Chapter 1
Lily’s POV
The house smelled like old cigarettes and the lemon cleaner my stepmom used when she wanted to pretend everything was normal, but nothing felt normal right now with the way my heart pounded in my chest and my palms got all sweaty from the yelling filling the room.
I stood there in the living room with my arms crossed tight across my chest, trying to look smaller while my stepfather kept going on and on, his face turning redder with every word he spat out.
“You think you can just steal money from my wallet and then lie straight to my face about it, Lily?” he shouted, his voice cracking a little on the last part like he was holding back from breaking down completely, and that made the whole thing feel even heavy because I could see the hurt mixed in with all that
