tethered to this house was a

down trailer in a remote Appalachian town. For ten years, I was a ghost, living a life of neglect and hardship. I lear

after my disappearance, had adopted Molly to fill the void I' d left. My father and my brot

n inconvenience

"test of character" to burn the poverty out of me. They imposed the strict financial rules, the formal written requests for

n Molly, accepted it all. I played their game, hoping th

ll-ride scholarship secured with Dr. Fuller' s help,

t of focus in her eyes. "If you do, we' ll throw you a grand debutante ba

eing publicly claimed, was a po

, just before the storm hit. I found Molly in

e, a smug smile pl

o through all this trouble because of

you talki

and your perfect grades... it gives me anxiety. So I told Mommy and Daddy that it was too muc

-up SAT ticket dissolving in a puddle, I understood. They had sabotaged my future