FALSE HOPE

GINGER: Since my mum found out about me cutting myself, she has not left my side. I slept in with her and Daisy yesterday. Today being Monday, I expect her to talk about school again, but she doesn’t. By the time I was up, breakfast was ready, and we ate in bed, then watched a movie through it. She is out now to “grocery shop.” I know she is lying to us, but I think I am too scared to want to find out what it is she is really doing. I just want a break from everything, but it seems like I am doing too much. I am glad she has not suggested going to therapy, because I am not sure I am ready to tell a stranger about my problems. Now I realize how difficult it must have been for Hu to go for one. “I am hungry,” Daisy says in a small voice, shifting beside me on the bed where she had fallen asleep. She rubs her eyes gently, then opens them up. I stare at her for a moment, disregarding her request, wishing I were not powerless, wishing I could help her avoid this hellhole we are from. My fat