3: 3

"Jude!"

I called him, my voice cracking.

"What gave you the right to hand my ID to Rosamund? You know exactly what my family is like!"

On the other end, Jude's voice was as gentle as ever.

But there was a strange coldness under it.

"Tilda, try to be reasonable."

"It's too dangerous for Rosamund to go somewhere far away on her own. It's not like home out there. She'd have to do her own washing, her own everything."

"She's just a girl, no one to look after her. How could she stand it?"

My heart bled. My voice shook. "And me? Am I not a girl too?"

He went quiet.

"Enough. You grew up with an independence upbringing."

An edge of impatience crept in. "Aren't you already used to living rough?"

"Rosamund is different. She was raised pampered. When has she ever known hardship?"

"It's just looking after your own sister. It's not hard. Don't be so selfish."

I swallowed the pain and let out a bitter laugh.

"Jude, you know I scored a 709."

He paused, and pity came into his tone.

"You want Ridgemont? Then wait until Rosamund graduates."

"By then I can tutor you. Get yourself an online degree, just for show, and that'll do."

"Once we're married, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. It won't matter where you went to college."

The pain made me laugh, laugh until I was shaking.

So the salvation I'd believed in all this time was a lie.

He, too, thought I could only ever be an accessory to Rosamund.

I hung up.

I bolted out of the restaurant dorm like a madwoman.

My ID stolen, my application tampered with. I had to get to the admissions office and correct my records before the deadline.

This was the one way out I'd clawed my way toward for eighteen years!

But I'd barely reached the lobby doors when I ran straight into a group of people.

My parents. Rosamund.

And Jude, his fingers laced through hers.

My father held up a thick stack of cash and swept his arm wide.

"It's my daughter's birthday today. We're renting out the whole restaurant!"

Jude chimed in with a smile.

"Rosamund's the queen today. Keep her happy and there's two hundred in tips for every one of you."

The waitstaff around them erupted.

I hid where my parents couldn't see me and listened to the envy pouring out on every side.

"God, that's beyond spoiled!"

"Handsome boyfriend, wealthy family. A little princess, no question about it!"

"What a close family. They must have earned this kind of blessing in a past life."

It hit me slow, and then all at once.

Today was my birthday too.

And no one remembered.

My eyes drifted to my own wrist without meaning to.

A faded red cord.

Last year, on my birthday, Jude had tied it there with his own hands.

He'd sworn it then, so sure of himself.

"Every birthday from now on, I'll be right beside you, until the day I die."

That old vow was nothing but a joke now.

The moment our eyes met, the color drained from Jude's face.

He fumbled to let go of Rosamund's hand.

"Tilda..."

I didn't answer. I turned and left.

But I'd only just rounded the corner.

A huge force slammed into my back, into my side.

Rosamund.

I fell before I could catch myself.

My palm split open on the edge of a step, and blood came at once.

The pain sent a cold sweat over me.

Hearing the commotion, my parents rushed straight to Rosamund's side to soothe her.

Not one of them spared me a glance.

Rosamund buried herself in our father's arms and sobbed, all wounded innocence.

"I only wanted to invite my sister to celebrate with us..."

"But she just threw herself down and started screaming."

"Did I do something wrong? Is that why she'd frame me like this..."

One breath, and black was white.

My parents' faces darkened.

My mother raised her hand and struck me across the face, hard.

"So young and already using these filthy tricks, hurting your own family!"

"Did everything you ever studied rot in your gut?"

"I didn't."

I forced the words through my teeth. "She ran into me on her own."

"Enough! Rosamund was raised lifted up, given everything she ever wanted."

"Why would she hurt herself? Just to frame trash like you?"

My father jabbed a finger at my face, disappointment all over him.

"You've got a perfectly good home and you won't come back. Out here playing the pitiful waitress. Who are you trying to guilt with this act?"

"Apologize to your sister. Now!"

I had no hope left, and still my heart ached.

