The Rest of the Story

by Sarah Dessen

Parents are always precious. But when you only have one, they become crucial.

She just had no time for my neurosis, which made me wonder if maybe that was an option for me, as well.

“Yes, but when you only ride, you’re never in control. You get taken from point A to point B through no volition or work of your own. It’s like drifting. If life is a journey, wouldn’t you rather be the person behind the wheel than the one just being carried along?”

So that’s what it comes down to. Choices. Good and bad, right and wrong, yes and no. Like being behind the wheel, there are some that are instinctive, others you have to think about.

“See? And that’s just a book!” I said. “In real life, the chapters go on forever. Or a long time, anyway.”

like history, it’s ongoing. Just because the pictures stop doesn’t mean the story does.”