Chaper 2
Chapter 2
1 took a deep breath and hit call on Mom’s contact.[]
The phone rang forever before she picked up.
“Hello? Chloe?” Mom’s voice was muffled by background noise–sounded like she was at the grocery store. “Why are you calling right now? What’s up?”
“Mom…” The word barely made it out of my throat.[]
“Mom… I… my living expenses…“]]
“What about your living expenses? Quinn just told me she sent you your allowance.” Her tone was already getting impatient. []
“What, two thousand dollars isn’t enough for you?“[]
Wait. What? Two thousand?]
I was stunned for a second, but pushed through with a shaky voice.[]
“No… Mom, Quinn didn’t give me two thousand. She only sent me three hundred…“[]”
“Three hundred?” Mom’s voice went up about three octaves, sharp enough to pierce my eardrum.[]
“Chloe! There’s a limit to how much you can lie! There’s no way Quinn would only give you three hundred when she told us she’s been giving you two thousand a month. Two thousand isn’t enough for one college student? Do you think our money grows on trees?“]]
It was like getting hit with a bucket of ice water.[]
She’s been telling my parents she gives me TWO THOUSAND every month?
“Mom, it’s true! She really only sent three hundred! I have the screenshots, I can show you-” I was desperately trying to defend myself.
But Dad grabbed the phone and cut me off. His voice was even colder, more disgusted.
“Quinn warned us you’d been seeing some guy and spending money on him. I didn’t want to believe it, but here we are–you’re actually lying to your parents over some boyfriend?“[]
“Dad, no! I’m not dating anyone, and I’m not lying! It really is only three hundred! If you don’t believe me I can send screenshots! I can barely afford to pay utilities-“I was sobbing now, words tumbling out incoherently.[]
“ENOUGH!” Dad’s roar made my phone speaker crackle. “You’d go this far for some guy? Everything we taught you just went in one ear and out the other. Do you have any idea how hard we work every day? How difficult our lives are? Can’t you just be responsible and budget better?“[]
“Dad, but I really don’t have a boyfriend-” I was choking on my tears, still trying to explain.[]
But the line had already gone dead.[]
They wouldn’t even let me finish a single sentence.]]
In that moment, something shifted inside me. A thread of hatred started weaving through my chest.
Why do they only listen to Quinn?]
Why can’t they hear me out for once?]]
We’re both their daughters. Both of us.
So why do they treat ML like this?[]
I hugged my knees to my chest, crouched in the corner of my dorm room. Sunlight was streaming through the window, but I felt frozen to the bone
Ding
The dorm group chat was requesting money. Fifty bucks each for utilities.]
I numbly sent the payment, then stared at my remaining balance in horror. $220 left []
It was only the beginning of the month and I was already down to $220. I couldn’t even imagine how I was going to survive the next three weeks []
Chapter 2
Suddenly, another notification popped up.
A message from Quinn.[]
[Chloe, you financial disaster! Not only are you ignoring my messages, but you just blew another $70. It’s literally Day One and you’re already burning through money…
[Are you a fucking debt collector? Spending money like this every single day?…] []
More poisonous messages kept flooding in, but I was used to this by now.[]
Every time I went over her arbitrary spending limits, she’d call me up for one of these verbal beatdowns.[]
I thought about confronting her about the “two thousand dollar” lie, but then I stopped myself.[]
If I pushed back, she might take away the remaining $220. After what happened in high school–when she docked me a hundred bucks for buying tampons- knew better than to gamble.]]
I couldn’t afford to lose. Literally.]
