There’s a huge cardboard box filled with lightbubs in the basement of my parents’ house, gathering dust amidst all the other miscellaneous piles of crap. Shelves crammed with broken appliances and dirty stuffed animals. Beach chairs and suitcases, even though we never went anywhere together. My father’s cop equipment, his riot gear and helmet. Plus…

As soon as we are finished here, I will want more. More than you can give me. You’ve made it very clear – I am not for you. “Look, we cant keep doing this. I’ve already got somebody.” You smile when you say it. “She’s nothing like you. Becky’s a good girl.” Yet when I…

My mother has a bright pink coat with three matching buttons. She wears it on special occasions and to church in the spring, with a dress and low heels. God hasn’t said okay yet to pants on Sunday. I was sad when I noticed the cigarette burn on the cuff of one of the sleeves.…

Mom keeps a wicker basket filled with photographs in her bedroom. When she is on the phone and I’m bored, I spend hours rifling through each envelope filled with pictures. I investigate the past, studying the details of every situation and event. Multiple copies of the same exact picture with only the slightest variations. Countless…

She cancels their Friday night visit. She has to stay late at her job. It’s not true, but that’s what she tells his dad. The tone of his voice suggests he doesn’t believe her. Still, she holds on tightly to the lie, offering up details about the imaginary project she’s responsible for. The pressure and…

Yesterday, I fucked my back up somehow. I bet it happened when I was with that boy from Long Island – Glen. On the fire escape stairs after the parade. Or the other boy whose name I can’t remember, but I don’t think he ever told me. There’s three medium-sized horizontal knots kind of in…

If I had wine glasses, maybe I wouldn’t drink as much. I used to have some but when they broke, I just never got around to replacing them. I’ve got some of those plastic, stackable cups. They’re nice and big, but wine glasses might help me measure better. I read somewhere you’re only supposed to…

Her last boyfriend was her first boyfriend. This one is her second. She is sixteen years old. She and Bachelor #1 dated for five and a half whole months, so you could say she’s had a little experience with how being in a relationship works, although she never saw the break-up coming. She thought they…