When Love Dies: A Family's Tragic End

The first thing I felt was the splintering pain in my back, a sharp, ugly ache.

My art school interview, my one shot, was missed because a ladder slipped.

Instead of concern, my adoptive parents, the Davises, stood over me and my ruined canvases, their faces masks of fury.

"Stealing Emily's scholarship spot wasn't enough," my mother shrieked, "now you've sabotaged her art career? We never should have adopted you!"

My father grabbed me, hauling me up despite my cry of pain, and dragged me to the attic, slamming the door shut with a deafening metallic click.