Chapter 2 - The Crash in the Foyer
I hoisted the heavy canvas suitcase by its worn leather handle and pushed past my trembling brother into the hallway. The air downstairs was thick with panic.
When I reached the top of the staircase, I looked down into the entryway. My mother was standing rigidly by the open front door, a heavy white envelope clutched in her white-knuckled grip as if it were a venomous snake. Scattered across the tiled floor at her feet were three glossy, heavy-stock photographs and a certified legal notification bearing the seal of the Ellison University Board of Regents.
Dad was kneeling on the rug, his hands hovering over the papers, his face turning the color of wet cement.
"What... what is this?" Dad whispered, his voice rising in pitch as his eyes scanned the bold text at the top of the first document: Notice of Administrative Review and Intent to Revoke Admission.
My mother looked up, her eyes locking onto mine as I descended the stairs. Her usual polished composure was entirely shattered, her mascara running in dark streaks down her cheeks. "Ava," she whimpered, her voice shaking violently. "What have you done to your brother?"
"To my brother?" I asked, stopping midway down the stairs, looking down at them with a calm detachment that seemed to terrify them more than screaming would have. "I didn't do anything to Brandon. I simply let people see what he's been doing with my social security number, my dead grandmother's trust, and Ellison's merit scholarship funds."
Dad surged to his feet, his face flushing a furious, mottled purple. He pointed a trembling finger at me. "You take that back! You are destroying your own flesh and blood over a petty family disagreement! We gave you a roof over your head!"
"You gave me a debt I didn't ask for," I replied, stepping down into the foyer.
May you like
Brandon finally stumbled down the stairs behind me, his voice pitching high and frantic. "Dad, tell her to call them back! Tell her to say it was a clerical error! If Ellison pulls my enrollment and my athletic sponsorship, the civil suits alone will bankrupt us before the trial even starts!"
---
