All I could do was keep myself out of the house as much as possible. I began to hang around my cousins more because they lived across the street from my dad. My tita had always warned me away from them, but now that she was gone, I felt like I had no choice. Hanging around them was also my misguided way of lashing out at her for leaving me. I knew it made no sense, but grief wasn’t based on logic. A mere five months after Tita passed, Dad got married to Courtney. I was livid. Granted, some of my anger was likely misplaced. I was still upset at Tita for leaving me, and Dad was an easy target for those pent-up emotions. Some of the anger was justified. Courtney was a leech, living off my father and refusing to contribute anything, whether it was money, cooking, cleaning, or just pleasant con
