Chapter 2
The world stopped spinning. I couldn't have heard him right. Not here, not now, not like this.
"What?" My voice came out as barely a whisper.
"I said I want a divorce. This money is my fresh start, and I can't be held back by... mistakes."
Mistakes? The word hit me like a slap. Seventeen years of marriage. Two beautiful children. All of it—mistakes?
"Colton, what are you talking about?" Dolly stepped forward, her face shocked. "This some kind of joke?"
"No joke." He walked toward a red Camaro I'd never seen before, parked at the edge of our site. "I'd like everyone to meet my new girlfriend."
The car door opened, and out stepped this blonde girl who looked like she'd walked straight out of a music video. Couldn't have been older than twenty-two, wearing tight jeans and a crop top, everything about her screaming "I'm younger and hotter than you."
"Hi everyone," she said with this fake-sweet smile, waving like she was accepting some kind of award. "I'm Raven."
This can't be happening. My legs felt like Jell-O. The faces of my neighbors blurred together, all wearing the same expression of uncomfortable shock.
"Raven understands my ambitions," Colton said, wrapping his arm around her tiny waist.
"Your ambitions?" I found my voice, though it sounded foreign to my own ears. "Colton, you fix cars. What ambitions?"
A few people in the crowd shifted uncomfortably.
"See, that's the problem right there. No vision. Always thinking small."
Raven stepped forward, holding out her hand to show off a massive diamond ring. "Isn't it gorgeous? Colton picked it out today."
Today? "Where did you get the money for that?"
"From the lottery winnings," Colton said matter-of-factly.
"That's our money," I said, my voice getting stronger.
"Actually," he pulled the ticket from his pocket, "this is my ticket, bought with my money, so technically it's my money."
Gary stood up. "Man, that's not right. Y'all are married."
"Not for long." Colton's voice was ice cold. "Brandi, I've already contacted a lawyer. You'll be served papers soon."
I looked around desperately for my kids. "Where are Skylar and Aspen?"
"Skylar's packing," Colton said casually. "She's coming with us."
"What?"
"She's fifteen. She can choose. And she chose the life I can give her."
As if summoned, Skylar emerged from our trailer with a backpack slung over her shoulder. My beautiful daughter, my firstborn, walking toward this stranger with our family's future on her back.
"Sky?" I took a step toward her. "Baby, what are you doing?"
She wouldn't look at me directly. "I'm going to stay with Dad for a while."
"Why?"
"Because..." she paused, then lifted her chin defiantly. "Because I'm tired of being poor, Mom. I'm tired of kids at school talking about where we live. I'm tired of thrift store clothes and lying about why I can't afford stuff."
Each word was a knife to my heart. I thought our love was enough. I thought we were enough.
"Skylar, we're a family—"
"Are we? Feels like I've been paying for your choices my whole life."
She walked toward the Camaro without looking back.
"What about Aspen?" I asked desperately.
"He's eight. He stays with you," Colton said. "For now."
For now? What did that mean?
"Oh, and Brandi?" Colton's voice was almost cheerful. "I need you out of the trailer by tomorrow night. It's my name on the lease. I've been paying the rent."
"This is my home!"
"Was your home." He shrugged. "I'm sure Walmart pays enough for a nice apartment somewhere."
He knows it doesn't. He knows exactly what he's doing.
As their car pulled away, taking my daughter and my future, the neighbors began awkwardly gathering their things. Within minutes, I stood alone among the party decorations and leftover hamburgers, feeling like the world's biggest fool.
"Brandi," Dolly said softly, "go check on Aspen. I'll clean this up."
I nodded, my legs like Jell-O as I walked toward our trailer. I pushed open the door and saw Aspen sitting on the sofa, clutching his teddy bear.
"Mommy?" His voice was so small. "What happened to Daddy and Sis?"
I sat beside him and pulled him into my arms, finally letting my tears fall.
Two hours ago, I was a wife, a mother of two, a woman with a home and a future. Now what am I?
"I don't know, baby," I whispered into his hair. "I don't know."
I woke up on Dolly's couch with a crick in my neck and Aspen curled up next to me like a little koala. For about three seconds, I forgot where I was and why my back hurt. Then it all came flooding back.
This wasn't a nightmare. This was my new reality.
"Sleep okay?" Dolly whispered, handing me a steaming cup of coffee. Her voice was gentle, but I could see the pity in her eyes.
Okay? I woke up every hour hoping this was all some twisted dream. But every time I opened my eyes and saw Dolly's floral wallpaper instead of our familiar wood paneling, reality slammed into me all over again.
My phone buzzed. A text from Colton: "You have until 6 PM. Anything left behind will be donated."
Donated. Like our seventeen years together was just charity merchandise he wanted to get rid of.
The walk back to what used to be my home felt like walking to my own execution. I stood at the front door, key shaking in my hand. This was the last time I'd ever walk through this door as someone who belonged here.
"Mommy, why can't we live here anymore?" Aspen asked, tugging on my shirt.
"Because Daddy needs space," I lied, hating myself for it.
Everything inside looked exactly the same but felt completely different. Our family photos were still on the walls, but now they looked like museum exhibits of a dead life. The couch where we'd watched movies together, the kitchen table where we'd eaten thousands of meals—all of it tainted now.
I started throwing things into the suitcases I'd borrowed from Dolly. Clothes, toiletries, a few of Aspen's favorite toys. It was pathetic how little our life actually amounted to when you had to fit it into two bags.
"Where's my Xbox?" Aspen asked, looking around confused.
"Maybe... maybe it's being fixed," I lied again. The truth was that Colton had probably already claimed everything valuable as "his."
My phone rang. Preston Elementary.
"Mrs. Briggs? This is about Skylar's transfer."
"Transfer?"
"Yes, her father called this morning. She's transferring to Preston Academy effective immediately."
Preston Academy. The fancy private school we could never afford, not even if we saved for a decade.
He's erasing our life. New school, new home, new woman. And I was supposed to just... disappear?
"When did he—never mind. Thank you for letting me know."
I hung up and stared at my phone. Should I call her? Did I even have the right to anymore?
I dialed before I could lose my nerve.