I Changed My Fate Before It Fell

The second I changed my college preference to Northgate University, the bedroom door slammed open.

Mom stood in the doorway, her face livid. "Lena Ward! Get out here! Who do you think you are, pulling that attitude at dinner?

"Brynn is your cousin. How could you be so rude? Get out there and apologize to her. Now."

I didn't move. I stared at the confirmation message on the screen and kept my voice flat.

"I don't have anything to apologize for."

"You—" She crossed the room in three quick strides and grabbed my arm. "Have you lost your mind? So what I say doesn't matter anymore, is that it? You're apologizing today whether you like it or not!"

She hauled me out of the chair and dragged me, stumbling, to the dining table.

Brynn was there, her eyes swollen and red, curled up against Drew Calloway like a frightened animal.

"Lena, apologize to Brynn," Mom ordered, her grip still locked around my arm.

Brynn waved her hands, her voice thick with tears. "No, no, it's okay, Aunt Diane. It's my fault. I'm the one who upset her."

Drew chimed in, a note of irritation in his tone. "Lena, knock it off. We already agreed. Wherever I go to school, you go to the same one.

"There was nothing wrong with that arrangement. You're the one making a scene.

"Brynn's not well. You know she can't take this kind of thing. Just say you're sorry and we can all move on."

I looked at the three of them and the whole scene suddenly struck me as absurd.

"Making a scene?" I almost laughed. "I know exactly what I'm doing. I just changed my—"

Before I could finish, a slap cracked across my face so hard it snapped my head sideways. My vision went black at the edges. Mom had put everything she had into it.

"And you have the nerve to talk back!"

Her voice cracked as it climbed higher. "Lena! I raised you for nothing! Have you forgotten? Your father died when you were young. Do you remember how hard things were?

"I was alone with you. We barely survived. And who helped us? Your uncle!"

She was crying now, jabbing a finger at me. "Your uncle could barely make ends meet himself. But when you got that fever and had to be hospitalized? He was the one running around borrowing money to cover the bills.

"And later, when he had a chance at a better position, a real opportunity, he turned it down just so he could stay close enough to look after us. I owe him for that, and I'll never be able to pay that back.

"Now your uncle and your aunt are both gone, and their only daughter was left in my care. So I will take care of her. And that includes you.

"You don't get to mistreat her."