The past couple of months have felt like the longest, heaviest stretch of my entire life. With my parents’ divorce unraveling at home and my best friend death she passed away when the mall went to shit and got destroyed, everything has started to blur together. No one really understands. They look at me, but they don’t see what I’m carrying. The headaches that won’t stop, the endless checkups, the counselor practically dragging me into her office every day… It’s all too much.

I barely talk to anyone anymore. I’ve even stopped talking to my boyfriend, the star of the basketball team. His friends whisper that I’m a freak because I don’t want to speak, but if I tried to explain how I feel—what I’m actually going through—they wouldn’t get it. They don’t want to.

Tonight is the big game. I’m supposed to cheer, smile, pretend everything’s normal. My boyfriend will be on the court, acting like we’re fine, like he hasn’t gone months without asking me if I’m okay.

Honestly? I’d rather be at the Hellfire meeting than trapped in a loud, crowded gym full of people who don’t care. Eddie Munson and his friends have been kinder to me in the past month than my boyfriend’s friends have ever been. Granted, I’ve been trying to buy drugs from Eddie, but still—it’s the first time anyone has looked at me without expecting something in return.

So after the game, I’m sneaking out to his van. No one can know I’m letting up with Eddie “the freak” Munson. Absolutely no one. I just… need something to make all of this stop spinning for a second. Eddie has been helping everything be calm again.