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