Chapter 13

Alexi seems restless and paces away as though he is having difficulty reeling in a reaction or his thoughts and feelings. This feels like one very long night of large confessions and significant traumatic events. I want to lie on the floor and die.

I swear this better be a nightmare, and I wake up to find none of it is real… well, maybe the first part could still be.

Maybe he thought I went back? I have no clue why he would go there at all. I don’t like it one bit.

It’s one thing to read about the poverty I existed in; it’s another thing entirely to see for yourself. Even I would never go back to that rat hole. I can’t even imagine what he thought when he walked into that rot-riddled tiny flat in one of the worst areas in the borough, especially after all this time abandoned.

“I haven’t told you everything… I’m not sure I should.” He walks across the room, comes back towards me again, with too much nervous energy, and cannot look at me. He emanates so much en