The constant orders of customers blared in my head as I ran around, attempting to take them, while all the while, my mother continued in her efforts to talk to me. It was just enough for Franny to hold her at bay for the time being, while all I did was standing there for a moment, in the middle of the diner, my head throbbing, wondering what pain medication was safe to take while pregnant. And there it was again, my consideration for this unborn life that I'd never wanted in the first place. Shaking my head, I headed back into the kitchen, taking a break as I leaned against the lockers, the cold metal seeping into my back.

"Twenty-four hours, twenty-four hours," I whispered to myself. "Then this'll all be over and I can move the fuck on..."

If only it hadn't been for the night before, when everything had changed, and not for the better, of course. It was the night before that I'd felt little flips inside me, and wondered if it was the baby making itself known. I pushed the thought from my mind then and braced myself up against the lockers, forcing myself back into the fray. It was the lunch rush, so I was needed without question, and yet as I stepped back towards the doorway of the diner, I felt my head and vision beginning to swim.

"Iana," came my mother's voice, slightly muffled and distorted, as she approached me for the umpteenth time that afternoon. "You okay? Want to talk?"

"Aunt Murphy!" Franny called, always on the ball as she dashed forward, her eyes worried as it flitted from me, to my mother, and back again. "Some jerk over in the center booth by the window is complaining about the avocado on his burger. He's pretty much demanding to see someone in charge..."

My mother sighed, obviously wanting to question me further, but nodded. "All right, I'll take care of it," she said, and made her way to the other side of the restaurant.

"Hey, come on," Franny said, motioning for someone to cover our tables for a few minutes as she brought me back into the employee locker room. "Sit down," she ordered, gently pushing me down onto the bench. "Here," she went on, handing me her water bottle from her locker, and I drank it like someone who'd been lost in a desert for a thousand days. "What's going on with you today? You're quiet, and you don't look like yourself..."

I sighed. "Tired," I replied. "Haven't been sleeping much lately..."

"Why?" she asked, tentatively taking the water bottle from me. "Something going on?"

I rubbed my eyes then, in an attempt to ward off the desire to sleep. "The procedure's tomorrow, so I guess I'm just worried..."

Franny nodded. "Understandable."

"You know, if they fuck it up, you can't have kids..."

Franny made a face. "Please. You never wanted kids."

I opened my mouth to say something, but automatically shut it when I saw my mother looming in the doorway of the employee locker room.

"I don't pay you girls to stand around and gossip! Now, get out there," she said, her hands on her hips. "There are tables to wait."

"Be right there," Franny said, narrowing her eyes at my mother's back as soon as she slipped back towards her office. "You okay to get back to work?"

I nodded then, dragging my hand across my forehead; I was sweating like a pig, and even though it was a hot August day, I knew, deep down, that something didn't feel right. "Sure. Fine," I assured Franny, and gripped the sides of the bench to boost myself up. As I moved to do so, however, I got to my feet and wobbled slightly then before my knees buckled completely. I was vaguely aware of Franny screaming my name and grabbing me as I fell to the ground, my vision going black, just like all my senses as the lights went out.

. . .

I clocked out early that day, as soon as I'd let my mother have it for what must have been the ten thousandth time over the course of my life. I went directly to my locker and got out my things before heading back out into the alley and got into my car, my course set for Pops and Uncle Ian's place. I tossed my bag into the back, drumming my hands absentmindedly on my steering wheel as I navigated my way through late-afternoon traffic and towards one of the few safe havens I'd had in my life.

I parked right outside upon arrival and let myself in, tossing my clothes into the washing machine and perching up on one of the highchairs of the kitchen island. I lowered my eyes down towards my stomach, still barely swollen, and shook my head, leaning forward so as to obliterate it from my view. I reached into my pocket for the packet of almonds I'd put in there earlier, one of the two forms of nuts I actually liked, and popped a few into my mouth. The other kinds of nuts I consumed were hazelnuts; can't get enough of Nutella, which I was craving more than usual lately, although I didn't give in as much as I would like to.

The door opened from behind me then and Pops trooped through, starting for a moment as he saw me sitting there. "Hey, kiddo," he said, stepping inside and kicking the door shut behind him. He placed a few grocery bags on the table, and I hopped down, gravitating towards him immediately and just laying my head down on his shoulder. "Bad day?"

I sighed. "Kind of."

