Chapter 4
Almost a year after everything happened...
Someone rang my doorbell.
It was Nadia.
She looked exhausted.
No makeup.
No wedding ring.
No Trevor.
"I left him."
I stepped aside.
She entered slowly.
"I should've done it years ago."
She sat at my kitchen table.
"The house wasn't the only thing we lost."
"What happened?"
She laughed bitterly.
"Trevor blamed everyone."
"Me."
"Mom."
"The police."
"The bank."
"You."
"He never blamed himself."
She looked around my townhouse.
"It's peaceful here."
"It is."
"I used to think you were selfish."
I smiled sadly.
"I know."
"I was jealous."
"Of what?"
"You could say no."
She burst into tears.
"I never learned how."
For hours we talked.
Really talked.
For the first time since childhood.
When she left, she hugged me tightly.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"I don't expect us to be sisters again overnight."
"We won't."
"But..."
I smiled.
"...today was a beginning."
Six months later she found a job.
Started therapy.
Rented a tiny apartment.
Paid every bill herself.
May you like
The first paycheck she ever earned entirely on her own...
She framed.
