3: 3
3
Dad dragged Mom back into their room, and by then I had lost all faith in this family.
I closed my eyes and thought back over how hard these years had been.
To keep bankrolling my cousin Scott and Uncle Ronald, she had all but emptied this house.
And Dad never stepped in.
He only kept telling me, over and over, not to cross Mom.
I quietly touched the lottery ticket in my pocket.
Tomorrow I would have money of my own. Enough to study abroad.
The moment I had the money, I would leave this house.
And I would never come back.
Early the next morning, Mom yanked me out of bed.
She looked at me and said, "Go out and buy your cousin breakfast."
I gave her one cold look, then shook my head. "No."
"I have work. I don't have time."
With that, I didn't wait for her to blow up. I got up and walked out the door.
I was done with this family. At this point I didn't want to spend another second under this roof.
I took a car to the state lottery office and, with my nerves on edge, handed the ticket over to the staff.
They told me the ticket was fine, and once the taxes were taken out, the money was deposited into the account I'd given them.
It was an account I had opened in secret.
Watching the money land in my account, I finally let out a breath.
I knew my life had changed for good.
From now on I had money of my own, and a life of my own.
I called my teacher and told him I'd take the study-abroad spot overseas.
On the other end, he sounded thrilled and said he'd help me apply for a tuition waiver.
"Beth, I know your situation, and studying abroad is definitely the best fit for you. They're willing to waive part of the tuition too."
"Still, even so, the cost of living overseas is high."
I told him I already had the living expenses covered, and then I hung up.
I knew that from here on, my life was only just beginning. Everything else no longer mattered.
After I hung up with my teacher, I went to my summer job and told my boss I probably couldn't keep working.
I was going to study abroad.
When he heard that, he smiled and said he was behind me. He not only paid my wages but slipped me a big cash bonus on top.
After leaving there, I went straight home.
What I didn't expect was to walk in and find Mom already there, waiting for me.
When she saw me come in with an envelope of cash in my hand, her eyes lit up at once.
She came right over to me and asked, "Did your boss give you that?"
I nodded.
Mom suddenly spoke up. "Beth, since your boss gave you a cash bonus,"
"why don't you use it to buy your cousin a gift?"
"After all, your cousin lives here with us. You should get him something."
And with that, she reached to take the envelope out of my hand, as if it wasn't up for discussion.
My eyes went wide, my whole face in disbelief.
"Mom, what did you just say?"
"You want me to buy Scott Henson a gift?"
