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Carson’s s on with your parents?” When I didn’t answer right away, he continued, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to I know—”

“So you heard the? Of course you heard them How could you not?” I mumbled

“How long have they been doing that?”

“They didn’t always fight like that” I stared off into space, res were different—better “They used to be this perfect couple”

Kinda

like your parents I sed and barely ain

“Tell me about it,” he said, his voice soft

I hesitated as the past rushed in, re across from me But he was different with s he said in the perfuraht, yeah, this is Carson He’s not the boy you thought he was He’s so much more—someone I could trust, maybe even rely on

“It’s been a couple years But it’s been getting a lot worse these last six months, since the start of the school year” I paused and chewed onhow much I should tell him “It’s been pretty bad Stressful is an understatement Pretty much every day in my house is a war zone, one I want no part of”

“That must be hard,” he said, and I could tell he meant it His voice, his eyes, they were so full of sincerity it hurt

I sed the lump in my throat “Most days, I putto your house to hang out with Ethan is pretty round, and yours isbreath

“What do they fight about?”

“Anything Everything” I laughed “Ipoint, so in motion I’m pretty sure my mom thinks my dad cheated with his assistant I have no idea if it’s true or not, or if it’s just a convenient excuse to fuel their feud It doesn’t really h because they find so about every day If o”

I glanced up at hi hi him all of this?

“You knoe got in trouble for the gym incident, they were mad at me for half a second before they turned on each other Each of the in trouble at school Isn’t that crazy? I could wind up stuer to point It’s like I’er even there It’s just theer between them It lives and breathes in the walls”