Chapter 4

Eudora had a few of her friends over, and they were tearing around in her room having a wild time.

I'd just been let out, and standing in the living room felt awkward, like I didn't belong.

When Mom and Dad carried the last dish to the table, Eudora and her friends came out of the room too.

Eudora's smile faltered a little when she saw me, but she recovered fast and waved me over. “Come on, sis, come celebrate with us.”

I was invisible in this house, and I was just as invisible to Eudora's friends.

She called me over, but I didn't move. I knew she was only going through the motions. Mom turned and shot me a look. “She doesn't need to come over. There's food set aside for her in the kitchen. As long as she eats something, that's fine.”

I took the hint and went into the kitchen. This time I meant to be more obedient. Maybe if I was, they'd leave me alone.

I ate a few quick bites in the kitchen, and while they were all busy playing, I slipped into Eudora's room. Mom and Dad doted on Eudora, so much that they kept even important things in her room.

I wanted to see if my ID was in there.

I didn't find my ID. But I found something far more important.

The paperwork from when Eudora was expelled from her school. She was bold, keeping it right there in her own room. Or maybe she was just that confident in how much our parents loved her.

She knew they'd never go through her things, and that was why she was so brazen.

I photographed the documents. No ID, but the papers were a find in their own right.

I did one more important thing while I was at it. I turned the internet back on.

To keep me offline, they'd locked my phone down.

I came out of Eudora's room, and none of them noticed. I went quietly back to my own room.

Just as I was about to step inside, I heard Mom say, “Daphne's got four years of college, and when she graduates she'll be placed right here in the city. Even after she marries, she can still help you out.”

I heard every word clearly. I gave a cold little smile. The arrangement they'd made for Eudora really was seamless.

They kept playing until well past midnight before everyone left.

After that I logged in to the college admissions site. The school was the city's teachers college.

I had to go to this school. If I didn't, I'd lose the one chance I had to change my fate.

But I wasn't going to walk the rest of my road the way Mom and Dad had planned.

In the days that followed, I used the times they were out to prepare a lot of paperwork. As my enrollment date drew near, they probably decided I wasn't acting out anymore, so they stopped restricting me.

I was on a tuition-free teaching scholarship, but I still needed money to live on. When I saw there was a financial-aid application, I asked their permission and decided to apply.

The truth was, the aid itself wasn't the point. I could take a job. What I wanted was another signature.

The day school started, it poured. It also happened to be the day Eudora left to enroll at her arts school.

I'd packed up everything from the balcony. I'd lived here nineteen years, and all of it fit easily into a single suitcase.

I called an Uber in the rain and gave the driver the school's address. When the car pulled out, I didn't even look back.

But when it rains, it pours. The car I was riding in got into an accident on the way, and I lay on the ground while the downpour hammered down on me.

By the time the ambulance took me to the hospital and they asked about my family, my head was still spinning.

“Miss, you need to contact your family right away. Your leg is badly hurt and needs surgery, and we can't operate without a family member's signature.”

Sure enough, a fierce pain shot through my leg. I hadn't wanted to make the call, but with their urging I dialed my mother.

It took three tries before she picked up, and her voice came roaring through the receiver. “Daphne, are you trying to send me to an early grave? Dora's about to board her flight...”

“Mom, I've been in a car accident. I need you to sign so they can do the surgery...”

“We don't have time for this. Just wait a while longer...” Before she'd even finished, the line went dead with a string of flat beeps.

A single tear slid down without a sound. After that call, I finally gave up for good. I hung up, reached into my bag, and handed the doctor a statement.

“Doctor, my life is mine to decide.”