“But—” “It’s nonnegotiable. You only have three more years until you’re in college anyway. You can handle one meal a day.” She looked away from me. “Fine. What’s the second?” “Youre going to see a psychologist. At least for a little while. You’ve been through too much. We all have. You need to start talking to someone.” When I had tried this before, months earlier, I was too weak with her. I let her tell me no. I wasn’t going to do that this time. I was stronger now. I could be a better mother. Maybe she could detect it in my voice, because she didn’t try to fight me. She just said, “OK, whatever.” I hugged her and kissed the top of her head, and just when I was going to let go, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me back.