The other end of the line went silent."Last week, I told Dad that if I don't divorce Carl, I might die out there. Guess what he said?"Aunt Lydia tried to calm me down. "He was just angry, Julia.""He said, 'If you're going to die, die in Carl's house'." I forced a smile, but it pulled at the wound, making me gasp in pain.Aunt Lydia sighed. "Your dad's just worried that Leonel can't find—""I get it," I interrupted her. "So I need them to understand something too. From now on, my life has nothing to do with them anymore."That night, Carl kicked me out of the house again just because "the food was too salty".I curled up on the cold stairs in the hallway, listening to him rant inside, tearing the place apart, and accusing me of hiding more money.I knew that if I didn't leave now, the next time he beat me unconscious, I might not wake up.The next morning, I went to the pawn shop in the southern part of the city.I reached into my inner pocket and pulled out a small cloth p
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