Page 81 of What Goes Around

That night, I didn’t fall asleep right away.

Muffled voices drifted through the hallway, soft at first, then sharp enough to cut through the walls.

I pushed myself upright and sat against the headboard, tilting my head just enough to catch the sounds coming from my parents’ bedroom.

“…can’t keep doing this…”

“…not acceptable…”

“…she’s noticing…”

“…you’re overreacting…”

A thud followed, something hitting the dresser, the dull slam of a drawer or a fist against wood.

“…you’ve always been harder on her…”

“…I’m only trying to protect Apple—”

My mouth curved in the dark.

I pictured them standing on opposite sides of their room, no longer a united front.

My father finally seeing things he had spent years training himself not to. And Marissa, cornered, exposed in ways she couldn’t cry or manipulate her way out of.

The fracture had begun.

And this was only the beginning.

Chapter 25: Whatever Makes You Happy

The next day, Marissa appeared in my doorway with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Let’s go shopping,” she said brightly. “Make a whole day of it. Just us girls.”

I studied her face for half a second longer than polite allowed.

“Sure,” I said.

Apple appeared behind her almost immediately, as if she’d been listening the entire time.

“That sounds sooo fun,” she sang. “I seriously need new clothes.”

Of course she did.

The drive to the mall passed in strained cheerfulness. Marissa talked too much, about imaginary sales, about how “nice it would be to reset,” about how important it was to “bond again.”

Apple scrolled on her phone in the backseat, glancing up only to announce stores she had to visit. Sephora. Zara. A boutique she “just knew” would have something perfect.

I watched the city blur past the window and let my thoughts harden like ice.

I hadn’t come for bonding. Money in our house was never unlimited, and if spending it meant Apple couldn’t claim everything by default, then the outing served its purpose. And if I happened to enjoy pulling a few carefully chosen strings along the way, that was a bonus.

I stepped into the first store already knowing how this would go.

Marissa let Apple drag her straight to a display rack.

“Look at this one!” she cried, lifting a sky-blue dress from the hanger and pressing it to her body. “Mom, this would be perfect for my recital.”