The Price of a Lie

ia' s string. He didn' t even hesitate. A mome

s a mess. My dad is really laying in

w pit in my stomach. I thought back to all the other "family emergencies," the sudden "band practices,"

pt my promise to myself. I went to a bank, deposited the cash, then drove to a small art supply store near the orphanage

olors, how to draw what they saw in their hearts. For a few hours, surrounded by their laughte

p 24-hour diner for a coffee and a plate of fries. I sat by t

store, stood Ethan and Olivia. They weren' t arguing. They weren't dealing with a

Olivia try on a diamond necklace that probably cost more than my entire nursing school tuition. He didn't look like a man being be

ogetic. "It' s all I can afford right now, Chloe," he' d whispered. "One day, I' ll buy you the whole world."

e and stood up, trying to slip out of the diner before they saw

ed into me from behind. The tray went flying. Plates, glasses, and

across the street, through the plate-glass window of the

ern or confusion. It was pure, u