"Yeah?" he asked, kissing my forehead. "What happened?"

I inhaled then, sensing something delicious was lurking inside the bags and felt my stomach growl automatically when I smelled it. "Mom may have walked out into the alley when I had an unexpected guest," I said quietly, attempting to ignore my hunger.

"Did she?" Pops asked, gently moving me to sit down at the table as he unpacked the groceries, and I saw a roast chicken being put onto the counter, along with mashed potatoes and pre-prepared green beans. "This is our dinner," he explained. "I take it you'll be joining your uncle and me this evening?"

I nodded. "Please," I said softly.

"So who'd your mom find you with?" Pops asked as he continued filing the various food and household items away in the cabinets and fridge.

I bit my lower lip then, knowing that I needed to talk to someone about it. "She found me with Liam," I replied.

He raised his eyebrows. "Liam?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"What'd Liam want?"

"To confront me about dodging his phone calls," I replied. "I may be ignoring them, and have been ever since I made the stupid mistake of crashing at his place..."

"Sounds legit," Pops said with a nod of his head.

I scoffed then, leaning back in my chair, and would've given almost anything to have an ice cold beer right about then. "I don't know. I mean, I don't think that we're on the same page anymore of being just friends who have fun..."

"Yeah? You think he has feelings for you?"

"Of annoyance, maybe," I muttered. "I don't know. I guess there could be feelings there, but I let him know that I didn't want a fucking sugar daddy or anything like that. I'm not that kind of girl, Pops. You know that, don't you?"

He smiled. "I know you're my daughter, and that you're a hard worker."

"I don't like being spoon-fed, that's for sure," I said, crossing my arms. "Guess it just goes to show you how unpredictable the heterosexual male is..."

"Speaking as someone who tried to convince everyone in his life that he was that," Pops said, and I turned to look at him then, "it's fucking complicated to pretend to be someone you're not, when all you want to do is be what you are."

I mulled that over in my mind then. "And how do you know when you're there?"

He smiled. "That's all part of the life experience, kiddo. Don't worry, you'll get there. You just need to live a bit longer first."

. . .

Franny continued to help me avoid my mother at the diner for the next two days, while I continued crashing at Pop and Uncle Ian's place. My mother tried more than once to get me to reconsider my decision, but I felt that space was what we needed for the moment. I continued to ignore Liam, knowing that it could potentially be the undoing of our relationship, or whatever it was, but I couldn't handle that as well. Work continued to prove to be a worthy distraction during the rest of the week, and yet there were holes in my day, due to the fact that I refused to speak to my mother. I knew that, at one point or another, the lines of communication would be forced open again, but I still wasn't ready to even attempt to make the first move.

I was finishing up my shift on Friday, gathering my things from my locker, when my phone vibrated in the back pocket of my jean shorts. Perplexed, I grabbed it out, raising my eyebrows at Mandy's number. Shrugging it off, I moved to answer it, placing the phone up against my ear and hesitating for a moment. "Mandy?"

"Hey, Iana," she said, exuberant as usual. "Lip and I are inviting you, plus Mick and Ian, over for dinner tonight. You down?"

I raised my eyebrows at the unexpected invitation. "Yeah," I replied. "I'm just getting off work now... I'll run home, get cleaned up, and then we'll drive right on over..."

"Mick told me that you've been staying with them," Mandy said gently as I continued to clean my employee locker. "You doing okay?"

I sighed. "Just...family drama, you know?"

"Of course," she replied. "All too well."

"So...what time are we expected?"

"Seven okay?" she asked.

"Seven's great," I replied, checking my phone; it was just after four-thirty. "I'll head home now and make sure the boys get ready."

"Great. See you then!"

"You, too!" I said, hanging up. I continued to grab my things before slamming my locker shut and clipping the combination lock into place. I pulled my duffel bag on over my shoulder and headed out the back door, unlocking my car automatically and hopping in. I tossed my duffel into the back seat, shooting off a text to Pops, letting him know that I was on my way and would be seeing him soon.

The drive home wasn't as messy as I anticipated, and I arrived in just under fifteen minutes. I got out of the car, seeing that Pops was picking up a case of Old Style, and would be meeting Uncle Ian at work before heading home with him. I smiled at how married the two of them were as I headed inside the house, letting myself inside and crossing directly to the kitchen, whereupon I shoved a weeks'-worth of clothes into the washing machine. I had the next two days off, and I was looking forward to an impromptu night out with a select few members of my family, and even though I had a bunch of bullshit drama weighing on me, I knew that getting out of my head for a while was warranted.

