The Nix

really get what’s going on in her head and have a similarly interesting and artistically fulfilling inner life himself

This was a formula for living a life full of secrets.

Frank knew this now. People constantly hid. It was a sickness maybe worse than the Parkinson’s

He felt that familiar desire to go hide. He felt this way whenever the tension in the house seemed to gather up inside him

Whiplash girlchild in the dark

He might be less of a disappointment

He felt, whenever this happened, like he was disappointing his mother. So he watched for any kind of debris and kicked away stones and pieces of mulch and bark, and when he kicked he was careful not to kick very hard for fear his shoe would get stubbed

He felt guilty about the whole thing

She did not like how he went through life so scared of everything

You don’t have to worry about anything. You don’t have to be so scared anymore. That’s what I wanted to tell you. Don’t be scared