Chapter 97

Except this year. It was home but it was a home I could no longer touch. It hurt deep inside to be near it and yet I longed so desperately to go through that door and join them. They would welcome me with open arms of course. They'd be glad to see me, I was family. But I couldn't. Something was broken in me, had been for a long time but now was shattered, there was no ignoring the pain that demanded to be heard. The pain of lost love. Lost family. Is this how it feels to be an orphan? Does the pain ever fade? I exhaled and turned my back to the house. Christmas was always a big affair when I was a kid. It was the one time of the year that it was just us, Mom, Dad, Ty and me. No one else. I always loved it. It used to be my favorite time of the year. When I was really little I made Dad drive all around town just so I could look at all the different decorations. I loved looking at the lights that everyone put up. I thought of Alex and hoped she granted me the fi