Chapter 0009


    Wait, what did she say? “He…what? He was cheating on me with her?”


    Mom and dad exchanged wide-eyed nces. “I’ve already said too much,” she said, then stood and


    went into the kitchen, pretending to search for something. I followed her.


    “How long did you know about this?” I asked. No answer. I turned back to dad. “Dad? How long?”


    Dad let out a sigh and finally set the paper on the table. “No sense hiding it now I suppose. It’s been


    going on for about a year now. We caught them outside togetherte one night and they confessed


    everything.”


    A year?? How was I so blind to this for a whole year? “Why didn’t you tell me?”


    “Oh stop, it was for your own good,” mom mmed a cab shut. “You’re wee for that, by the


    way.”


    “Oh yes, I’m sorry. Thank you. You’ll be receiving your mother of the year award in the mail any day


    now,” I angrily snapped.


    “That mouth of yours does not help you in the rtionship department either,” she said.


    I stormed back into the living room to grab the purse I had dropped. The happy couple was still


    cuddling on the couch.


    “Hey Nat, mom told me you were upset that I hadn’t congratted you or anything on your


    engagement. Well here, I got you something to make up for it.”


    They perked up and looked at me, confused. I stuck my hand in my purse and pulled it out, with just


    my middle finger sticking up.


    “Cute Hazel,” Natalie rolled her eyes. “Real mature.”


    I turned on my heels and bounded up the stairs to my bedroom, mming the door shut behind me.


    A gift for my parents, I knew how much they hated that.


    Now that no one could see me, I let the tears that I had been holding back fall down my face. Iid


    face down on my bed and buried my face into my pillow, crying as hard and quietly as I could. I


    knew I wasn’t my parents’ favorite child, but how could they let Natalie do that to me? How could


    they let Chance? If they had even a shred of empathy among them they kept it well hidden from me.


    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    As soon as I was all out of tears I sat up and dug my phone out of my purse. I opened my text


    message thread that I had with Maria.


    “I have got to get out of this house,” I text her.


    A momentter she responded: “Uh oh…what happened now?”


    “I don’t want to get into it, I just…I need this executive assistant job, I need that money so I can


    afford my own ce,” I sent back.


    “Oh, you know what? I just heard about this new apartmentplex where single people can apply


    for a discounted rate. They’re not the best apartments, but you’ll at least have your own ce,” she


    wrote.


    “OH MY GOD. Send me the link immediately,” I wrote as fast as I could and pushed send.


    Sheugh reacted and sent me a link. I clicked on it and navigated to the “How to Apply” page.


    “Maria you son of a bitch,” I said to myself, smiling. “You are a lifesaver.”


    The following morning I walked into work and immediately felt something was off. Normally there


    was a buzz of small talk and people hustling here and there. Today was eerily still and quiet. People


    mostly stood in ce, whispering to each other. I set my stuff on my desk and looked over at Maria


    across the room.


    “What’s going on?” I mouthed to her.


    She frantically waved me over to her. I sped walked to her.


    “Word around the water cooler is someone messed up big time,” she whispered. “They’re talking


    about firing someone over it.”


    “Oh wow. Who?”


    Maria gulped. “You.”