I didn't even need to think about it. That comment had Maureen written all over it.
No one else hated me that much.
I'd never come back with any intention of returning to that so-called family. I'd never once thought about taking anything from her.
So why? Why couldn't she just leave me alone?
Tears fell onto the screen before I could stop them, blurring those disgusting photos into smears of color.
The comments kept piling up. Some called me shameless. Others said I was doing it for attention. A few even tagged the university administration, demanding I be expelled.
My heart grew colder with every word.
I didn't want to run. I couldn't afford to.
I got up, changed my clothes, and headed for the door, determined to explain everything to the dean.
The moment I opened it, I found Amos and Savannah standing in the hallway.
Disappointment was etched deep into both their faces. Amos looked especially furious, the kind of anger that came from believing someone had failed you beyond repair.
Before I could say a word, he started in on me.
"Explain. Those photos online. What the hell is going on?"
"What's it to you?" I shot back.
That set him off. He planted himself in the corridor and raised his voice so the entire floor could hear.
"You are our daughter!"
"Everything you do reflects on us. Do you understand that?"
I stared at him, unblinking.
Savannah tugged at her husband's arm. "That's enough. Don't yell. I'm sure she didn't want this to happen either."
She pulled me back inside the apartment as she spoke, her tone shifting between tenderness and suspicion like a needle on a broken compass.
"Sweetheart, nobody wants something like this to happen. Don't be too hard on yourself."
"You're an adult now. Having a boyfriend is perfectly normal. We can't control your personal life."
"But... but you have to respect yourself!"
"Just because your adoptive parents aren't around to guide you anymore doesn't mean you can let yourself go and do something this humiliating..."
I cut her off, each word deliberate and sharp.
"You don't get to mention my adoptive parents. And you sure as hell don't get to lecture me."
Savannah froze. She clearly hadn't expected that.
Amos jabbed a finger at me and erupted.
"We don't get to? Look at yourself! You've thrown away every shred of dignity you had, and you still care about that?"
My gaze was steady when I answered.
"What makes you so sure those photos were taken with my consent?"
"And what makes you so sure I don't respect myself?"
Amos let out a laugh that held no humor at all. "Weren't you the one who transferred back here on your own?"
"Why else would you suddenly show up the moment our family has money?"
"Something like this happening to you? You brought it on yourself!"
Brought it on myself.
Those words drove into my chest like a blade.
Twelve years of buried grief, twelve years of swallowed resentment, detonated all at once.
I shot to my feet and screamed at them.
"Twelve years!"
"You could've just lived your lives and left me out of it. Why did you have to come find me?"
"Just pretend I don't exist. Is that so hard?"
"Your family? I never wanted to go back. Not once. I don't want any part of it!"
The color drained from Amos's face, then flooded back an ugly, mottled red.
"You... what did you just say?"
I looked at them both, my expression cold as stone.
"Stop coming to see me. Please."
"If you're here because you feel some flicker of guilt about the past, let me save you the trouble. Don't bother."
"The moment you gave me away all those years ago..."
"My parents died."
The slap came before the last syllable left my mouth.
The side of my face burned white-hot. My ears rang, a high-pitched whine drowning out everything else.
Amos stood over me, finger trembling with rage.
"How did I ever bring something like you into this world? An ungrateful little wretch!"
