They abandoned me 480 kilometers away as a joke.

had discovered within myself.

Years later, Kyle contacted me one last time. He told me he had remarried and was learning to set boundaries with his brothers.

I was genuinely happy for him.

The healing process allowed me to have hope that I would get better without needing to participate in that transformation.

I still think about the gas station: the dust, the heat, and the laughter fading away on the road. For a long time, I considered it the worst day of my life.

Now I understand that it