Chapter 2Escaping The Woman Who Birthed Me

Because of the freezing rain, I caught a fever and was forced to stay in bed for days.

When I finally dragged myself back to school, the damage was done. My rank had plummeted from valedictorian track down to fifteenth in the class. My spot in the National Honor Society was gone.

At the Parent-Teacher Conference that evening, my mother sat in stony silence, gripping my hand so hard her nails dug into my knuckles.

I thought the worst was over. But just as the conference was winding down, she stood up abruptly.

She glared at my homeroom teacher.

"Mr. Harrison, I think Harper’s drop in grades has a lot to do with you!"

Mr. Harrison blinked, totally caught off guard. I froze in my seat.

My mother triumphantly pulled a crumpled pink envelope from her designer purse. Her voice went up an octave, piercing through the quiet classroom. "Did you seriously not know? There’s some degenerate boy in this class sexually harassing my Harper!"

The room went dead silent.

Every single pair of eyes snapped toward that pink envelope in her hand. My face burned with the heat of a thousand suns. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

I had never seen that letter in my life. I had no idea where she found it!

But her little stunt was practically a public execution.

I gripped the hem of my school uniform, my own fingernails biting into my palms.

A few parents in the front row started whispering. Someone discreetly held up a phone to record.

I caught snippets of the venomous murmurs: "Where there's smoke, there's fire. That girl doesn't look innocent either."

And: "That whole family is a mess. I know her—ever since her husband dumped her, she's been totally unhinged..."

My chest tightened painfully. I grabbed my mother's arm, my voice dropping to a desperate, pathetic whisper. "Please. Can we just go home and talk about this?"

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?!" she shrieked. "You bombed your midterms because you’re too busy whoring around with boys! You’re just a teenager, Harper! Have you no shame?!"

"Is this how you repay everything I've done for you?"

She paused to take a ragged breath, then went in for the kill.

"Do you know I bragged to the whole family about you? I bet them all you'd be number one again!"

"But no, you're just worthless! You're exactly like your cheating, garbage father!"

"Go on, then! Go sleep around! Let's see who takes care of you when you end up knocked up!"

The blood in my veins turned to ice.

Her voice echoed off the cinderblock walls, every single word plunging into my chest like a serrated knife.

My hand went limp and fell from her arm. Tears pooled in my eyes, refusing to fall.

The murmurs grew louder. Someone in the back actually scoffed.

I stood there for a long time. Just breathing.

Then, I slowly lifted my head.

"But Mom... didn't I fail those tests because of you?"