This is a fictionalized account of events that actually happened. Names have been omitted to protect whatever. I happened to be enrolled in a fiction-writing class when I penned this, and it served both as a story for a grade and as personal therapy.
The timeline was condensed from about 3.5 years to one, and events were drastically simplified, but it's basically a true story. It's up to the reader to decide which parts are fictionalized. (Hint: The most surprising parts are likeliest to be true.)
As the hyperlink says, this story was once called "a pissy little tale of woe" by a good friend of mine who was also a writer. (He was right, of course.) Unfortunately, I've lost track of him in the intervening years. If you happen to know someone named Lawrence Birch, orginally from Eugene, Oregon, please let me know: I'd like to find out what he's been up to!
-coryc