Three weeks without Marcus.
Twenty-one days of waking up and remembering that the person I love is also my biological father and we've agreed to no contact while we figure out what that means.
It's hell.
But it's also necessary.
I throw myself into the foundation. Maya and I expand the scholarship program. We add mentorship components. We partner with three more community centers.
Work is the only thing that makes sense. The only thing that isn't complicated by biology or feelings or impossible questions.
"You're working too much," Lily observes on a Wednesday night when I'm at my laptop at ten PM.
"I'm being productive."
"You're avoiding feelings."
"Both can be true."
She closes my laptop gently. "When's the last time you ate something that wasn't coffee?"
"This morning. I had
