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“Your mom’s bipolar”

We locked eyes again

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg Mya mother is not one of them At first, I believed her Even when I knew better, I still believed her The woman who ripped my life to shreds day after day was the saht”

My chest heaved, and my heart broke while Christian’s stare never faltered He sat there patiently listening to every word out ofently place his hand on top of ether It was such a soothing, reassuring gesture Feeling like ere one

To have a real connection with someone, with a boy who didn’t even knowwas an emotion I’d never experienced before

I wanted to tell hi on ht about it Except, I realized I didn’t have to, he kneas feeling our deep connection too

Making it a little easier to continue, “I was by myself a lot I’e My aunt works at the hospital all the time, and she’s barely around All I have is Jax I think I’d be lost without him Sometimes I think it’s easier for my aunt to work and not have to look at me I remind her of h was sihter My mom ran away from home when she was fifteen and never looked back You knohat they say, the apple doesn’t fall far fro line of crazy woh I hated that fact

“I don’t want to be like the my mom has ever done for me was to have her court-appointed lawyer find her sister He did, and she came to my rescue before I arded to the state”

My eyes were fixated on his hand that never left ers were so co over mine, and I wanted to turn my hand over to feel him

When he reached over and lightly grazed the side ofon the ends of razedup at hih my lashes

“It wasn’t you, Kinley She’s just sick”

“I know She self-et her hands on—it was mostly booze I slept on couch cushions for most of my life, and ere in and out of shelters Soirl, she et ot, the ames I haven’t spoken to or seen her in three and a half years She wants to see me, and a little part of ht? Or am I just really stupid?”