
20Please respect copyright.PENANAomLH2DLexH
We sat under the tree behind the gym after school. Lena and I. It was her idea.
20Please respect copyright.PENANAeqKDgeNkww
She didn’t ask questions, didn’t push. She just sat. Gave me space to fill or leave empty.
20Please respect copyright.PENANA6QILaArAoz
After about ten minutes, I said something I hadn’t told anyone in years.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever really felt wanted. Like… if I disappeared, people would move on in a week.”
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She didn’t flinch. She didn’t argue. She just nodded slowly, like she understood that silence sometimes hurts more than shouting.
20Please respect copyright.PENANAofpEH7dc4t
She said, “That’s heavy. But you don’t have to carry it alone.”
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Then she pulled a crumpled page from her notebook. It had small writing across it.
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“My brother felt the same. He never told anyone until it was almost too late. I learned the hard way that quiet people still scream.”
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That was the first time I felt something crack inside me. A good kind of crack. Not the one that breaks you..... the one that lets light in.
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