Here We Go Again

by Alison Cochrun

“Life is the prickly pear. It’s always going to be a combination of beauty and hurt, no matter how hard you try to protect yourself from the hard parts. There is no way to avoid pain.”

“And… and I don’t know how to hurt halfway, either,” she continues. “I don’t know how to feel anything in moderation.” There is no silence on the other end this time. “Ah, but Chicken,” her dad says immediately. “Your big feelings are one of the most beautiful things about you.”

Joe swipes away her tears with his thumb. “You care about me. So much.” She laughs. “Yeah, and look where that’s got me. When you die, it’s going to fucking destroy me.” Joe uses what little strength he has to push her feet off the bed. “Good. It should destroy you. If nothing can destroy you, Logan, then what’s the point?”