Chapter 4

Maxine POV.

The sun had begun setting as I walked home. Coreen never waited for me, and so I had to walk back home from the university. Thank God she never wanted to give me a lift in their car because for sure the atmosphere between me and her will explode. Closer to my house, I remembered Leo. It reminded me that Sarah is the only real friend that I have and that I should shut everyone else out. What was awry for me was the fact that Alph knew everything that went on. Did he know all along that Leo was using me?

Forget about it self, for sure, he doesnt even care so why he would?

Reaching the mansion, I beheld the sight that nailed me to the floor. My mother, down on her knees, tears streaming down her face as she begged from my stepfather—Coreen's father. His expression was in rage.

"Out, you liar! This is no place for you!" Every word oozed with venom as he spoke.

My heart broke to pieces at the sight of my mother—my only family—being humiliated this way. As I stood at the gate, my stepfather's eyes fell on me. "Great, you are just in time to watch your mother get thrown out."

To the side, Coreen looked pleased with herself and turned those venomous eyes to me. "Oh look, there goes the fat, ugly daughter to join her disgraceful mother. Perfect timing."

Then I saw red. I went up to Mother, my voice trembling with rage. "Hey, what's going on here? Why are you treating my mom like this?"

Coreen's smirk turned into a full-fledged smile. "We caught your mom in a lie to my dad. So, Dad decided to throw her—and you—out. Now, scram!"

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. My mother was many things but she wasn't a liar. "Mom, let's go," I said. My voice started to crack as I pulled up but she was in hysterical tears.

"Hon, please! It's not true! I'm not having an affair with that man!" she cried, clutching my arm desperately.

He thundered on, his face hard. "Just leave, Miranda. We're done."

With a heart breaking for my mother's innocence, I helped her to her feet. "Come on, Mom," I whispered, supporting her as we walked away from the mansion.

Coreen's laughter followed us as we left. "Good riddance!" she called out. "Don't come back!"

The silence between us was heavy and only broken by quiet sobs from my mother. Once we were far enough from the mansion, I stopped and turned back to her.

"Mom, we'll find a way. We'll be okay," I said, trying to comfort her.

She nodded weakly, wiping her tears. "Sorry, Maxine, sorry for everything."

"Don't apologize. We'll get through this together," I said, holding her close.

That night, we found ourselves in a small, tumbledown motel. It was way beyond our standards of luxury, but at least it was a roof over our heads. I helped my mother settle in, and then, after she had fallen asleep, I sat by the window, staring out into the darkened street.

I had a jumbled mass of anger, sadness, and fierce determination that we didn't need the Sanders' money or their mansion to be happy. But how could he so casually and unfeelingly betray us? My stepfather, who was supposed to take care of us, turned his back on us. And Coreen—even though she'd always been a thorn in my side, she had finally succeeded in driving us from our home.

The next morning, I awoke first thing, and my mind started racing with schemes. Schemes were in need to obtain food. My mother couldn't work; neither could we stay here in this motel forever.

I job-searched all day, but without a degree or experience, there wasn't much to pick from. It was just one rejection after the other. By the time I returned to the motel, I was weary, defeated.

Mom cast worried eyes upon me. "Anything?" she asked, her voice trembling.

I coaxed out a smile. "Not yet, but I will. Don't worry, Mom. We'll be okay.

Weeks turned into months as I continued the search for a job. My mother slowly pulled out of the shock of the eviction. She mentioned something about looking for a job too, but I told her she'd have to get well first.

It is one of those evenings when I am walking back to the motel that I bump into Sarah. She is shocked, to say the least. "Maxine? What are you doing here?"

I hesitated, not knowing what to say. "We. we had to leave the mansion," I said slowly. "My stepfather threw us out."

Sarah's eyes shot wide. "What? Why?"

"It's a long story," I replied, really not wanting to go into the details right then. "But we're managing."

Sarah's face softened. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know, okay?"

"Thanks, Sarah," I replied, with gratitude for the gesture. "I will.

Yet, through all this, I came to find a flicker of hope. I had Sarah, and I did have my mother. We might not have much, but we had one another. And that was enough for me to keep going.

At one time, I was going through job openings at the local library, and in one of the newspapers, I came across a vacancy for a part-time job in a bookstore. It wasn't really much, but it was something. Handed in the application in person, on the spot, and hoped that would be my break.

