Chapter 3

There was only one day left before my paperwork was due when my parents unexpectedly asked me home.

They said they wanted to seriously discuss the futures of all three children.

Dad had already planned out Brandon's tuition, housing, equipment, and vacations for his next academic program.

Mom brought out Stella's ballet schedule for the coming year.

She planned to cut back her hours at work and rent a small apartment near the dance school so Stella could rest between rehearsals.

They'd planned every detail for Brandon and Stella.

Then it was my turn.

Dad pushed several brochures from local colleges across the table.

"You'll stay in Riverton for college."

"You can live on campus during the week and come home on weekends."

"That way, you can tutor Stella and drive her to practice."

Mom joined in.

"If you stay, Stella will gradually get used to you. Then we'll tell her you're really her sister."

"Once Brandon moves out for school, we can figure out how to make some room for you here, too."

I stared at her.

"So whether I'm your daughter depends on whether I'm willing to stay and take care of Stella?"

Mom immediately denied it.

"We're trying to make it up to you."

But even their idea of compensation required me to pay the price first.

Dad told me to give him my application account and documents so he could choose a local school for me.

I refused.

His tone hardened.

"We already paid a huge deposit for your brother's program, and Stella can't stop her ballet lessons."

"We don't have money to send you somewhere far away."

"If you stay in Riverton, we'll cover the basics. If you insist on leaving, you're paying for everything yourself."

I asked, "Why are Brandon's and Stella's futures automatically your responsibility?"

"But when it's me, I have to prove I'm useful before I deserve anything?"

Dad's face darkened.

"Your brother needs to continue his education, and your sister is still young."

"They can't manage without us."

"You're different."

"How?"

His answer came without hesitation.

"You've always been able to take care of yourself."

At last, they'd found the perfect excuse for years of favoritism.

Because I could dress myself.

Feed myself.

Ride a bus.

Solve my own problems.

That apparently meant they never had to come back for me.

Mom still tried to persuade me.

"You're a young woman going that far away alone."

"What if something happens?"

I asked quietly, "When I got sick as a kid, when I had exams, when I stayed away from home for the first time..."

"Didn't you think having Grandpa and Grandma was enough then?"

She stopped talking.

Dad decided the reason I hadn't shown them my SAT score was because I'd done badly.

Right in front of me, he called Grandpa.

"If she'd actually done well, she would've told us already."

"She's making a fuss about going away because she wants us to back down first."

Grandpa asked only one question.

"Since she walked through your door, have any of you asked what she scored?"

Dad didn't answer.

He hung up and turned to me.

"If you insist on leaving, don't expect this family to bail you out."

"When things get hard, when you run out of money, when you get sick—don't come back and blame us."

Mom didn't defend me.

She kept organizing Stella's performance clothes.

I nodded.

"Okay."

Before I left, I looked at Mom one last time.

"My bus leaves at eight tomorrow morning."

"Can you take me to the station?"

She froze.

Then finally nodded.

"Okay."

"Mom will take you."

It was the first time since I'd arrived in Riverton that she'd agreed to do something alone with me.

That night, I finalized everything with Northbridge.

For my contacts, I listed only Grandpa and my college counselor.

I didn't tell Mom I wasn't going back to the farm.

And I didn't tell her this was the last chance I was giving her to keep a promise as my mother.