2 years later...
My car pulled up in the driveway, and now I was standing with my suitcase in front of the house.
I hadn’t touched home for two years.
My heart was a drum, beating a rhythm of pure anxiety against my ribs. I adjusted the strap of my bag, my palms sweating. I was back. I was finally back. Back home. Back to where I felt peace.
For two years, I had lived in a ghost world.
The first five days after I left for school had been okay, but it was just five days, I said, before the silence started.
Vaughan—my Daddy—had cut me off. He blocked my number. He changed his contact. He vanished into the shadows of the basement, leaving me with nothing but a cold, heart-wrecking text message.
“What happened was a mistake. Focus on your school. Do not reach out. Thank you for understa
