g water for what felt like an hour, scrubbing my

h, it was all still there, clinging to me like a second

her. A wave of relief washed over me. Finally, someone who would belie

s wr

oice was sharp, cold, brittle with f

hispered, my

tners have been sending him links. Links to a vide

s not my fa

u have brought on this family? On me? All those years I spent teaching you to have some self-respect, to be a lady.

She didn' t care about the truth. She only cared about a

e words tearing out of me. "The scho

ou deserve it. Don' t call this house again. I don' t ha

ne wen

wel fell away. I was just sitting there, cold and naked and complete

my safe harbor had just slammed

y scrolling through social media, a form of self-

somewhere, the ocean sparkling behind them. His arm was wrapped tightly a

m to find your sunshine. So happy to finally be with the one

alous of me, of my art, of the quiet bond I though

ile he was systematically destroying my life. Now, they were a coup

e; he had replaced me with

to the heart. First him, then my mother, now him and Jessica t

comments. They were a

you both! You

etter for you than

erfect

were liking the post. They were all cheering for them, celebrating my demise. They saw R

raw, animalistic wail of pure agony. It wasn' t a

r of my empty room, the room I would

or the future that had been stolen from me, and for the girl who

ty, a living thing inside me