No More Victim: Love's Dark Turn
her voice laced with suspicion.
sh. I ran my thumb over the stiff bristles. "Chloe deserves a wonde
e it, but it flew right over my mothe
al self-assuredness. "We were thinking of heading out to the coast
ect," I said. "W
was an anomaly, a disruption in the family dynamic they had so carefully constructed. I was
ails," she said slowly. "We' ll be ove
, then hung up before she
I sat on the floor, surrounded by my canvases, and I planned. I went over every detail of my first life' s final days, ev
od with his arms crossed, looking around my studio with disdain. My mother, Sarah, had her purse clutched in her hands like a weapon. And between
g inside without an invitation.
I said simply, closi
om, a worn-out armchair near the window. "Ugh, it smells
my voice sweet. "I
their eyes. They had come armed for a fight
ght to the point. "Your mother tells
k it' s a brilliant idea. A cha
ight. Like you wan
do, Chloe. I' ve been thinking a lot lately, and I realize I haven' t bee
it left them speechless for a moment. They exchanged uncertain glan
dvantage. "I want to be part of it all. I can help w
of the fragile pregnant woman slipped,
sound. "You? Come with us?
ulous?" I asked, k
around my studio. "This whole trip is five-star. We' re n
g again, "you' d just be a downer. You always are. We
ent. "This is a family tr
asn't really part of it. I was an ac
y, to retreat into bitter silence. They had thrown their best insults, their most practiced dismissals. In m
It was a small, tight smil
absolute refusal to see me as anything but a burden, was the fuel I needed. They were so pre
d," I said,
attempt to join their exclusive little club. But as they turned to le
em an offer they couldn't refuse. And they would beg me to com