“You heard her, Maya,” my dad snapped, his voice hard and uncompromising. “Your sister needs to go to the spa to relax. That’s more important right now than your little presentation. You always overreact and make everything about you.”
“But we have two cars sitting in the garage!” I cried out, pointing toward the door. “Dad, please! I pay for—”
Smack!
The blow came so fast I didn’t even see his hand move.
A thunderous, open-handed slap landed squarely across the left side of my face. The sheer force of Arthur’s heavy hand snapped my head violently to the side. My vision flashed white, and a sharp, ringing tone erupted in my left ear. I collapsed entirely onto the floor, my shoulder hitting the leg of the coffee table.
A hot, sharp pain blossomed on my lip where my teeth had bitten into the soft flesh. I reached up, my fingers trembling, and touched the corner of my mouth. They came away stained with bright red blood.
They told me my sister’s spa day was more important than my career. They slapped me for begging for a ride, thinking my silence was defeat. They didn’t realize that my bleeding lip was just the price of admission to a new life, and the unpaid bills were their eviction notice.
“You’re such a nuisance,” my father roared, rubbing his palm as he stood over me. His face was twisted in an ugly sneer. “Always demanding things! Always trying to cause drama! Why can’t you be like your sister, obedient and reasonable for once in your miserable life? Get out of my sight!”
I sat on the floor, the metallic, salty taste of my own blood seeping across my tongue.
