My Broken Bond, Their Unending Pain

ands heavier than any physical burden. My heart was a frozen block in my

do you think

ye, her eyes still a little red, clung to

earlier in the morning before coming to the library. A bag I' d foolishly thought I mig

his pale blue eyes. Faye, curious as always, craned her n

g, for good. But then Clinton' s words from Christmas Eve echoed in my mind: "Your presence often makes her uncomfortable. She

ing them anything? They wouldn't care. They would twist it, make it about them, about F

, a tiny, desperate voice, whispered that maybe, just maybe, if I didn't make a fuss, they would realiz

s at my sides, my injured palm sc

otion. "Packing some things." I gestured vaguely towards the bag. "I tho

s brows, furrowed with suspicion, relaxed slightly. They ex

nt of something I couldn't quite decipher in his voice. "Faye

feigned innocence. "Oh, Clara! Really? That's so kind!"

. "We'll get the movers in tomorrow, Faye. You can decorate it howeve

. "It's settled then! Your new r

on asked, his attention briefly returning to

rst clumsy melodies, where my parents had tucked me in at night. Now, it would be hers. They were not just giving her my things; they we

e low and menacing. "We'll have security cameras installed. Every corner of

et, heavy and cold. They saw me as a thief, a schemer, a malicious entity. It was a stark remind

't been packed away years ago. My true self. The self they had ignored, belittled, and now, banished. T

Faye and my brothers. I didn't wait for a response. I turned, dragging my bag behind

voice sickeningly sweet. "I'll send you postcard

nd. I couldn't. I

had planted, past the swing set where Clinton used to push me so high I felt like I could touch th

t room in the farthest wing of the university campus. It wa

contrast to the distant sounds of my brothers' celebration. I could

d throbbing. No tears came. My eyes were dry, my heart a hollow space. They hadn't just preferred F

sat there, the darkness around me began to shift, to swirl, and from the depths of my memory, image