Silently, I gathered my scattered clothes and picked up my college diploma. I brushed off the dust clinging to its cover, then gripped the two crumpled hundred-dollar bills tightly in my hand. With my back straight and head held high, I walked away from that grand, luxurious house that had never had warm in it.
Behind me, my father’s furious shouts still echoed, mixed with Linda’s fake words of comfort—
and muffled laughter from Leroy that he could no longer hold back.
The iron gate of the manor slowly swung shut behind me with a heavy clang, sealing off that different world from mine.
The sunlight was little harsh; I squinted, looking toward the city skyline in the distance, watching the endless flow of cars and people.
This time, I wouldn’t live like I did in my previous life—wandering aimlessly through the lowest depths of society, trading my life away for scraps with cheap labor.
Two hundred dollars. It was enough—enough to buy a train ticket back to my grandfather’s home.
If they didn’t want me living off the family, then for God’s sake, I wouldn’t.
***