ock, maybe even fear. Then it was gone, replaced b

h, no trace of the invalid I thought I

ely through Liam's. Her sweet smile was

ith false sympathy. "What are you doin

my throat tight. "Your

It was a dawning, ho

asual, cruel ges

he old pain fresh and raw. "You alwa

ed. "Your selfishness did. They went looking for you. That's why they w

stones, each one hit

ut the guilt I'd carried for years, a weight so

managed, my voice trembli

lived your life, went to school, had your fun, while I was supposedly rotting in t

tering. "Liam's had to endu

greement, their faces ho

. My sacrifices, my skipped meals, my untreated illnesses –

"glitches" were ri

nausea was

college. He'd offered me a way out. A scholarship program at

ing of Liam's needs.

n my phone. I fumbled f

Professor

ed your application. Full tuition and b

A new

face, twisted with a resentment I never k

as suddenly, p

d, my voice surprisingly s

flickered in his eyes

y sound. "Good. Don't let the