Chapter 2
My father's face changed so completely that I barely recognized him.
One moment, he was angry.
The next, he looked as though someone had reached into his chest and crushed his heart.
Claire kept reaching for her phone.
"Marcus, you're misunderstanding everything!"
Dad moved away from her.
"Stop."
His voice was quiet.
That frightened me more than shouting.
Lily stood beside the kitchen doorway, holding the crumpled reminder.
I stayed near my trophy.
Nobody moved.
Then Dad read the message aloud.
"Once Marcus agrees to the boarding school, we won't have to deal with Nia's endless demands anymore. Tonight should help him see how difficult she is."
My stomach dropped.
Boarding school?
I stared at Claire.
"What?"
She closed her eyes.
Dad looked at the screen again.
The message had been sent that morning.
At 9:24.
Twelve minutes after she read my reminder.
It was addressed to someone named Vanessa.
I recognized the name.
Vanessa was Claire's older sister.
She visited occasionally and always acted annoyed when I talked about soccer.
Claire shook her head.
"That was a private conversation."
Dad stared at her.
"You were planning to send my daughter away?"
"No!"
He lifted the phone.
"Then explain what you wrote."
Claire looked toward me.
For a moment, I thought she might apologize.
Instead, she said something that made my chest hurt.
"Nia has become too demanding."
I stepped backward.
Dad's expression hardened.
"She's thirteen."
"I know how old she is."
"She wanted someone at her championship game."
Claire threw up her hands.
"And apparently that makes me a terrible person!"
Lily began crying.
"Mom, please stop."
Claire turned sharply.
"Go upstairs, Lily."
My stepsister didn't move.
"Mom, you did throw away the paper."
Claire's face tightened.
"Lily!"
Dad stepped between them.
"Don't shout at her."
Claire stared at him.
Then she looked at me.
"This is exactly what I mean. Everything revolves around Nia."
I couldn't breathe.
For three years, I had been trying to make Claire like me.
I cleaned my room.
I helped with dinner.
I babysat Lily.
I rarely complained.
Whenever Claire bought Lily new clothes, I told myself I didn't need anything.
Whenever she attended Lily's dance performances but missed my games, I made excuses.
Maybe she didn't like sports.
Maybe she was busy.
Maybe being a stepmother was difficult.
Now I understood.
She didn't want me there.
"Dad?"
My voice sounded tiny.
He immediately turned.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"What boarding school?"
His face broke.
He came toward me.
"Nia, listen—"
"Are you sending me away?"
"No."
He answered so quickly that I started crying.
"No, baby. Absolutely not."
Claire crossed her arms.
"Marcus, you're making promises before hearing the full situation."
Dad turned.
"There is no situation where I secretly send my daughter away because my wife doesn't want to attend her games."
Claire looked stunned.
"I never said it like that."
"You wrote it."
He held up the phone.
I looked toward Lily.
She was crying silently.
Suddenly, I felt terrible for her.
Claire was her mother.
And Lily had just told the truth against her.
I stepped toward my stepsister.
"Lily, it's okay."
She shook her head.
"No."
Her voice broke.
"It's not okay."
Then she looked at Dad.
"Mom told me Nia was going to a special school."
The room became silent again.
Dad slowly turned.
"When?"
Lily wiped her cheeks.
"Last week."
I stared at her.
Last week.
Claire had been planning this before my championship.
"She said Nia would get to play soccer there."
I looked at Dad.
He seemed genuinely shocked.
"Claire?"
She looked away.
"I was researching options."
"Without discussing them with me?"
"I was going to."
"When?"
She didn't answer.
Dad took a deep breath.
Then he turned toward me.
"Nia, I need you to hear me clearly."
I looked up.
"You are not being sent away."
My lips trembled.
"Promise?"
He knelt.
"I promise."
He held out his hand.
I took it.
"You belong here. This is your home."
I began crying again.
He hugged me tightly.
Over his shoulder, I saw Claire watching us.
Her expression wasn't apologetic.
She looked furious.
That hurt almost as much as the message.
After several minutes, Dad asked Lily to take me into the kitchen.
He told us to get some water and sit together.
I didn't want to leave him.
But he promised he would stay nearby.
Lily and I sat at the breakfast table.
She placed the crumpled reminder between us.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
I looked at her.
"For what?"
"For throwing it away."
I swallowed.
"Did Mom tell you to?"
She nodded.
"She said it was old."
I looked at my purple handwriting.
I had written that reminder three weeks earlier.
I remembered standing on a chair to place it high enough that nobody could miss it.
Lily began crying.
"I should have asked you."
I reached across the table.
"It's not your fault."
She shook her head.
"I knew it was important."
I squeezed her hand.
"You told Dad the truth."
She looked up.
"Are you mad at me?"
I almost laughed through my tears.
"No, Lily."
She moved around the table and hugged me.
I held her.
For the past three years, Lily had been the closest thing I had to a little sister.
She borrowed my hair clips.
Followed me around the house.
Asked me to help with homework.
And sometimes fell asleep beside me while we watched movies.
I loved her.
Even if her mother didn't love me.
From the living room, we heard Claire raise her voice.
"You always choose Nia over me!"
Dad answered firmly.
"She is my daughter."
"And I'm your wife!"
"Those aren't competing positions."
Silence followed.
Then Claire said something so quietly that I barely heard it.
"Vanessa was right. You were never going to put me first."
I looked at Lily.
Her face had gone pale.
Then Dad spoke.
"Claire, I want you to stay with Vanessa tonight."
Something crashed against the floor.
I flinched.
Lily grabbed my hand.
A moment later, Claire stormed past the kitchen.
She didn't look at me.
She didn't look at Lily.
She went straight upstairs.
Dad entered a few minutes later.
His face was exhausted.
"Girls?"
We both looked up.
"Everything is going to be okay."
I wanted to believe him.
But I had believed too many promises already.
That night, Claire packed a suitcase.
She kissed Lily's forehead.
Then walked past me without speaking.
I watched her leave.
Dad closed the front door.
For several seconds, he stood there silently.
Then he turned toward me.
"Nia, I'm sorry."
I looked down.
"I won the championship."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
I swallowed.
"Everyone else's family was there."
He came toward me.
"I know, baby."
"And I kept looking for someone."
He knelt beside me.
My voice broke.
"I thought maybe Mom would have come if she were still alive."
Dad began crying.
He pulled me close.
"Your mother would have been screaming louder than everyone."
I sobbed against his shoulder.
He held me until I could breathe again.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from Vanessa.
Dad looked at it.
His expression changed.
I watched him read.
Then he slowly sat down.
"Dad?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he whispered, "There's more."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
He looked toward the staircase.
Then back at me.
"Claire has already contacted a boarding school."
I froze.
"And according to Vanessa, she told them I approved the application."
I stared at him.
But Dad wasn't finished.
"She also told them you were having serious behavioral problems."
I felt the room spin.
May you like
Because suddenly, it wasn't just my championship she had tried to take away.
Claire was trying to take away my place in our family.
