Age: 4

Hey, that kid took my cheese!

That boy in the blue shirt.

The same boy who kicked my block tower yesterday.

And stepped on my crayons.

 

Age: 8

Today, both Mom and Dad are home. And they brought a little baby girl with them. They say she's my sister; I’ve always wanted one of those.

She's tiny and her face is all scrunched up. She’s really pink, too.

While Mom and Dad chat with other grown-ups in the baby's room, Sarah takes Ray and me to a house down the street. Her friend from school babysits some kid there.

The kid turns out to be Gabe from my school, and he has the new Nintendo 64. I should ask Sarah to take us there more often. Or I can go myself. Maybe that's okay because his house is just down the road from mine.

Gabe’s pretty cool—kind of quiet and a little scary, sometimes—but he’s cool.

 

Age: 13

I wonder if Jackie will grow up to be more like a boy than a girl. She's always hanging out with Gabe and me—and Ray too, when he happens to be home, although he's often mean to her.

I wish we could find her a friend, just like how Sarah the babysitter found Gabe for me.

 

Age: 15

Where has Mom been? I mean, it's not like she was always home before, but we haven't seen her in a week and Jackie is sick. Mom hasn't even responded to any of our texts or phone calls.

We managed to get Jackie to the doctor, thanks to Ray and the new BMW he’d gotten last year for his birthday.

But the doctor told us our parents could get in trouble for not being around at a time like this. Ray and I know how to handle most situations on our own, but we're still kids, legally speaking.

After the doctor’s visit, I feel a lot better, and I think Ray does, too. It's a huge relief to know Jackie’s fine.

Our parents suck. They're never home so Ray and I often have to deal with grown-up stuff ourselves.

 

Age: 18

I’ve decided. I’m going to go to medical school.

Maybe helping people and saving their lives will give me a sense of purpose.

I hear doctors get hit on by their patients all the time, so that has to be another plus, right?

Should I be worried about the long hours? Everyone says the amount of work for med school students is insane, and it gets even worse for actual doctors.

I don’t mind working hard, but I’m worried about Jackie.

Our parents are never home. Dad’s always traveling for work, and Mom’s always organizing the next biggest fundraising gala for charity.

Ray and I are used to it. We’re both adults, even though neither one of us are of legal drinking age yet. We don’t need our parents as much as Jackie does.

She’s a good kid who doesn’t complain, but I hear her crying in the middle of the night sometimes. I always try to comfort her and I think it helps, but Mom and Dad should be the ones doing this shit.

Maybe they didn’t plan on having Jackie—it’s obvious because she’s eight years younger than me—but they brought her into this world, so it’s their responsibility to take good care of her regardless.

Too bad they’re selfish narcissists who are incapable of empathy.

I’m still going to medical school and becoming a doctor. I just hope Jackie will be okay without me.

 

Age: 20

College is not as stressful as I thought it would be. In fact, I feel like I’m more relaxed these days.

Maybe it’s the environment. There are a lot of weird people on campus, and people accept them.

I feel like I can be anything I want to be. I don’t have to follow in my parents’ footsteps.

The world is full of possibilities. Things can get better. I just need to find a path for myself, a path to happiness.

That said, I’m actually pretty content these days. My anxiety level is manageable.

I guess I owe a lot of it to Gabe. He’s my new roommate as of last week, and it’s been great.

Now I can actually come home at the end of a long day and rest without feeling pissed off about all the things Mom and Dad have failed to do.

Gabe can’t do anything about my situation—no one can. But I just… I don’t know. Talking to him makes me feel a little lighter.

The only downside to all the new developments in my life is… I haven’t been able to spend much time with Jackie. I try to visit as often as I can, and I invite her over to our new apartment too, but it’s not the same.

She’s going to be thirteen soon. Mom really should be here to talk to her about periods and women’s stuff like that, but she’s never home.

I mean, I know all about the actual biological changes a girl goes through during puberty because I learned about those things in class. But I have no idea how to deal with them in day-to-day life.

I can Google that shit and pass on the information to Jackie, but this is not how it’s supposed to be. If it wasn’t for me, Jackie wouldn’t have an adult to talk to about these things.

It’s really not cool that Mom and Dad are neglecting Jackie to the point where she can’t deal without me, but this is the way it always has been and there’s nothing I can do about it.