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I’ll never let her know it, but Natalie’s words cut deep Deeper than she probablya decent person because of that

She just doesn’t know that she’s picking at an old wound

Tears sting my eyes as I shove my key into the lock then step insideblindly onto the coffee table and sink onto the couch, blinking hard and fast

Even if she’s not here to have the satisfaction of seeing ive Natalie even a small victory over me

Sing hard, I dig into arette case that I repurposed as a little wallet I flip it open and tug out the cards and cash I keep inside, then grab the one re item that’s tucked away in the back

It’s an old photograph, cut down to size to fit inside the case, the extraneous sides trimmed away

The edges are rough and worn, and the ie itself has faded a bit over the years I could probably preserve it better if I didn’t keep it with me all the time, but I can’t bear to do that

This picture is all I have

Chewing on ertips over the two kids in the photograph They’re young, and the girl has her arhtly around the boy

He’s younger than her, probably by a couple years

She’s taller than hilehold, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and neck as she clutches him close to her body

Not that he seems to mind

His little hands grip her forear widely at the camera, teeth on full display

Me and my brother

A kid whose name I don’t even know