Chapter 3

Before I could even get through the school gates, James came running after me, lugging a huge durian.

"Soph, don't be mad. Emily's clueless about social boundaries. Don't bother with her. You two can each have your own room, and I swear I won't let her step foot in your bedroom again," he said.

"James, I don't want to live with anyone else. Honestly, I'd rather stay in the dorm than live with her," I shot back.

"You really are spoiled by Mom and Dad. Whatever, stay in the dorm and don't come home. Take the durian and eat it. Stop being so dramatic. I gotta go back and calm Emily down," he said.

Before I could even finish, he shoved the durian into my hands and dashed across the street. I saw Emily watching us from the other side.

James ran over to Emily and tried to take her hand, but she shook him off.

I turned and headed for the dorm. As soon as I walked in, my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

Emily's text read: [Sophie, you'd better start showing me some respect. Once I marry James, you won't have a say in this family anymore.]

I couldn't help but laugh at how absurd she was being.

[Emily, you can forget about ever setting foot in the Foster family again.] I fired back, then blocked her number.

I thought Mom would come by the next day, but instead, she texted me early in the morning.

Mom texted: [Soph, your dad and I can't make it for a couple more days. We've got to run over to Riverside for a work thing. Something came up with a project there.]

I understood that my parents were always swamped with work.

I texted back: [Mom, don't worry about me. Just handle your stuff. Waiting a few days is no big deal.]

Just then, Mom texted again.

Mom texted again: [Soph, the house is in your name. Change the locks and kick them out.]

I replied: [Okay, Mom. Don't worry about me.]

At first, I didn't dare go through with it. When Mom and Dad bought me the house, James already complained that they were playing favorites.

I was worried that if I kicked them out, James would end up resenting our parents even more.

At a little after six in the morning, the cleaning service called to say the cleaners would be there in half an hour.

I got to the entrance right on time and saw two cleaners pull up in a small van packed with cleaning supplies.

I led them inside. Emily was still crashed out in my parents' bedroom. I pushed the door open, and she squinted at me, half-asleep.

"Get up, grab your stuff, and get out," I said.

"Why should I? This is James's house." Emily snapped.

I grabbed her suitcase and dragged it straight out the door. Emily followed, shoved me, but ended up plopping right down on her suitcase, smacking her head on the doorframe. She clutched her forehead and started bawling.

I was totally stunned.

"Soph, I already agreed to move out. Why couldn't you even give me a chance to pack my things?" she whined.

Damn, she's flipping the script.

I didn't even touch her. It was her pushing me, then tripping over herself. Classic. I've only seen stuff like this in those overdone short videos online.

Totally obvious she did it on purpose. And, of course, right on cue, James started yelling from behind.

"Sophie, what are you trying to do?" James yelled.

James stormed over and shoved me so hard I slammed into the doorknob with a loud bang. The pain wasn't dull. It was like someone stabbed me in the back with a burning hot iron.

I curled on the floor, unable to stand, as cold sweat ran down my forehead. When I tried to move, tearing pain shot through my lower back and forced out a muffled groan.

James didn't even look at me. He picked Emily up and rushed her straight to the hospital.

The cleaning ladies were freaked out, wanting to help but too scared to touch me.

I called 911 myself and shot a text to my roommates, asking them to cover for me and let the school know I wouldn't be in.

When the CT results arrived, the doctor sighed. "There's a small fracture in your third lumbar vertebra.

"You need three weeks of bed rest. Fortunately, no nerves were compressed, or it would have been serious."

I lay in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. My parents were out of town on business, so I scrolled through my contacts and finally called Aunt Lily.