I headed upstairs and into my borrowed bedroom, fetching a towel and stripping off, wrapping myself within the terry and crossing back out into the hallway towards the bathroom. Stepping inside, I shut the door behind me and turned towards the bath-shower combo that I'd quickly gotten used to over the years and began adjusting the temperature to one I liked. Once it was set, I set the towel onto the bathroom counter and stepped inside. I lowered my eyes as the droplets migrated from my hair towards my slightly expanded stomach. I bit my lip then as I rolled my shoulders, worrying that I wasn't making the right decision.

Immediately, I shook my head and dunked my head underneath the water, which was much colder than I anticipated. "Fuck!" I screamed, drawing back and adjusting it again before making a grab for my shampoo. I rolled my eyes, hating that I was getting so goddamned sentimental about something I'd never even wanted in the first place. "Cool it, dammit," I muttered through my teeth as I massaged the soap into my hair.

I returned to the bedroom as soon as my shower was completed, yanking on a pair of panties and a bra as I rubbed the shit out of my hair with the towel, so as to prevent it from being wet for the next several hours. I grabbed another pair of denim shorts and a slightly-nicer tank top, deciding to pair them with my wedge sandals for the evening. I gathered my mane of raven hair into a side ponytail, which came to rest several inches below my collar bone.

I lay down on the borrowed bed then, feeling exhausted from my week at work and constant avoidance of certain members of my family. Peeking at my phone again, I spotted a text from Fionn, demanding to know when I'd be coming home. Knowing it would be cruel to just leave him on read, while all the while rolling my eyes, I forced myself to reply. While it wasn't the best answer, that I didn't know when I would be coming home, it was an honest one. I knew deep down that if Fionn couldn't accept the answer, then that was his problem, not mine. As much as I loved my brother, he needed to know that I couldn't always drop everything to be there for him, and with my move out of here the following month, it was probably good that he was getting used to not having me around constantly now.

I set my hands on my stomach then and, for once, forced myself not to move them and to keep them there for a moment. I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, other than the fact that my stomach was definitely harder than it had been, even when I was at the peak of my work out regimens. I pursed my lips then, considering the child, and wondering if it would be like me or like Andy. Of course, I knew those thoughts were dangerous, and I knew I'd be raising the baby on my own, as Aunt Debbie had done with Franny and Franny had done with Ezra. I shook my head at my thoughts, sitting up in the bed and running my hands down my forehead. It was too late now; the appointment had been set, and my mind was made up. No matter what, I was going through with my plans, and no sentimentality would stop me.

. . .

Pops, Uncle Ian, and I arrived at Mandy's building a few minutes before seven, and I agreed to help them take in some of their purchases for dinner that night. Pops and Uncle Ian went inside first, while I agreed to catch the next elevator upstairs as I gathered the rest of the groceries. As I finished gathering the rest of the groceries, I managed to shut and lock the truck before carrying everything inside. I got to the elevators quickly, and, once they arrived, I stepped inside immediately and waited for the doors to close.

"Hold the door!"

Immediately, I set the bags down and pressed the button, my eyes widening at the young woman who stepped into the elevator with a grateful smile my way. "You okay?" I asked, getting a good look at the beautiful bolts of fabric she was carrying.

"Fine, thanks," she replied. "Top floor, please."

"No problem," I replied, pushing the button, knowing that the top three floors housed the exclusive suites the building had to offer.

"You live here?"

I shook my head. "No. My aunt and uncle live here. Heading upstairs to join them for dinner," I said, hoping I was at liberty to discuss such things.

The girl nodded, her beautiful blonde hair not an inch out of place. "I have a studio upstairs," she explained with a smile. "My brother's coming to help me with these new materials."

I raised my eyebrows. "Studio?"

She grinned, her green eyes flashing with excitement. "Yeah. I'm a designer."

"No kidding?"

"Not kidding," she replied with a lyrical laugh. "Professionally, I'm known as Nell Barrington, to distinguish myself from my family. Barrington is my mother's maiden name," she explained with an effortless toss of her blonde locks. "Guess I didn't want my famous brother's name breathing down my neck during the entire organization..."

"You're the CEO of Nells Rags?" I asked then, my eyes wide.

