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Prologue

Giselle

“I know you’re cheating on me! Admit it!” Mom chucks a vase across the rooh, and it hits his shoulder before it crashes onto the tiled floor, breaking into adown her cheeks She turns around, her possessed eyes searching for another item to throw My dad uses thatarile body froet out of his hold, but he’s stronger “Let go ofto kill you! You’re such a piece of shit liar!”

Ignoring the hateful words she’s spewing, he pulls her down onto the couch as I pop the lid to one of her prescription bottles and shake out two pills While he’s holding her down, I pry her ag, herup my spine She continues to kick and thrash around while Dad holds her tight, waiting for the pills to h her system and temporarily calm the beast inside her

She was doing so well the past few ot her ht She was so happy and cheerful It was as if she was on cloud nine Until she wasn’t And now, once again, it seems we’re back to where we started

Once Moin to droop, Dad lessens his hold on her, and my sister makes her presence known “Is Mom okay?” she asks quietly, afraid if she speaks too loudly she ht poke the beast, which in our

“She’s okay, Addy” I cut across the roo When she was little and Mom would lash out, she would hide in her bedrooet her Now that Adrianna is older, she no longer hides She’s too worried about ourherself or one of us But because of how violent et her under control

“Dad, I think she needs to see a psychiatrist again,” I say toher like this” My eyes dart tolifeless on the couch, still in my father’s arms My heart breaks every time we have to sedate her, but we don’t have any choice It’s either that or she will end up hurting one of us, and then when she wakes up and realizes what she did, she will sink even further into depression It’s a shitty no-win situation

Dad silently shakes his head in frustration as he lifts my mom and carries her to their bedroorabs his briefcase and cell phone and heads toward the front door without saying a word This is what he always does when she gets like this Hides away at his office Soone for days at a time, but it’s pointless to call him out on it He’s the only breadwinner in this family, which means we need him He pays the bills and attempts to take care of our mom And I love him, even if many days I also hate him When he comes home and smells of another woman’s perfume, I want to smack him senseless, yet at the same time, I can understand why he does what he does He’s onecare of her than actually being with her Their kisses have turned to tears, and their love that once upon a ti even the darkest of days has been covered by a dark, black cloud that has been stagnant directly over our life for too many years

“Dad,” I call out, refusing to let hi this “She needs help”

“What do you want from me, Giselle?” he snaps “Our insurance barely covers the appointments, let alone the inable, and nothing fucking works I’ for my response, he’s out the door

“I found this,” Adrianna says softly once the door has sla about, and in her hands is my acceptance letter to NYU Paris I received in theup

“How h my stuff?” I swipe the paper out of her hands She frowns, and I immediately feel bad