"Not really," Kate replied, thinking about it for a moment. There had been times when she'd certainly wanted to run away and those moments had come closer and closer together as she'd gotten older. At times all the shit going on at home had seemed totally overwhelming, but whenever things got really bad, something always happened to either put things into perspective or they just got better. Not for good, because she already knew that nothing good could ever last for long, but better. And sometimes better was enough.

"I mean, T and I would take off sometimes," she said. "We'd take my mom's credit cards and go buy a bunch of skanky clothes and cigarettes and shit at the mall. But running away from home with your mom's alter isn't really the same. It's practically running away with your mom." Because Tara always came back in the end and usually made Kate return all the shit she'd bought.