She grinned. "Shabby-chic boutiques all across the United States, thank you very much," she replied. "Got my degree five years ago and opened up the first one in Lincoln Park when I was twelve, so three years ago now. We open one in Tokyo in six months, and then there's one coming to the Bahamas next year. I just finished approving the concepts of the first launch of the Bahamas location, and then we're in talks for one in Paris next."

I shook my head at how amazing Nell's life was. "That's amazing."

"Is this the slowest elevator or what?" she asked, looking around as we continued our climb. "I guess it decided to take me up first."

I shrugged. "No problem."

"So, while I've been talking, I've been rude," she said with another smile. "I've barely allowed you a word in edgewise."

"Not much to know, to be honest," I replied.

Nell giggled. "Oh, I very much doubt that. What's your name?"

"I'm Iana," I replied.

She looked shocked then at my name. "Iana? Well... I mean, that's certainly not a name you hear every day..."

I laughed. "I was an accident, I'll admit it," I replied.

"Your mother was...young?" she guessed.

"She was twenty-one," I said with a shrug. "Not so young. She was already working for a law firm by the time she had me."

"Your mother's a lawyer?"

"Was. She owns a diner now."

The elevators dinged open at long last and Nell scurried into the hall. She hesitated for a moment before turning around. "Want to come in for a moment?"

I raised my eyebrows. "You don't mind?" I asked.

"Of course not!" she replied. "You're the first person of our age that I've met who knows who I am but hasn't been all over me. I need more friends like you."

"Friends," I said with a laugh as I left the elevator to follow her. "I literally surround myself with my family, to be honest with you. My cousin is my best friend, and since she has a son already, I just don't get out much."

"Oh, you'll get out a lot more now that we're friends," Nell gushed as we turned the corner. "So, I take it you're close to my age..."

"I'm sixteen," I replied. "I just graduated high school in June."

"Wow, so a year older, okay," she said. "Got any plans now that you're free?"

"Well, I accepted an academic scholarship from Northwestern University," I replied. "I'm going to major in business."

"Hey, maybe I'll even be offering you a job one day," Nell said.

I smiled at her. "Yeah, maybe you will," I said.

Nell got to the door of her suite and unlocked it, and as we stepped inside, she spotted a black blazer on one of the cushions of the white modern couch. "Oh! That means my darling brother is here!" she sang, dropping the bolts of fabric onto the couch next to it as she turned around to face me again. "I'll just go into the back and fetch him! Will!" she called, and dashed into the room in the back, while the door automatically shut behind me.

"Jesus, Penny, you know I hate it when you call me that!"

My blood immediately ran cold then. No, no, no. It couldn't be, could it?! I did my best to put on my poker face then, as my worst fears were confirmed as Nell trooped back into the room, pulling her brother in behind her.

"Will, this is—"

"Iana?!"

"Liam," I whispered then, swallowing, feeling as if I'd just been sent out to sea without any kind of warning. "What a surprise."

Nell looked shocked as she dropped Liam's arm. "Wait... My new best friend Iana is the girl you've been so hung up on?"

Liam sighed. "Fuck. Thanks, Penny."

"Oh, boy, I did not expect to walk into this," I said quietly, doing my best to hold it together. "I am so sorry to put you into the middle of this, Nell. I'll just go..."

"You don't have to leave!" Nell cried, coming towards me. "I'm so sorry if my brother put you in an awkward position."

I smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder for a moment. "Oh, sweetie, nobody put anyone into an awkward position. It was all... Well, fun was had by all."

"But... You're sixteen," Nell said, her voice quivering.

I sighed. "I know how old I am, and it didn't matter to us, at the time. Let's just say that we didn't keep on the same page. Did we, Liam?"

Liam looked slightly unnerved then before he nodded. "No. We didn't."

"I need to go," I said, bending back down to pick up the grocery bags. "It was lovely to meet you, Nell. And Liam... Well, nice to see you, I guess," I said before I turned around and left Nell's suite and hurried to the elevator.

I willed for myself not to cry as I stepped inside and pressed the floor that Mandy and Uncle Lip lived on. Swallowing over and over again and forcing myself to remember how to breathe, I arrived at the correct floor and composed myself as I walked towards the door. I knocked, and was relieved when Mandy answered the door. I did my best to smile at her as she greeted me, and she instructed Uncle Lip to take my bags from me and put them into the kitchen before she guided me into the living room, where Pops and Uncle Ian already were.

