Seven Years, A Cruel Lie

glasses were on the nightstand, a stack of mail was on the kitchen counter, and her favorite shawl was draped over the back of the sofa. The silence was heavy,

g to see her smile again. Tucked away in a box at the back, under a pile of winter s

from my father, written to her before I was born. But underneath them was a sma

rote about her failing health, her fears,

ng she wants. I see the way she looks at him sometimes, like he's not enough. It breaks my

le time, texting someone and smiling. She didn't think I saw. She talks about this Ryan fellow a lot. Her 'friend.' I

o, and it had pained her. I felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over me. I had been so wrapped up in my life

o had always, unconditionally, looked at me. The regret was a bitter pill to swallow. I closed the journal and held it to m

rs were ready. I told him to send them to Chloe's parents' address. A few hours later, a string

this, Ethan? After every

. You can't just thr

ke! You're being cr

idea. Or maybe they did, and they were just as skilled at denial as Chloe was. I

self-worth. A lesson in seeing people for who they are, not who you want them to be. I had ignore

a number I didn't recogniz

he sobbed. "I love you. It was a

sked, my voice flat. "Why were you cooki

busy with your mom, and Ryan was just... there.

ting. "Lonely," I repeated. "I was holding my mother's

hings!" she cried. "You're just try

ing past her own wants, her own narrative. In her mind, she was the v

number that afternoon. It was a clean slate. A final cut of the cord. I was free. An