@batterdadâ [ x ]
     â school on monday. â though he knows thatâs not the actual question, side stepping it with a pause as hands dig into jacket pockets, considering his answer. â i have basketball that day, theyâll know if i go anywhere. i think the earliest is tuesday .  â a sorry almost passes past lips before he stops it, thereâs nothing to apologize for. â  unless you think joyceâll go into work early tomorrow, i can sneak out again ?? â
     if anything his mother would end up late to work. it was very rare that she ever went in early, especially with how stressful life had become. his gaze shifts, staring at the ground. he hates this, hates everything about it but itâs the only way itâll work. â i-i donât like this, having to pretend that we are barely friends at school. â but it was the only way to keep this a secret. â i miss you when i... when i donât get to see you. â















