“We’re not you, Ma,” I say, more even-toned. “And our relationship is not the one you had with my dad. I thought it was. I wanted it to be. I tried to shape everything off what you two showed me, and when you two fell apart, so did I. And I made a huge mistake because of it. You were hurting and that scared me, and I took it out on Hallie. But I’m not going to do that anymore. As much as you want me to, I’m not going to keep blaming her.”
