On My Birthday I Stood In Front Of Everyone With A Black Eye

he whispered, looking down at his cuffed hands. “Vanessa… she gets in your head. She said you were losing it, that the money would just be wasted. She said we deserved it, for all the work she did ‘taking care of you.’ I just… I went along with it. It felt easier than fighting her. Easier than failing on my own.”

His shame was a palpable thing.

“Failing continue reading …