Page 103 of The Secret to Belonging

the family?

the effort it takes to keep pretending?

you walk the property in your mind

try to remember each detail

try to imagine the burnt remains

a charred black skeleton of house

Broadway albums warped and melted

do tennis trophies burn?

it’s all my fault, your father weeps

i should have fixed the faulty wiring

even when there’s nothing left to protect

he still avoids the truth

still refuses

to see

i have to go

you grip Espen’s hand

of course, of course you do

the truth is, you don’t want to

you’re terrified for your mother

your father needs your help

but the thought of going back

makes you physically ill

you’d rather go anywhere else

do anything else

you start to cry

i don’t want to, you whisper

i don’t want to go

what kind of person does that make me?

a human person. a good person, he says

you can do hard things