Prologue
Sophia
Growing up with just her mother there wasn't easy.Not withhermother, anyway.The woman was shallow, vapid, and so self-centered, Sophia often wondered why she’d even had her.
For much of the last eighteen years, she'd wondered who her father was and why he didn't want her.She could still remember the first time she'd asked her mother about him.
At five years old, Sophia was always asking questions about the world around her.It was early evening and she was seated at the kitchen table drawing a picture of a family.There was a mommy, a daddy, a little girl, and even a doggy.
“Mama?How come I don't have a daddy?Evie has one.So does Maddie.Even Cody has a daddy.How come I don't?”
“You do have one,” her mother responded before she set a plate with chicken nuggies and mac-n-cheese in front of her.
“Oh.Where is he?”
“He's away.”
“Away where, mama?”
“Overseas.”
“Oh.Can we call him?”she asked.
“No, we can't.“
“How come, mama?”
“Will you stop asking so many questions!”her mother yelled and she shrunk down in her chair.
“Sorry, mama,” she whispered.
“No, I shouldn't have yelled.We can't call him because his work is top secret.”
“Like a spy?”she asked, perking up.
“Yes, like a spy.”
Sophia shook her head to clear it of the past.Over the years, her mother had given different excuses, including that he was in the military and it was too dangerous to try and call him.
The last time she'd asked, she'd been twelve.Her mother had looked at her and sneered, before she said the words that had shattered her world.
“He's not here because he doesn't want you.Why would he want an ungrateful little brat like you?”
After that, she pretty much shut down.She stayed in her bedroom when she wasn't at school, just to avoid her mother.
Sixyears later, they were more like antagonistic roommates than they were mother and daughter.
Glancing at the clock, she sighed.It was after 8 PM and her mother still wasn't home.She'd been waiting for her to come home to eat, wanting to celebrate her mother's birthday, but finally she said fuck it.
She dished herself up some of the lasagna she'd made along with two slices of garlic bread, poured herself a glass of sweet tea, and carried it to the table.Then she went back to get her salad, and dug in.If her mother came home now, wellshe could just fix her own damn plate.
The sound of the front door closing, followed by stumbling footsteps, pulled Sophia from her light doze on the sofa.She sat up quickly, tossed the throw blanket onto the end of the sofa, and stood.
“Mom?Are you drunk?”
“I'm a grown woman.I can drink if I want to,” her mother slurred.
“Please tell me you didn't drive like that!”
