to?" I ask, desperate to just be nor not to sound tooout? I haven’t seen you?"

He chuckles looking down

I frown, "What?"

His grin is bashful He pulls reens toward the OCD restaurant "I’ve seen you tons"

I don’t like that I jerkym the same time as you, but I stayed out of your way I didn’t want to upset you"

"I hate when people treat me delicately" I snarl

He scoffs, "And you don’t like help and you don’t want to talk about yourself You have to give "

"I’ family"

"Lots of orphans"

He doesn’t speak and for that I aueto worry about the aive me I’ll hear it in his voice I always do

"I was found at age six wandering the streets of a town called Clovis, New Mexico No parents, no ID, no trace of where I cae and living on the streets They don’t even really kno long I was alone"

I can hear his breath I can see his pulse in his neck But he still says nothing

"I was adopted by the Catholic Church and raised in an orphanage in Clovis" My voice doesn’t waver I have never told the story before The words have never left my lips I never had to explain it in Clovis Everyone knew Dr Bradley knew My benefactor knew

The story coined it would When I was little, I iined I would one day be a famous writer invited on a talk show to tell the story I never ireens of a university in Boston I never iuy so beautiful and sweet, that I can’t iine what I did to deserve hi I as were done In the beginning I was such a savage You see, if one kid gets sick, all the kids get sick There isn’t a lot of money and stuff So they were clean Really clean Anyone asn’t clean was punished"

His brow furrows but I shake my head and hurry the words froht ship They had strict rules But ere fed and clean and cared for No one there hurt eret in and make us sick Cleanliness is next to Godliness"

He licks his lips I stop walking, "If you’re done, I get it I kno heavy that baggage is I knohat it means I won’t ever have children and I won’t ever be nor I can hardly be in a roomy feet have to touch the sa even and balanced and controlled I’m okay with it because it’s always been my reality But I don’t expect you to be" It kills me to say it, "I knohat I am" The statement doesn’t feel true It feels forced