I clamber to unsteady feet and wrap my arms around my belly.
What am I going to do?I can’t go home. Not with Brandi and her friends there waiting for me.
I spin in a circle, searching—for what, I don’t know. That’s when I see it. A tree house between the hulking branches in the backyard of the biggest house on the street. Clutching my throbbing side, I limp across the lawn and haul myself over the wooden fence.
Ten years old
“Oh, Momma, don’t start,” my mother snaps, rolling her eyes.
“All I want is for my daughters to get along.” Grandma’s voice cracks, and tears shimmer in her eyes. “Is that too much to ask for? Growing up, you two were inseparable.”
I love when my grandma comes to visit. She bakes cookies with me, reads bedtime stories, and teaches me to knit with her warm hands wrapped around mine.
Momma never does any of that.
I just wish her and Momma would stop fighting. Grandma used to visit for a whole month, but now she only stays for two weeks.
I pick at my food, losing my appetite. Momma and Aunt Sheila have hated each other since before I was born. Grandma says it’s because Momma stole Daddy from her way back in high school. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s the story they all whisper when they think I’m not listening.
“Well, it’s not me that’s holding on to the past,” Momma huffs and slams her fork onto her plate. “Sheila needs to get over it. It’s been fourteen years for heaven’s sake, and it’s not my fault she can’t keep a man.”
Grandma inhales a sharp breath. “That’s unnecessary, Loretta.”
“See, you’re always on her side,” Momma snaps, her espresso-brown eyes narrowing to tiny slits.
Daddy clears his throat, looking uncomfortable. “This conversation is not for young ears.”
My older brother, Nolan, doesn’t seem to be fazed by the confrontation unfolding. He’s too busy stuffing his mouth with pot roast.
“I’m not on anyone’s side.” Grandma sighs tiredly. “Please call your sister and have a heart-to-heart.”
“No, I will not,” Momma responds with finality. “She’s older and therefore should extend the olive branch.”
“For shame, Loretta.” Grandma shakes her head in disappointment.
“I will not be guilt-tripped into apologizing. Sheila’s just jealous of me.” Momma fluffs her shiny, silken curls and proudly squares her shoulders. “Look at me. Married to a doctor, living in a five-bedroom house with granite countertops and a big pool in the backyard. Meanwhile, Sheila’s still in the hood with a baby daddy doing forty to life.”
Heavy rain, accompanied by thunder, causes the lights in the dining room to flicker.
“May I be excused?” I ask, desperate to escape the suffocating tension at the table.
“Sure, sweet—”
“You may not.” Momma cocks an eyebrow at Daddy, daring him to challenge her. He averts his gaze and drinks a sip of his water. “I spent hours preparing this lovely meal, and you’re not going anywhere until your plate is empty. And stop slouching and get your elbows off the table. I am not raising a wild animal.”
Nolan snickers, but Momma’s glare instantly silences him. I shouldn’t have said anything.
Momma’s judgmental eyes land on me again. “Your hair was a complete mess this morning. How many times have I told you not to go to bed without your bonnet on? No man is ever going to marry you if you insist on behaving like a little savage. Perfection twenty-four-seven is absolutely mandatory.”
I shrink in on myself. Momma wears makeup, pretty dresses, and high heels all the time. Her hair is always done up nice too. Men stare at her wherever she goes.
“I’m sorry, Momma,” I say in a low voice, hanging my head low. “I promise I’ll be a better daughter.”
“I told you to stop slouching!” she admonishes. “Sometimes I’m convinced the wrong baby was given to me at the hospital.”
Her words land like a slap. I don’t say anything. I just keep staring at my plate and do what I’m told.
“Slow down, Winston.” I giggle, watching my hamster devour a strawberry. “You’re going to get a tummy ache.”
