Chapter 7 - The Aftermath
The house sold in early April.
Because the real estate market was slow and the house was stripped of its high-end staging, it sold for far less than my parents had hoped. After paying off the secondary mortgages, the back taxes, and the emergency bank loans David had taken out, there was almost nothing left.
My parents were forced to rent a small, two-bedroom townhouse on the far side of town.
Connor, unable to afford his tuition at his expensive private college without Dad's financial padding, was forced to drop out and take a job as an assistant manager at a commercial rental car company. The arrogant brother who had called me "dramatic" was now working fifty hours a week behind a counter, wearing a polyester uniform, paying off his own sports car loan.
One Tuesday afternoon in May, while I was sitting on the campus lawn studying for my spring midterm exams, my phone rang.
It was Lily.
"Hey, Maya," she said quietly.
"Hey, Lily. How are things?"
"We moved into the townhouse last weekend," Lily said, her voice sounding tired but grounded. "It's small. Connor has to sleep on a fold-out couch in the basement because there are only two bedrooms."
"How are Mom and Dad?"
"Dad works at a residential hardware store now," Lily said. "He stays quiet most of the time. Mom cries a lot because her old friends from the country club don't answer her text messages anymore."
I listened silently, watching the clouds drift over the university library tower.
"Maya?" Lily asked softly.
"Yeah?"
"I... I wanted to say thank you."
I blinked, surprised. "For what?"
"For not letting them convince me that wrong was right," Lily whispered. "If you hadn't stood up to them... I would have grown up thinking it was normal to treat people the way they treated you. I would have ended up like Connor."
A soft breeze rustled the pages of my textbook. "How are your grades, Lily?"
"I got an A on my chemistry final," she said, a brief hint of pride breaking through her quiet tone. "I'm applying for a summer internship at the community hospital."
May you like
"I'm proud of you, Lily," I said warmly. "If you ever need help with your college applications... let me know. I know a good lawyer who can make sure your money stays yours."
Lily laughed softly—a real, genuine sound. "I'd like that, Maya. I really would."
