Chapter 1: Six Months in Pieces
“It was hideous anyway.””
Mia said it while holding the scissors.
Not apologizing.
Not panicking.
Laughing.
I stood frozen in the doorway of my bedroom, staring at strips of pale blue fabric scattered across the hardwood floor.
For a few seconds, my brain refused to understand what I was seeing.
Then I recognized the tiny pearl buttons.
The satin waistband.
The embroidered flowers along the hem.
My graduation dress.
The dress I had spent six months saving for.
Destroyed.
“Mia…”
My voice came out so quietly that I barely heard it.
My stepsister turned toward me, still holding the silver scissors.
She was twenty-one, two years older than me, and she had perfected that particular smile over the years—the one she wore whenever she knew she had hurt me and wanted me to know she enjoyed it.
“What?”” she asked.
I stepped into the room.
A piece of the sleeve lay beside my shoe.
I bent down and picked it up.
My fingers started trembling.
“Why would you do this?””
Mia shrugged.
“You were acting like that dress made you special.””
I looked up at her.
“What are you talking about?””
“Oh, come on, Emma.”” She rolled her eyes.
“You’ve been talking about graduation for months. The ceremony. The dinner.
The pictures. That stupid dress.””
“I worked for it.””
“So?””
“I worked six months for it.””
My throat tightened.
Every Saturday morning at the café.
Every Sunday afternoon at the grocery store.
Every Friday night when my friends went out and I stayed behind wiping tables until closing.
I had skipped movies.
Skipped dinners.
Skipped buying new shoes even after the soles of mine started separating.
I remembered standing outside the boutique window the first time I saw the dress.
It wasn’t even outrageously expensive.
Not compared with the things Mia owned.
But in our house, Dad had always insisted that if I wanted something unnecessary, I should learn to earn it.
So I did.
Dollar by dollar.
Shift by shift.
And now it was lying in pieces.
“You knew what this meant to me,” I whispered.
Mia crossed her arms.
“That’s exactly why I did it.””
My stomach dropped.
Before I could answer, another voice came from the hallway.
“What is all this crying about?””
My stepmother, Vanessa, appeared in the doorway.
She looked from me to Mia.
Then to the shredded dress.
I waited for her expression to change.
It didn’t.
“Mia cut my graduation dress,” I said.
Vanessa sighed as though I had told her someone had spilled juice.
“Stop overreacting.””
I stared at her.
“Overreacting?””
“It’s just a piece of cloth, Emma.””
“Mom,” Mia said with a little laugh, “you should’ve seen her face.””
Vanessa gave her daughter a warning glance, but there was no anger behind it.
“Mia, that wasn’t necessary.””
“That’s it?”” I asked.
Vanessa turned toward me.
“What exactly do you want me to do?””
“Maybe tell her she had no right to destroy something I bought with my own money?””
Vanessa's mouth tightened.
“There you go again.””
“Again?””
“Making everything about money.””
I actually laughed.
I couldn't help it.
“Mia is carrying a handbag that costs three thousand dollars.””
Mia instinctively pulled her cream-colored designer bag closer.
Vanessa's eyes hardened.
“That was a birthday gift.””
“And my dress was something I earned.””
“You’re becoming disrespectful.””
“No. I’m asking you to care.””
The words came out before I could stop them.
Silence.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Be very careful how you speak to me in my house.””
My house.
She always said that when Dad wasn’t around.
I looked at Mia.
She was smiling again.
That hurt more than the dress.
“Graduation is tomorrow,” I said.
“What am I supposed to wear?””
Mia tilted her head.
“Maybe your work uniform.””
She laughed.
Vanessa didn't.
But she didn't tell her to stop either.
My eyes burned.
I hated that they could see me crying.
I turned away and knelt beside the ruined dress, gathering the pieces into my arms.
That was when Mia tossed something onto the floor beside me.
The scissors.
They landed with a metallic clatter.
“Here,” she said.
“Maybe you can sew it back together.””
“Mia,” Vanessa murmured.
“What? I’m helping.””
Then a man's voice came from behind them.
“What happened to the dress?””
Everything stopped.
Mia's smile disappeared.
Vanessa slowly turned around.
Dad stood in the hallway.
David Carter had come home early.
His suit jacket was folded over one arm, his tie loosened after work.
His eyes weren't on me.
They were on the floor.
On the shredded fabric.
Then on the scissors.
Then on Mia.
“Emma,” he said quietly.
“What happened?””
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Mia answered first.
“It was an accident.””
I looked at her in disbelief.
Dad did too.
“An accident?””
“The scissors slipped.””
“Twenty-seven times?”” I asked.
“Emma,” Vanessa snapped.
Dad raised one hand.
Vanessa went silent.
He stepped into my bedroom and crouched beside me.
He picked up a piece of the dress.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked at me.
“You bought this yourself, right?””
I nodded.
“How long did you save?””
“Six months.””
His jaw tightened.
Dad stood.
He turned toward Mia.
“Did you cut this dress?””
Mia glanced at her mother.
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“David, they're sisters. They had an argument. We don't need to turn this into—”
“I asked Mia.””
Vanessa stopped.
Dad looked directly at my stepsister.
“Did you cut Emma's dress?””
Mia shifted her weight.
“It was ugly.””
Dad's expression changed.
Not dramatically.
That was what frightened everyone.
He became completely calm.
“So you destroyed it because you didn't like it?””
Mia's confidence flickered.
“She was being annoying about graduation.””
Dad nodded once.
Then he walked past her.
Straight toward her bedroom.
“David?”” Vanessa called.
He didn't answer.
Mia followed him.
“What are you doing?””
I remained in my doorway, still clutching the pieces of my dress.
Dad entered Mia's room.
He walked to her closet.
Then he reached inside and pulled something from the shelf.
Mia gasped.
Her designer handbag.
The cream leather one Vanessa had given her for her birthday.
The one Mia wouldn't even place on restaurant floors.
The one she kept inside a protective cloth bag when she wasn't using it.
“Dad,” Mia said.
He carried it back into my room and placed it on my desk.
Then he bent down.
Picked up the scissors.
Mia's face drained of color.
“David,” Vanessa said sharply.
“Don't be ridiculous.””
Dad opened the blades.
The metal made a soft scraping sound.
He positioned them around the handbag's leather strap.
Mia rushed forward.
“No!””
Dad looked at her.
For the first time since I had known Mia, she looked genuinely terrified.
“You said it was just a piece of cloth,” Dad said quietly.
Vanessa stared at him.
“That bag cost three thousand dollars.””
Dad's eyes moved to her.
Then back to Mia.
“And Emma's dress cost her six months.””
His fingers tightened around the scissors.
Mia's voice cracked.
“You wouldn't.””
Dad looked at the leather strap between the blades.
Then he said something that wiped the last trace of arrogance from Mia's face.
May you like
“Wouldn't I?””
And the scissors began to close.
