My parents forced me to stay home to feed the dog and water the plants while the whole family went on vacation. When I asked why, my sister said, “That’s your role in this house.”

“tell them I would never hurt you.”

I thought about the locked door of my childhood bedroom after I once missed curfew by ten minutes. I thought about every family dinner where Vanessa’s mistakes were called stress and mine were called selfishness. I thought about the dog, the plants, the house, the note waiting for me like a trap.

“You already did,continue reading …