"I just can't get over it," Mandy said, perching on the edge of the couch, a few inches from where she'd sandwiched me between Pops and Uncle Ian. "She really does look like a Milkovich, Mick. You and Murphy did a great job."

"There's some Gallagher in there, too, thank you very much," Uncle Ian replied with a grin. "Am I right, Lip?"

"No question," Uncle Lip replied, sitting on the arm of the couch behind Mandy and pulling her in close to him, and she immediately relaxed against his body. "Now that we've got everyone here, how's about that announcement now?"

"I'm ready, if you are," Mandy replied.

I looked from one of them to the other. "What's up with you two?"

Mandy grinned as she turned and looked at me, before extending her left hand and showing me the modest yet lovely diamond on her finger. "We're getting married!" she cried.

"Hey!" Uncle Ian replied, getting to his feet and embracing Mandy and Uncle Lip in turn, and I noticed that Pops looked mighty pleased with himself.

"You bastard! You fucking knew?!" I demanded with a laugh, playfully shoving his shoulder before he grabbed me and rubbed my head affectionately.

"Lip may have asked me for permission..."

Mandy gaped at Pops. "He did not!" she cried out, turning to Uncle Lip.

Uncle Lip threw up his hands. "I wanted to play this respectful and, well... Mick's my brother too and I figured..."

Mandy grabbed ahold of Uncle Lip then and kissed him. "I fucking love you," she said.

Uncle Lip grinned and yanked Mandy by the waist so that she was plastered against him. "Well, I fucking love you, too," he replied.

. . .

The next eight days went by quickly, and I slowly began counting down the hours to the procedure that, whether I liked it or not, would change my life forever. I was off work early two days before, just two hours before the dinner rush began. I had a text from Uncle Ian that he was working late, and Pops was over at Uncle Lip and Mandy's place, but would be home later in case I needed anything. I assured them both that I would be all right for a few hours by myself and when I arrived, I headed directly upstairs and lay back on my borrowed bed, looking up at the old ceiling.

"It's okay, you guys. We can't let the dark scare us. It's just there. It won't hurt you."

I shut my eyes then as the warm tears escaped them, remembering holding onto Clayton and Fionn as they cried for Mom in those dark days, so early in our childhood. I knew that I'd done the right thing for them by forgiving our mother, and by omitting several things from discussion in years past. Of course, had I told them the whole truth and nothing but the truth, shit would be very different, I knew that. Perhaps, they would've sided with me, and would've wanted to stay with me at Pops and Uncle Ian's place.

It was different for Carla and Charlie; Carla barely remembered the days of Dad's absence from the family, they were so brief. As for Charlie, Mom was pregnant with him when Dad's assignment had been wrapping up, so Dad had always been there for him. Clayton and Fionn were just kids, babies really, so even though flashes of those times came to them now and again, they wouldn't remember what I remembered. They wouldn't remember the complete rejection that our mother put us through, supposedly for our own protection. They wouldn't remember that the rejection had come to late, and that Tommy had already managed to get his hands on me at least once during his time with her.

The experts say that unconditional love isn't fleeting, and that, nine times out of ten, the child will forgive its parent for anything. Of course, nine out of ten was just a guesstimation from me, and I knew next to nothing about psychology. I guessed then that I was the outlier in the equation put forth by experts and guessed at by me. I had to be. I just couldn't get over what my mother had done to me as a child, and kept doing to me as a teenager. Maybe this is what how it was supposed to be; us living apart. Me living with the section of the family that seemed to accept me no matter what shit I found myself in.

And it was then, in the darkness that crept up in my thoughts, that my life changed and took off in a moment that I never thought possible. It was then that, from within me, my child did a backflip, and my eyes snapped open. The gasp escaped from my lips before I could call it back, and I immediately felt regret for what was to come, a feeling I could no longer silence or attempt to call back.

. . .

"I don't pay you girls to stand around and gossip! Now, get out there," she said, her hands on her hips. "There are tables to wait."

"Be right there," Franny said, narrowing her eyes at my mother's back as soon as she slipped back towards her office. "You okay to get back to work?"

I nodded then, dragging my hand across my forehead; I was sweating like a pig, and even though it was a hot August day, I knew, deep down, that something didn't feel right. "Sure. Fine," I assured Franny, and gripped the sides of the bench to boost myself up. As I moved to do so, however, I got to my feet and wobbled slightly then before my knees buckled completely. I was vaguely aware of Franny screaming my name and grabbing me as I fell to the ground, my vision going black, just like all my senses as the lights went out.

