The Second Chance She Stole

My mother' s voice, thick with religious fervor, announced her latest decree for SAT season: 100 days of no secular music, no TV, no internet.

This wasn't the first time.

I remembered falling down the stairs, Molly's raging accusations still ringing in my ears, right before the darkness consumed me.

Now, I was 16 again, trapped in the same suffocating reality, but with the chilling knowledge of how it all ended for me.

My twin sister, Molly, quickly embraced Mama's extreme rules, her 'pious' facade masking pure laziness, while I quietly perfected my escape plan.