Chapter 2 - The Place She Was Afraid to Lose
Celeste didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she reached for her water glass.
David watched her fingers tighten around it.
“You're twisting everything,” she told Nia.
Nia lowered the paper into her lap.
David pulled a chair beside his daughter rather than standing over Celeste.
“Start wherever you need to,” he said.
Nia stared at the stains on her sleeves.
“I don't know where.”
“Then start with this week.”
She swallowed.
But the trouble hadn't started that week.
It had started so quietly that Nia hadn't recognized it as trouble.
When David married Celeste four years earlier, Nia had wanted their blended family to work.
Her mother, Camille, had died when Nia was ten.
For nearly two years afterward, the house had felt enormous and empty.
David had worked too much, slept too little, and tried to hold everything together.
When Celeste entered their lives, she brought laughter, organized family dinners, and two younger children who adored Nia almost immediately.
Jordan wanted her to help with homework.
Lily followed her everywhere.
Nia enjoyed being their big sister.
At first, watching them after school felt natural.
Then Celeste began asking her to prepare snacks.
Soon Nia was responsible for washing uniforms, helping with homework, cleaning the kitchen, and supervising the children whenever Celeste had catering orders.
David's job managing regional deliveries often kept him out until evening.
He saw a clean house and three children doing well in school.
He mistook the results for evidence that everybody was happy.
Nia rarely complained.
She remembered her father's exhausted face when he came home.
She also remembered the promise he had made after her mother's funeral.
“There will always be room for you at my table.”
She had believed him.
Until Celeste started making her feel like a guest who had overstayed her welcome.
Sometimes the changes were small.
Jordan and Lily received new sneakers while Nia was told hers could last another semester.
The younger children watched television while she washed dishes.
When the family ordered takeout, Celeste occasionally forgot to include her.
If Nia spoke up, Celeste would say she was ungrateful.
And whenever David was present, the rules became gentler.
Celeste asked Nia about school.
She praised her for helping.
She called her sweetheart.
Nia learned that telling the truth meant contradicting a woman who could behave like two entirely different people.
Then the fellowship acceptance arrived.
Lakeside Young Designers was a selective, fully funded summer program for teenagers interested in architecture and community design.
Nia had submitted drawings of a neighborhood library.
She had designed wide windows, an outdoor reading garden, and a quiet room for children who needed somewhere peaceful to go.
Her teachers loved the project.
David had hugged her when she was accepted.
“Your mom would've been so proud.”
For the first time in years, Nia felt she had a future that belonged to her.
Celeste congratulated her at dinner.
Then, privately, she asked who would watch Jordan and Lily during the summer.
Nia suggested arranging another sitter.
Celeste stared at her.
“With whose money?”
“I thought maybe—”
“You thought you could just walk away from everybody who depends on you?”
Nia apologized.
After that, Celeste began criticizing the program.
It was too far away.
Too inconvenient.
Too demanding.
Nia needed to learn that family came before hobbies.
Two days earlier, Celeste had brought out the withdrawal form.
She said David had decided Nia should stay home for the summer.
Nia refused to sign anything.
Celeste's expression changed.
“You really think your father wants another summer of arguments over you?”
Nia had felt sick.
Then Celeste showed her the second statement.
It described Nia as disruptive and aggressive toward the younger children.
It suggested that a temporary placement with her mother's sister, Denise, would reduce tension in the household.
Nia stared at the words.
“I never hurt Jordan or Lily.”
Celeste's reply was quiet.
“Then don't give me a reason to make this uglier.”
At the dining table, David finally turned the paper over.
He read the statement.
He read Nia's shaky signature.
Then he noticed a sentence near the bottom.
Proposed family placement to begin Sunday.
It was Thursday.
David lifted his head.
“Sunday?”
Nia nodded.
“She said Aunt Denise was coming to get me.”
Celeste looked away.
David stared at her.
“You were planning to send my daughter away in three days?”
Nia began crying again.
“Dad, I thought you knew.”
That was when David understood something devastating.
May you like
His daughter hadn't simply been afraid of her stepmother.
She had been afraid her father had agreed with her.
