Lollipop and promises
t
only see t
op. The one who smirks too much, who always has a sarcastic co
want them to see. And I learned a long time ago that it's
e the
uth is
e never been
sed to it-but because mornings used to m
ng to herself as she made coffee, the smell drifting through the house. The radio wou
still half-asleep, watching her move arou
here were
Voices rising just enough to make me and my mom flinch. My dad's anger was like a
ay, it was
t, filled with arguments over who got what-who deserved
a new wife, a new ho
ot what
when I realize
of how quickly he moved on. It was the way he treated m
n there
tepm
d. From the moment she stepped into our lives, it was like she saw me
rated
hile, a
y sisters
nd So
nd marriage. They were loud and stubborn and impossible to s
. It didn't matter that they lived in a house I hate
g I could to be
for ice cream when my stepmother was in one of her moods. Let them
et, but I'd burn the
hy I still deal wi
y mom, like she's something weak. I can't stand the way my stepmo
Mia and Sophie a
he role of the older brother w
it gets to be t
y head gets too loud. Shower. Work-emails,
int in the afternoon
ng to do. A mindless habit. A
there w
it wasn't so m
I end up at m
w up in, a little more worn dow
. But I can tell she's happy to see me, even when she sighs and says, "
don'
er, I don't ha
the smirk, or the one who always
t's why I kee
he world feels too heavy, I just want