I’ve never been this brave before. I don’t want to hide secrets. I don’t want to be tossed around by my friends. I want to restart the decaying bond between me and my parents. I want to set Ruth free of her obligations to me—I want to do so many things that I might break under the weight of it all.
Dinner is as unexciting and monotone as every other day: my parents eating quietly, Ruth serving us before plopping down next to me, my brother sulking in his room. It’s too bad—I was planning on telling him, too.
I clear my throat. Ruth looks over, but no one else notices. I put down my utensil and clear my throat louder. My parents stop eating. “I have something to announce.” Their eyes appear vacant, but I continue regardless. “I…have a boyfriend.” My fingers fidget with the end of the tabl
