All Chapters of They Made Me Play Peacemaker on My Birthday: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

"Liv, do something about your control-freak mother. I seriously can't take her anymore."Lily grabbed my arm, her eyes red with anger. "Where I go to college is my choice. What gives her the right to change my applications?"Mom had just followed her out of the bedroom. Her face darkened the moment she heard that."I raised you all these years just for you to turn out this ungrateful? Fine. I'm telling you right now. If you apply to a college out of state, I won't give you a dime."They stood on opposite sides of the living room, glaring at each other, but both turned to me at the same time.Waiting for me to pick a side.It had been this way for more than a decade. Whenever they fought, I coaxed Lily into coming home. Whenever Mom got angry, I apologized on Lily's behalf. Once they'd made up, I cleaned whatever they'd knocked around and washed the dishes that had gone cold in the sink.I was about to step in like I always did when my eyes fell on the hem of Lily's dress.Tiny white fl

I stood in the hallway, water dripping from my hair onto my bare feet.So that was what made me "different."It wasn't that I was braver, or that Mom had more faith in me. She simply didn't think I needed anyone looking out for me.I went back to my tiny bedroom, which had been converted from a storage room, and checked my phone. My boss had emailed me that afternoon.The company's Norham branch needed someone to lead a project. It came with a promotion and required relocating for at least two years. He wanted to know if I was interested.I'd been planning to turn it down.Mom had high blood pressure, Lily would be starting college soon, and somehow it always seemed as though this family couldn't function without me.Now I opened the email again and typed my reply.[I accept the transfer. I can start Monday.]Once it went through, my phone returned to the home screen.June 17, my twenty-sixth birthday.I hadn't made a birthday wish, but I had finally made a decision for myself.The nex

Neither of them had ever stopped to think about why Olivia was so good at putting everything back together.Now she wasn't there to do it.The night college applications were due, Faye and Lily fought from seven in the evening until well past midnight. Lily insisted on applying to schools up north, so Faye unplugged the router.In tears, Lily rushed into Olivia's tiny bedroom to look for her old laptop, only to find the room half empty. The computer was gone, along with the blue notebook Olivia used to track the household expenses. A few empty hangers were all that remained in the closet, tapping softly against one another whenever the breeze stirred them.For the first time, it sank in that Olivia had really moved out. This wasn't a business trip she'd be back from in a few days.Lily pulled open the bottom drawer and found a clear folder containing a few old receipts Olivia had left behind.The one on top was from the summer program abroad Lily had attended during her junior year of

Finally, she held out the paper bag. "I washed the dress.""You can keep it.""But it's yours."I didn't take it. "The fabric was mine. The dress isn't. It was made to fit you."Lily's eyes immediately filled with tears. She tightened her grip on the edge of the bag. "I knew that day," she said quietly. "I knew you'd bought the fabric, and I knew the dress was supposed to be your birthday present. Mom said you wouldn't really be mad, so I wore it anyway."She sniffed. "Liv, I'm sorry."I studied her. This was probably the first time Lily had apologized without hiding behind "I'm younger" or "Mom gave it to me.""Is that all you came here for? To bring me the dress?"She shook her head and pulled a clear folder from her backpack. Inside were the old receipts she'd found, along with a bank card."I applied for financial aid, and I got a part-time job for weekends. From now on, I'll figure out my own tuition and living expenses." She held out the card. "There's six thousand dollars in he

There was no "Mom" or anything else attached to the message, but Faye stared at it for a long time anyway. She didn't ask who Olivia was celebrating with, where she was going, or why she wasn't coming home.She simply replied, [Okay.]On my twenty-seventh birthday, Megan tricked me into walking into the conference room. The moment I opened the door, streamers rained down on me.A six-inch cake sat on the table, its frosting still perfectly intact. The candles were a two and a seven, and beside them was a handwritten card.[Olivia, no working late on your birthday!]Someone turned off the lights, and more than a dozen people launched into "Happy Birthday." Nobody was quite in sync, and by the last line, half the room was laughing.I stood in front of the candles for a moment before Megan nudged me. "Make a wish."I closed my eyes.A year ago, all I'd wanted was for my family to spend one evening with me at the movies. This year, I thought about it for a long time and realized there was