Chapter 4
I didn't sleep.
By six in the morning, I had packed every document I could think of.
Dad's tax returns.
Bank statements.
My financial aid application.
A copy of Mom's address in Arizona.
Even old messages showing how rarely we spoke.
I wasn't taking chances.
Vanessa came downstairs while I was putting everything into a folder.
She looked terrible.
No makeup.
Swollen eyes.
Hair pulled into a messy ponytail.
“I want to come.”
I stared at her.
“With us?”
She nodded.
“Dad already said you had to.”
“I know.”
She looked at the floor.
“But I'm saying I want to.”
I didn't answer.
Dad drove.
Nobody spoke for most of the forty-minute trip.
Grandma stayed home.
Before we left, Dad had taken the signed statement she wrote the night before.
It explained everything.
Every lie.
Every motive.
Every detail.
When we reached the university, I thought I would throw up.
Students crossed the campus carrying backpacks and coffee.
They looked relaxed.
Normal.
I wondered how many of them knew how easily one ugly email could threaten years of work.
We entered the financial aid building.
A woman named Mrs. Patel met us.
She was kind but serious.
“Maya?”
“Yes.”
“Come in.”
We sat across from her desk.
She looked at Dad.
“And these are?”
“My father and sister.”
Mrs. Patel nodded.
“We received your email asking for an urgent meeting.”
Dad handed her Grandma's statement.
“You should read this first.”
She read quietly.
Her eyebrows rose.
Then she looked at me.
“Your grandmother sent the report?”
“Yes.”
“And the allegations are false?”
“Yes.”
I pushed the documents toward her.
“Completely false.”
She spent nearly twenty minutes reviewing everything.
Every second felt like an hour.
Finally, she folded her hands.
“Maya, based on what you've provided, I don't see evidence that you misrepresented anything.”
My lungs finally worked again.
“So I'm okay?”
“We still need to complete the formal review.”
My heart dropped.
“But.”
She smiled gently.
“Your scholarship will not be suspended while we do that.”
I nearly cried.
Dad squeezed my shoulder.
Mrs. Patel looked at Vanessa.
“You wanted to add something?”
Vanessa stiffened.
I hadn't known she planned to speak.
“Yes.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“I knew about the email before Grandma sent it.”
Mrs. Patel waited.
Vanessa took a breath.
“I didn't help her write it.”
She looked at me.
“But I knew she was angry about Maya leaving.”
Dad frowned.
“Angry?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“She thought Maya going away would break the family.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Grandma doesn't want you to leave.”
I suddenly remembered little things.
Comments about campus being dangerous.
Stories about students getting into debt.
Suggestions that I attend community college nearby.
I had assumed Grandma worried.
Vanessa looked at Mrs. Patel.
“She used me as the excuse, but it wasn't only about me.”
The room went silent.
Dad leaned forward.
“What are you saying?”
“Grandma told me if Maya left, nobody would need her anymore.”
My chest hurt.
Mrs. Patel quietly closed the file.
“This sounds like a family matter beyond the scholarship review.”
Dad nodded.
“It is.”
We finished the paperwork.
Before we left, Mrs. Patel printed a new copy of my scholarship letter.
She slid it across the desk.
“Congratulations.”
I stared at it.
Perfect.
Clean.
Whole.
My name.
The scholarship amount.
The university seal.
Everything Vanessa had cut apart.
My eyes filled.
“Thank you.”
Outside the building, I stood on the steps holding the new letter.
Dad smiled.
“Feel better?”
“A little.”
Vanessa stood several feet away.
She looked uncomfortable.
Dad glanced toward the parking lot.
“I'm going to make a phone call.”
He walked away.
I knew exactly what he was doing.
Leaving us alone.
Vanessa stared at the scholarship letter.
“I really am sorry.”
I didn't respond.
She pushed her hands into her jacket pockets.
“I know that doesn't fix anything.”
“No.”
“I was horrible.”
“Yes.”
She flinched.
For years I had softened my words to protect her.
Not anymore.
“You wanted me to feel small because you felt small.”
Vanessa nodded.
“And when Grandma told you what she planned, you let her do it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled.
“I thought if you lost the scholarship, you'd stay.”
I stared at her.
“So you wanted that too.”
“At first.”
The words cut.
“Then she actually sent the email.”
Vanessa wiped her cheek.
“And I got scared.”
“For me?”
She hesitated.
That told me enough.
“For myself too,” she admitted.
“At least that's honest.”
She laughed weakly.
“You always were better at honesty.”
“Don't do that.”
“What?”
“Turn me into some perfect person so you can hate me.”
She looked stunned.
“I make mistakes too.”
I held up the letter.
“But I don't destroy your things because I'm angry at myself.”
Vanessa looked down.
“You're right.”
That was the first time I had ever heard her say those words to me.
She took a shaky breath.
“What can I do?”
“I don't know.”
She nodded.
“I'll figure something out.”
Dad returned.
“Ready for lunch?”
Vanessa groaned softly.
I remembered his punishment.
“You still owe me.”
She gave me a tiny smile.
“I know.”
We went to a diner near campus.
For the first time in years, Vanessa asked me questions about college without making sarcastic comments.
What did I want to study?
Where would I live?
Was I nervous?
I answered carefully.
Trust doesn't grow back in one meal.
But something had changed.
Then Dad's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Grandma.
He answered.
“Hello?”
His expression changed immediately.
“What?”
He stood.
Vanessa and I looked at each other.
Dad grabbed his keys.
“We need to go.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He looked furious.
“Your grandmother packed a suitcase.”
My stomach twisted.
“She left?”
Dad shook his head.
“Worse.”
May you like
He looked directly at me.
“She went to your mother's house.”
