Chapter 24

I don't realize I'm holding my breath until my chest starts to hurt, and I release the air trapped in my lungs before they explode.

After what feels like forever, the desktop finally loads, and I'm looking at a background that is just the standard turquoise blue with the Windows logo in the middle. Dad hasn't attempted to personalize it, which is very characteristic of him, even into his forties. He never even kept a photo of us in his wallet. That's not an insult to him; I know how much he loved us, and I didn't need him to keep a torn and faded copy of my god-awful school portrait in his back pocket to prove it. He

just believed that things were created for a purpose, that's what you should use them for. Photo albums were for pictures, but your wallet was for cash. No reason to mix the two. Now, since my life has been turned upside down, I can appreciate that philosophy.

It's probably the reason I didn't make any friends at the care home. Probably why I've not tried