Boy, was I wrong.

From the moment Mom moved back in, I became a ghost in my own house. All her attention, all of Dad’s attention, went to Emma. I was excluded from everything. When I graduated valedictorian, they showed up but left early because Emma had a soccer game.

The day I got a full scholarship to college across the state was the best day of my life. After graduation, I came home, figuring I could stay for a few months while I job-hunted.

“You can stay two weeks,” Dad said. “Emma’s 16 now. She needs her privacy.”

“You’re an adult now, Sheila,” Mom added. “Time to stand on your own two feet.”

I crashed at a friend’s place, found a job, and built my career from scratch. I was done with them.