For three years, I had also financed the household.
When Dad’s hours were reduced, I helped with the mortgage. Soon I was covering utilities, groceries, and supplementary credit cards for Mom and Madison. Each request seemed temporary, but the help never ended.
Months earlier, I had created a spreadsheet listing everything I had paid.
The total was $83,412.
I had been researching apartments ever since, but I had not found the courage to leave.
Standing among the pieces of my dress, that hesitation disappeared.
“Okay,” I said when Dad mentioned the loan.
Everyone relaxed, believing I had agreed.
“I’ll handle it.”
After they left, I packed my clothes, documents, laptop, jewelry, and everything that could not be replaced.
At 11:30 that night, I opened my banking apps.
I removed myself from the mortgage and utility payments. I canceled the grocery service and deactivated the extra cards used by Mom and Madison.
