He’s never looked at me this way before.

I haven’t seen him in a year and I’m still head over heals. But this time, I think he is too.

There’s something different about him. A good different. He’s polite and caring. His mannerisms have gone from high school boy to man. He pays attention when someone speaks as if each word is piercing his heart. I think I can get used to this.

Every month our fami...

Sometimes when I look in the mirror I see myself. Other times I don’t. It’s a game I’m all too fond of and I have no idea why. I know who stares back at me when the eyes meeting my gaze aren’t my own. I know why he stares. I know what he wants.

I tried so hard to be the woman everyone wanted me to be. I fought until I was so beaten down I couldn’t recognize the difference between the pain and the...