No more

Before I knew it, I was avoiding everybody in the house. I was living like a parasite, and I didn’t even know how it came to be this way. I was avoiding Madeline, so whenever I needed food or anything in the kitchen, I had to make sure she wasn’t there. I’d sneak in, grab what I needed, and then disappear, or I’d have to ask Thomas to bring my food to my room.

I was avoiding Rose, too. Of course, whenever I passed her, she didn’t say anything. But we all know the look, she was giving it, pretending she wasn’t, but I could feel it on me, every single time.

And then there was Emerson. After the way he kicked me out of his room, I was in no state to see him. I wasn’t ready to talk, wasn’t ready to let him look at me with pity or apologies, or whatever expression he’d have on his face. I just couldn’t. The last thing I needed right now was anything from him, so I kept my distance. I was running low on motivation, on happiness, and it wasn’t just him; it was everything.

I was just down, f