I pushed forward, leaving the chaos at home
behind.
Sarah returned, gushing about her trip. I smiled,
pulled out Valerie’s meticulously organized
notes (a hard–won loan), and started copying.
The first midterms were a wake–up call. Three
years of slacking couldn’t be erased in a few
weeks. I was still at the bottom. But youth is
fueled by hope. A few weeks weren’t enough. I
had months, years. It wasn’t over until I gave
- up.
But someone wasn’t going to let that happen.
- 10.
My notes, my practice tests, scattered across
the floor. Sarah, perched on my bed, her dirty
shoes on my clean sheets.
“Hey, where’s that cash the old hag left you?
Spot me some. Emergency. I’ll pay you back.”
She chewed gum, swung her legs. A month, and
she’d already absorbed Jake’s lowlife swagger.
I gathered my papers, piecing together my
shattered life. She stepped on my hand,
<
grinding her heel into it.
“Not sharing? Saving up for a coffin?”
“I’m her granddaughter too! Just because she
took you in doesn’t mean you get everything!
Give me half. I’ll leave you alone.”
She kicked at my study materials, a smug look
on her face. Grandma’s granddaughter? She
never called her Grandma. Just “the old hag,”
“the trash picker.” Didn’t even wear black at the
funeral. She had no right.
Grandma cleaned toilets, picked up bottles and
cardboard, just to keep me fed and clothed.
She sold her house, gave me the twenty
thousand dollars, just to give me a chance. She
fought with my parents, died alone, and they
still resented her for it. I wouldn’t give them a
cent.
Sarah pressed harder. I shoved her. Hard. She
stumbled.
“You think you can push me around?”
She raised her hand. I caught it.
“There are no cameras here. You love blaming
me anyway. How about I give you something
<
real to cry about?”
Fear flickered in her eyes. She blustered.
“You wouldn’t dare! I’ll…”
Slap. Slap.
Two stinging blows. Shock spread across her
face.
“You’ll run crying to Mom and Dad? Get me
suspended? Kicked out of school?”
“It’s okay. I’ll find a way. Somewhere they can’t
see. I’ll kill you.”
Her eyes widened. She bit her lip, silent. I
gripped her chin, a vicious smile on my face.
“I’ve got nothing to lose. An eye for an eye.
Sounds fair, right?”
She just stared, defeated.
I smirked, held up my phone. Sarah’s face went
white. The video.
She lunged. I dodged.
“Doesn’t matter if you grab my phone. It’s set
to auto–post every weekend. On all my socials.
Unless I cancel it.”
“Try anything. You’ll be ruined. And when Jake
finds out you set him up for attempted rape,
<
think he’ll be happy? He might just help you end
up in jail with his dad.”
Sarah paled.
“What…what do you want?”
I pouted, all innocence.
“Just to be left alone. To graduate. After that,
the video’s gone.”
- 11.
She had no choice.
“Fine. But I’ll help you too.”
“There’s a study abroad program in France
next summer. Deposit’s due soon. You always
wanted to go, right?”
“Mom and Dad wouldn’t say no to you…would
they?”
Her eyes lit up. Suspicion lingered.
“What’s the catch?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing. Just want you to be happy with.
your…soulmate.”
If I asked for anything, it’d be extortion. She’d
play the victim, call the cops. I had to be smart.
This was self–preservation, not blackmail.
<
That night, Sarah had another “episode.”
Trashed her room. My parents almost called
- She sobbed, screamed.
“Why can’t I go to France! They think they’re so
rich! They look down on me!”
“It’s just five grand! I can earn that! Why are
they crushing my dreams?”
“I’m going! Or I’ll kill myself!”
Oscar–worthy performance. Slamming into
walls, sobbing, convulsing. My parents were
putty in her hands. One thousand became five.
No hesitation. Sarah tested their limits. Pushed
further. My parents, ordinary working–class
folks in a small town, couldn’t keep up.
Their gaze shifted to my door. I clutched
Grandma’s bank card, my face cold. I closed
the door. Locked it. They were digging their
own graves. I wasn’t going down with them.
- 12.
Flush with cash, Sarah and Jake shacked up
near school. Skipping class, showing up late.
Me? I was free. No Sarah, no drama. I latched
onto Valerie, the class genius. Questions, notes,
<
total brown–nosing. She was aloof, distant.
