Chapter 4 - WHAT LAUREN HAD BEEN PLANNING
Two nights before the flat tire, Lauren had cornered me in the kitchen while Mom loaded the dishwasher and pretended not to hear us.
She slid a piece of paper across the counter and said, “You may as well make this official.”
It was a transfer form.
Mostly blank.
But my name was already written at the top.
I stared at it.
“What is this?”
“Don’t be dramatic,” she said. “Grandpa bought the car, but everyone knows I’m the one actually using it. It’ll simplify insurance.”
I laughed because the alternative was screaming.
“No.”
She leaned in.
“Madison, you live in Mom and Dad’s house. You don’t pay rent. You got handed a luxury car just because you had a baby. The least you can do is stop acting like everything is yours.”
Mom dried the same plate for almost three straight minutes without looking up.
I pushed the paper back.
“No.”
Lauren’s face sharpened instantly.
“Fine. Then don’t ask to use it anymore.”
I should have called Grandpa that night.
Instead, I did what I had been trained to do in this family.
I stayed quiet to keep the peace.
The problem with peace in a family like mine is that it is never actually peace.
It is surrender wearing a polite sweater.
Now, sitting in Grandpa’s warm sedan with Noah sleeping against me, I realized Lauren had probably already told herself the Cadillac was hers.
Maybe told other people too.
Maybe told the man she was dating.
Maybe told herself it didn’t matter that the title was still mine because eventually she would bully me into giving in.
Grandpa stepped closer to her.
“Did you ask Madison to transfer that car?”
Lauren’s eyes flicked toward Mom.
That was answer enough.
Mom whispered, “Dad, let’s not do this outside.”
“Outside,” Grandpa repeated, “is exactly where Madison and Noah were when I arrived.”
He turned toward Dad.
“You knew?”
Dad rubbed a hand over his mouth. “It’s just been tense around here.”
Grandpa nodded once.
May you like
That tiny nod frightened me more than shouting would have.
Because that meant he was done listening.
