LILIANA
I've made it my mission to avoid him at all costs. If I hear his voice echoing somewhere in the house, I stay locked in my room. When I do leave, I take routes I know he wouldn't. It's easier this way—less suffocating.
I avoid Zip too. She's taken a sudden liking to Melanie, and the two of them seem to find joy in whispering and laughing just loud enough for me to overhear.
“Isn't it pathetic?” I once caught Zip saying in the hallway. “Acting like a guest when she's just another debt. How long until he gets bored and tosses her out like the rest?”
“Ouch!” Melanie exclaimed dramatically, a hand pressed to her chest. “That was too harsh.”
“You know you're worth more to the family than worthless tramps like her.” Zip said in a bid to appease her.
Their cruel laughter followed,
