Shelf Love

          Instantly, my phone and body dropped to the ground. Paige screamed and my mom came rushing downstairs as I continued to sob on the cold kitchen floor. My mom hurried to my side and held me tightly to her chest. She let me cry and cry and cry. She didn't ask what was wrong or anything, she let me have the moment. Paige stood over us with tears in her eyes, not knowing what to do. https://divorcedmoms.com/blogs/divorce -whirlwind/stopping-the-guilt-now/           "It's okay," my mom whispered. "It's all going to be okay." She was stroking my hair and rubbing my back. I couldn't stop. What I had seen was an image I could never forget no matter how hard I tried. It hurt so bad. Why? Just why? Why did he have to do this? Especially with her? Of all people, why her?           I sat up and looked her in the eyes. Without saying anything, I grabbed my now cracked phone and showed her what I had just see...

https://www.citrusbocc.com /pubworks/swm/recycling /christmas- tree.htm           Christmas was fun. We ate all the traditional foods, ham, lasagna, cannolis, christmas tree shaped brownies, and an ice cream cake in the shape of a yule log. I tried as hard as I could to not think about my father for the rest of the night, and I did pretty well. I knew that if I showed any hints of sadness, Paige would immediately be able to tell and I didn't want to ruin her favorite holiday, or mine for that matter.           When we got home around ten, Paige wanted to play with her new doll. She always stayed up as late as she could over winter break because she was never allowed to stay up past eight on a school night. My mom came in the living room and kissed us both goodnight. Once my mom was in her room, Paige started to open the box to her new American Girl doll.           "Mia," Paige said. "Will we ever see D...