therapists tell the parents a lot more. But I think it was part of why Marley trusted him so deeply, why he was able to fix whatever seemed to be broken inside her. But did he really fix her? Is she broken, still?
Marley loved Dr. Michael. Now he loves me.
Nine Months Ago
Facebook
U changed your photo! Cute dog.
Hey, Marley. That’s because it’s the anniversary.
Anniversary?
Of my dog dying.
Sorry! So sad.
Yeah, well. It has to happen sometime, right?
What happened to him?
Her. Her name’s Grace. Gracie, that’s what I used to call her.
Grace is a pretty name. Like a person, more than a dog.
U’r right. She was more than a dog to me.
What happened to her?
Did u ever hear that song by Slobberbone, “Gimme Back My Dog”?
No.
Great song. I’ll play it for u.
Coo.
Coo?
= Cool.
That’s what all the coo kids say in CA?
Ha ha. Are you going to tell me about yur dog, or what?
OK, ADD.
ADD?
Attention Deficit Disorder.
Is that what all the cool kids have in NC?
Ha ha. You wanna hear about my dog or not?
Maybe.
JK. I want to hear.
So I had this girlfriend, Stephanie. Steph. My friends called her Staph.
Like staph infection?
Yeah. U can tell, they loved her.
Was she a bitch?
Oh, yeah. But I couldn’t see it. I never used to be able to tell bitches from good girls before.
Before me?
Before u.
Staph killed ur dog?
U’r one of those people who jump to the end of the book, right?
I’m ADD, remember? U just diagnosed me.
I found Gracie before I ever met Staph. So she was my dog first. But Staph fell in love w/ Grace. Way more in love than she was w/ me.
Ouch.
Yeah, it sucked.
And u were in love with her? With Staph?
Like out-of-my-mind in love. I was young and dumb.
When was it?
Two years ago.
No sarcastic comments from ADD.
None.
So I’m in love with Staph, and she’s in love with Grace. It’s a real love triangle. Staph treats Grace great, and she treats me like a dog.
Did u get jealous of Grace?
A little. But mostly, I loved them both. I wanted Staph to love me again. To be one big happy family.
Awwww.
But it was getting worse. She would call me names. She called me a loser like every night.
U got a scholarship to a great college. How can u be a loser?
Ask her that.
I will. Is she one of your Facebook friends?
Def. not. So I found out she cheated on me.
Grace, or Staph?
Ha ha. You want to hear the end or not?
Def.
I confronted her, and she got mad at me. She said it was over. She was moving out.
U were living together?
Yeah.
When you were only 20?
I moved out of my house at 18, Mar
I kind of like that. No one calls me Mar.
I was about to type “ley” but I accidentally hit Send.
U can call me Mar. I’ve never even had a nickname before.
I want to call u lots of things. Sweet things. But that’s for RL, not FB.
Are we ever going to meet, do u think?
I know we are.
How do u know?
I can just feel it.
Mar? Still there?
Yeah.
So Staph moves out, and she takes Gracie with her. I’m calling everyone, trying to find her. But she’s nowhere.
She moved far?
Back to Texas. Where her family was. I never saw Staph or Gracie again.
My friends and I have this saying. Like, no matter how bad a breakup is, we say, “At least she didn’t take the dog.”
And today is the day Staph moved out?
The day it was like Gracie died.
That’s so sad. How could Staph do that to u?
Some girls have no heart. They think they’re untouchable, like it’ll never come back to them. But I believe in karma. Do u?
Yeah.
One of these days, I’m going to write some Twitter poetry about it.
About losing Gracie?
About some girls. About karma. Or maybe I won’t bother. I’ll just write all my poems about u.
I liked the last one. It was so sweet, and funny, too. Did I tell u that? Thank u.
Thank u for being worth writing about. I like to make u laugh.
But I have to tell u
Marley loved Dr. Michael. Now he loves me.
Nine Months Ago
U changed your photo! Cute dog.
Hey, Marley. That’s because it’s the anniversary.
Anniversary?
Of my dog dying.
Sorry! So sad.
Yeah, well. It has to happen sometime, right?
What happened to him?
Her. Her name’s Grace. Gracie, that’s what I used to call her.
Grace is a pretty name. Like a person, more than a dog.
U’r right. She was more than a dog to me.
What happened to her?
Did u ever hear that song by Slobberbone, “Gimme Back My Dog”?
No.
Great song. I’ll play it for u.
Coo.
Coo?
= Cool.
That’s what all the coo kids say in CA?
Ha ha. Are you going to tell me about yur dog, or what?
OK, ADD.
ADD?
Attention Deficit Disorder.
Is that what all the cool kids have in NC?
Ha ha. You wanna hear about my dog or not?
Maybe.
JK. I want to hear.
So I had this girlfriend, Stephanie. Steph. My friends called her Staph.
Like staph infection?
Yeah. U can tell, they loved her.
Was she a bitch?
Oh, yeah. But I couldn’t see it. I never used to be able to tell bitches from good girls before.
Before me?
Before u.
Staph killed ur dog?
U’r one of those people who jump to the end of the book, right?
I’m ADD, remember? U just diagnosed me.
I found Gracie before I ever met Staph. So she was my dog first. But Staph fell in love w/ Grace. Way more in love than she was w/ me.
Ouch.
Yeah, it sucked.
And u were in love with her? With Staph?
Like out-of-my-mind in love. I was young and dumb.
When was it?
Two years ago.
No sarcastic comments from ADD.
None.
So I’m in love with Staph, and she’s in love with Grace. It’s a real love triangle. Staph treats Grace great, and she treats me like a dog.
Did u get jealous of Grace?
A little. But mostly, I loved them both. I wanted Staph to love me again. To be one big happy family.
Awwww.
But it was getting worse. She would call me names. She called me a loser like every night.
U got a scholarship to a great college. How can u be a loser?
Ask her that.
I will. Is she one of your Facebook friends?
Def. not. So I found out she cheated on me.
Grace, or Staph?
Ha ha. You want to hear the end or not?
Def.
I confronted her, and she got mad at me. She said it was over. She was moving out.
U were living together?
Yeah.
When you were only 20?
I moved out of my house at 18, Mar
I kind of like that. No one calls me Mar.
I was about to type “ley” but I accidentally hit Send.
U can call me Mar. I’ve never even had a nickname before.
I want to call u lots of things. Sweet things. But that’s for RL, not FB.
Are we ever going to meet, do u think?
I know we are.
How do u know?
I can just feel it.
Mar? Still there?
Yeah.
So Staph moves out, and she takes Gracie with her. I’m calling everyone, trying to find her. But she’s nowhere.
She moved far?
Back to Texas. Where her family was. I never saw Staph or Gracie again.
My friends and I have this saying. Like, no matter how bad a breakup is, we say, “At least she didn’t take the dog.”
And today is the day Staph moved out?
The day it was like Gracie died.
That’s so sad. How could Staph do that to u?
Some girls have no heart. They think they’re untouchable, like it’ll never come back to them. But I believe in karma. Do u?
Yeah.
One of these days, I’m going to write some Twitter poetry about it.
About losing Gracie?
About some girls. About karma. Or maybe I won’t bother. I’ll just write all my poems about u.
I liked the last one. It was so sweet, and funny, too. Did I tell u that? Thank u.
Thank u for being worth writing about. I like to make u laugh.
But I have to tell u
Similar Books
