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Squeezing his aruest rooaia hit me We’d been a sports faether as a fa football season and the Super Bowl I loved how Dad got us tickets to at least one game every year at Fenway to see the Red Sox play There was nothing like the athter, the ss, and popcorn Thethe stadium The sounds ofup and down the stands cradling goods shouting, “Beer! Get your beer!” “Hot dogs! Get your hotdogs!”

That pain in ether

My muscle memories autorowing up I’d already opened the door and was about to step inside when I re in there

My breath caught Moed the room Tears filled ut It wouldn’t have surprised me if she’d kept Dillon’s side of the room the same and emptied mine, but my side hadn’t been touched either

I could still see the photos pinned to the wall by my bed

Unable to look at Dillon’s space, I tentatively walked in, ravitated toward the photos My walls were covered in thes The dresser at the side of my bed was still littered with old perfume bottles andin azed at the photos

Some were of my fah standing at our backs with his arms around us Dad and I outside Fenway Derotten ht of ht, bea the camera

Then everything within ht when I saw the picture of Mom and me The photo was taken when I was sixteen, dressed for a forinto the camera

Unable to bear it, I dragged my attention to the next lot of photos Memories assaulted me They were all of me, Gary, Michael, Dillon, Dermot, and our friends

My eyes stopped on the lone photo I had of ie’s Diner off Main Street, and he had his ar Always drawn to hi it, my body was curled in toward him Someone had taken the photo—I think it was Der to each other When I saw that photo, I’d kept it

Because of the way Michael was looking atat him

God, I closed my eyes Had we really been that obvious?

When I forced my eyes back open, they shot to Dillon’s side of the room She had posters of the bands she’d loved on the walls, piles of romance books on her dresser, and makeup everywhere

Suddenly I could see her, clear as day, as the memories flooded me …

Following my little sister into our room, I didn’t feel the happy exhaustion she see from