A week later, I got a call from the bookstore. They wanted to interview me. Rushing to the interview, I felt elated and so nervous. The manager was a lovely woman named Mrs. Thompson, who had all these questions for me regarding the books in her store and why I wanted the job.

"I've always loved books," I said honestly. "They've been my escape, my comfort. The thing is, I want to be able to relay that love to others.

Mrs. Thompson's smiled was warm. "That's a good answer, Maxine. You're hired."

How could that be? I wasn't jobless at all. It wasn't much, but I had a start. I darted back to the motel room to tell my mother, who hugged me tight, crying tears of joy.

"We'll be all right, you hear me? We'll get through this," I said, filled with a new resolve.

So my life was a balancing act between work and school for the next two weeks. There were a few times I had to cut classes just to be at work making my shifting schedule. I visited Dr. Lee, my professor, and told her what had transpired with my life. She was very understanding, supportive. Earning my own money was a minor yet gigantic step toward independence. Meanwhile I was scrubbing the floor of the bookstore as a customer spilled a nice cold iced coffee all over the place: brown streams of liquid freedom flowed everywhere and in the process of mopping that up my thick, comforting hoodie became damp. The real sinner here, though, would be Drake—one of Coreen's everyday lackeys. Of course, it had to be him. I shot him a glare, and he smirked back at me before walking off, no doubt to leave me with the mess and my simmering frustration.

My shift finally over, I was ready to get back to the motel. But when I arrived, Mom met me at the door with an excited yet nervous expression.

"We're moving," she said, handing me a piece of paper with an address.

I was speechless. "What? Moving? But why?"

Mom urged me to go and I went, though entirely lost in my thoughts. As I drove through the increasingly unfamiliar upscale street—something felt very wrong. Eventually, I pulled up right in front of a grandiose, gated compound. My jaws fell as I viewed the mansion beyond the gate.

Mom was standing at the door, waving excitedly. The impression was that I had entered another world. This was no tiny apartment—this was a palace.

"Why are we here?" I asked in a disbelieving voice.

"This is our new home, dear," Mom chirped brightly.

"What?! How? This place looks like it's owned by some rich family, and we know we're not—

"Oh, darling Maxine, do come, let me show you," she added, almost dragging me toward the mansion.

Upon opening the door, a maid seemed to invade the house with her pale, white uniform. I felt more disoriented than ever before. The mistress of the house carried me through a garden as great as the one I was used to in my old home, but this was complemented by an artificial pool and dazzlingly green lawns. Everything was exaggerated, completely different from the plain walls of our motel room.

"Is she your daughter?" a voice asked. I turned to find a man reminiscent of a magazine–handsome, impeccably dressed, and oozing charisma. He could have been about Mom's age.

"Yes, Ador," my mother gushed as she clung to the man's arm. "Welcome to my family, Maxine."

Family!? My heart raced as I grappled with this turn of events that seemed straight out of fantasy.

I frantically pinched at my mom's arm. "What's going on? Why are we here?"

"This is your new dad, Maxine," she said, smiling, the smile looking like a mix of happiness and anxiety.

"Are you out of your mind, Mom? Let's go home. Maybe I'm just dreaming."

"No, honey," her voice was firm. " We reconnected last week and started dating. It all happened really fast."

"What mean? Just like that?"

"Yes. So please, dear, be nice, okay?

"Oh, shush, hon," I said back, shellshocked. "I feel icky. Where are my clothes?"

"Your room is there, on the left," she said, pointing up a sweeping staircase. "I'll introduce you to Ador properly later."

I just nodded my head with what she was saying. On arriving in the room just pointed out, I darted to the bathroom and removed my coffee-stained hoodie. My mind was a little lost in thoughts and longing for a hot, cleansing shower.

Instead, I stopped at the moment of pulling open the shower door because there was a naked guy under the spray, completely naked. My scream could have reverberated around the bathroom; maybe my eyes popped out in disbelief.

The man turned around, and the face was exposed—it was Alph, the handsome popular Alph! Our gazes locked into each other for a moment; the air was weighty with awkwardness and embarrassment. There I stood in my bra, half-nakedly attired while Alph looked at me with a mixture of surprise and discomfort.

"Alph!" I gasped, my cheeks flushing with a mix of embarrassment and confusion.