[AVA]
“Listen up, sweetie,” mom says, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers. “I’m your mom, and all I want is what’s best for you. Is that so hard to believe?”
I’m dying to respond: yes, that’s exactly what I think. But instead, I let out a sigh and prop my elbow on the table. “Mom, what’s on your mind?”
I had only been in the kitchen for a mere five minutes when mom turned into a protective mama bear. Actually, it’s the perfect timing for her to butter me up, considering dad is out for his morning walks and Max is still asleep in the backroom, which is just a fancy name for our small storage space.
The ache of nostalgia hits me hard when I think about our old home, which was at least fifty times the size of this tiny apartment. Our bathroom alone could fit this entire room, an
