The rock music blasted through the headphones as my feet pounded along the sidewalk. I loved running but loved it more when I had anger to vent. The afternoon sun was warm, but the temperatures were supposed to drop, and I wasn’t looking forward to the cold weather. Veering off the sidewalk, I ran into the woods surrounding the school. The rest of the class was so far behind that they were out of sight. Being in the lead was a rush and pushed me harder.

Peter and I had argued non-stop yesterday, from breakfast to dinner. He’d been excessively rude to everyone, from the sweet man holding the door open for us at his building to the teenage kid working at the gas station. I didn’t know what his problem was, but his entire attitude left a sour taste in my mouth. There simply wasn’t a reason to treat people like that. Now, every second I spent in his presence, the more I couldn’t overlook the issues with our relationship. It was like every time he opened his mouth, more toxicity would spill out and poison the waters further.

My mind kept swirling around the loud arguments my parents used to have. My mother always talked down to my dad. She loved to point out that he didn’t have as fancy of a job, and she would say, ‘it made him less of a man.’ I hated whenever she’d do that and felt this urge to come to my dad’s defense, which would put me in my mother’s crosshairs. I’d usually end up grounded, but she didn’t have the right to speak to Dad like that when it shouldn’t matter how much money you make to determine your worth. Besides, she was the fucking cheater.

Mother was the one that ruined our family, and a small part of me hated her for that. I was fifteen when I found out about the affair, and it happened completely by accident. I volunteered at a blood bank and decided to give blood, a seemingly innocent thing to do, right? But then I discovered my blood type didn’t match either of my parents.