I spent the rest of the day pacing my room, the walls closing in tighter with every minute that passed. I couldn’t focus on anything except my mother’s face. The disappointment, the desperation, and the heartbreak when I had to leave her behind in Oregon. My chest still ached with the hug she never gave me. Every time I blinked, I saw the way she’d turned away. 

It was starting to look like my mother was right. No matter how much everyone said he cared about me, it felt like ...