Chapter 9 - The Price of Coming Home
"You canceled it," I said.
"I stopped you from making a selfish mistake. There's a difference."
I was standing behind the Corner Spoon, the trash truck rattling down the alley. A voice inside me wanted to scream so loudly someone would come running. Another voice counted what a scream might cost me.
"You went into my account."
"I had access because I helped you apply. And I did what you wouldn't do for your sisters."
"You didn't ask me."
"I asked you for months. You just didn't give the right answer."
She offered a bargain: come back, work the summer bookings, and she'd call the university to say there had been confusion. I nearly laughed. The person who broke my future was offering to glue it back together if I handed it over first.
"No," I said.
"Think about how Cleo and Maisie will remember this."
"They'll remember what you tell them. That's on you."
After the call I wrote down everything while I could still remember the words. Then I sent Mom a short message: I did not authorize withdrawal from Lakebridge. Please confirm that you submitted it.
Her reply arrived before I clocked back in.
I TOOK IT OFF THE TABLE BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN. NOW YOU'VE MADE ME LOOK LIKE THE BAD GUY.
I took a screenshot and saved the conversation. I wasn't thrilled to have it. A message from my mother shouldn't have felt like evidence, but it did.
Ms. Ward received it that afternoon. She thanked me and explained that the scholarship committee would consider it with the account records. She didn't say that it settled the case.
"How much time do I have?" I asked.
May you like
"The placement hold ends Thursday at noon. I'm requesting an expedited review for Wednesday."
It was Monday. There were seventy-two hours between me and the decision that could change the rest of my life.