The sensation of hearing returned soon thereafter, and I was vaguely able to hear Franny and my mother screaming orders. I felt myself being lifted by strong arms, and a familiar scent hit my nostrils as I felt the sensation of being carried. It was Uncle Ian, I knew that now; he must've arrived with his EMT associates to take me to the hospital. As I was unable to talk, I couldn't protest as they jostled me slightly to get me into the vehicle, although I felt myself smirk almost automatically when Uncle Ian scolded them for it.

Next came the lurch of the ambulance and the wail of the siren as they worked on me, and I faded in and out as we drove. We arrived soon thereafter, and I heard Pops's voice through the mix of people around the doors as I was pushed through and into the hospital. I was given an I.V., filled with something to bring me around, most likely, and when I opened my eyes, I was lying in a hospital bed with Pops beside me.

"Pops," I whispered.

"Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

I nodded. "What happened?"

"You fainted at the diner," he replied. "Doctor said you were stressed and dehydrated."

I sighed, sitting up carefully, and relieved that I didn't get a headrush. "That explains a whole hell of a lot..."

"Yeah?" Pops asked, looking me over to make sure I wasn't going to pass out again. "Why? I mean, you okay to talk about it?"

"Always, with you," I said quietly, folding my hands on top of the hospital blanket before I raised my eyes to his. "I felt the baby move last night."

Pops's eyes widened. "You felt it?"

"Yeah. And it... I don't know. Made me want to..."

"Change your mind?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. That's the thing... I know I don't want to go through with the abortion anymore, but still... Keeping it?"

"Keeping what?"

I turned and looked in the doorway of my hospital room, where my mother was standing, having likely just arrived. "Hi," I said quietly.

"Keep what, Iana?" she asked.

I sighed then, my hand moving slightly, and Pops immediately reached out and took it. "Mom, I should tell you that I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant?" she said, laughing heartily. "That's a good one, Iana. Okay. The doctor says you're good to go, and that you can be discharged soon so that you can come home..."

"Mom, this isn't a joke," I said, slightly annoyed that she would think I'd joke about something like this. "I'm pregnant. I'm really pregnant."

She narrowed her eyes then. "You're pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"Is it his?" she demanded. "That guy that came to the diner? That... Liam guy. Who must be the age I was when I had you..."

"He's twenty-one, so that's true," I said quietly. "But no, it's not his. It's this guy I went to school with, who was in my grade."

"How far along are you?"

"About three months," I replied with a shrug. "Give or take..."

"Fucking Christ, Iana," my mother said.

"Hey, Murph, that's enough," Pops said.

"You!" she cried out then. "You fucking knew?!"

"Hey, I didn't ask her to tell me. Ian and me just guessed."

"Fuck," she said, dragging her hands down her face before turning to look at me. "I'm your mother, Iana. Your fucking mother. You're supposed to tell me these things first."

"My mother?" I asked, my tone bitter.

"Yeah, your mother."

"You can't just want to be my mother whenever it's convenient for you," I said.

She looked stunned. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you can't just throw up your hands when shit gets tough and say, 'Let someone else deal with it!' It doesn't work that way, Mom. You're not some teenager who just stamps her feet and gets her way all the time. It may work with your husband and most of your other kids, but it sure as shit won't work for me."

"Iana..."

"No," I said, my voice so firm that I thought it could end up breaking. "You want to be my mother, then fucking act like it! Otherwise, just stay the hell away from me."

She looked shocked for a moment, looking as if she would reply to my challenge, before she shut her mouth like a steel trap. She continued to hesitate for a moment, and even looked at Pops, almost as if she thought he would help her, but he squeezed my hand, letting me know that he was on my side here. Finally, as if she couldn't take it anymore, she let out a sigh before she turned and looked at me again.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion before she turned on her heel and left the doorway.

"Mom?" I asked then, all bravado gone as my voice shook. "Mom..." I whispered then, my voice devolving into a sob as I fully realized what she had done. "She fucking left," I said, turning towards Pops then and throwing myself into his arms. "She fucking left me... Why does everyone always leave?" I whispered, gripping onto him, almost for dear life, as I found I could not stop sobbing.

TO BE CONTINUED