Rosamund was the hope the whole family had lifted up, so whatever she said was right.

The restaurant owner, terrified of getting dragged into it, hurried over and snapped at me.

"This place can't hold someone as grand as you."

"You're fired!"

Jude looked at me, something complicated in his eyes.

Then, at last, he sighed.

"They're your elders. Just apologize."

Under the scorn and the sneers of every waiter there.

I clutched my bleeding palm and staggered out like a dog kicked away from the table.

Jude started to reach for me.

Then Rosamund pulled him off to sing the birthday song.

I gritted my teeth and ran all the way to the admissions office. This was my last chance at Ridgemont.

Shaking, I dug out the fifty-dollar review fee and pushed it toward the window.

My voice earnest. "Ma'am, I'd like to request a review of my application information."

The clerk took the bills and glanced at me.

The next second, two security guards rushed forward.

They pinned me against the wall.

"You dare pass counterfeit money? You want to go to prison?"

4: 4

My head buzzed, and my eyes went hot with tears.

"That's impossible. This is the pay I just picked up!"

I spread all three hundred dollars flat across the counter.

The clerk said flatly that every bill was counterfeit.

The security guard marched me straight out.

"You're young, so we'll let it slide this once."

"Do it again, and we'll call the police."

White with anger, I ran back to the restaurant to find the owner.

But he only shrugged, like it meant nothing to him.

"Your mom and dad swapped the money out. Said it was to build up your life skills."

Build up my life skills?

I laughed, tears streaming down my face.

Their idea of building up my life skills was destroying everything I'd worked for, and I was supposed to be grateful for it?

I walked home like the living dead.

The moment my mother saw me, her face twisted into a sneer.

"So the independent woman finally decided to come home?"

She smiled wide, gloating. "Now you know how dangerous the world is out there."

"You're only ever safe here, with family."

Numbly, I held out my hand.

"Give me back my money."

My father slammed the table and shot to his feet, furious.

"Money, money, money. Money is all you ever think about."

"How did I raise such a greedy, ungrateful brat!"

"You wrecked Rosamund's birthday party, you come home without a word of apology, and the first thing out of your mouth is money."

With that, he shoved me out the door.

"Get out and think about what you've done. Don't come back until you know you were wrong."

"And in three days we're throwing Rosamund a party for getting into college. You'll apologize to her in front of everyone."

"Or you can forget ever setting foot through this door again."

Expressionless, I went down the stairs.

And there were Rosamund and Jude, wrapped in each other's arms.

"Jude, the idea you came up with was perfect."

"Getting Mom to swap Tilda's pay for counterfeit bills. Genius."

Jude laughed, indulgent.

"That's our little secret. Don't tell Tilda, or she'll make a scene again."

So it had been his idea.

My chest hurt so much I could barely breathe.

Because he knew me, he knew exactly where to stick the knife to make it hurt most.

I held back my tears and slipped away without a sound.

Passing a trash can, I snapped the red string off my wrist and threw it in.

Once I was out of the complex, I opened my palm.

It was the ID I'd taken from the house.

Right before the deadline, I logged back into the college application page.

My finger hovered over Ridgemont University for a moment, then I changed it, without hesitation, to Northgate University.

Over a thousand miles away.

From now on, this family and Jude were people I never wanted to see again.

Once it was submitted and confirmed, I let out a breath.

It was as though I'd come back to life.

At the same time, a text came in from Jude.

【Don't be angry anymore. From now on I'll take time off often to come see you and Rosamund.】

【You've always been so capable and independent. You should look after your little sister more.】

【For the party in three days, buy her a gift and smooth things over. If you're short on cash, I'll reimburse you.】

I didn't reply. Instead I opened the ticket app.

I borrowed five hundred dollars from a classmate.

Dragging my luggage, I headed straight for the station.

And just as the train began to move,

my phone lit up with a frantic stream of messages from Jude.