{"id":14142,"date":"2025-09-20T17:13:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T17:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=14142"},"modified":"2025-09-20T17:13:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T17:13:30","slug":"14142","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=14142","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"4167\" data-end=\"4337\">Linda turned toward me, her expression all bright and warm.\u00a0<em data-start=\"4227\" data-end=\"4335\">\u201cAnd you, sweetheart, can borrow one of my cocktail dresses. We can hem it, glam it up. Practical, right?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4339\" data-end=\"4395\">\u201cI\u2019ve been saving for mine,\u201d I said, lifting my brows.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4397\" data-end=\"4580\">Linda blinked, then gave me a sympathetic smile that twisted my stomach.\u00a0<em data-start=\"4470\" data-end=\"4578\">\u201cOh, honey. I thought you were saving for college. Because prom is just one night. Tuition lasts forever.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4582\" data-end=\"4603\">My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4605\" data-end=\"4669\">I tried to keep steady. \u201cI still want to choose my own dress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4671\" data-end=\"4773\">She waved me off like I was a kid begging for another scoop of ice cream.\u00a0<em data-start=\"4745\" data-end=\"4771\">\u201cYou\u2019ll thank me later.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4775\" data-end=\"4886\">I headed upstairs, chest tight. I just needed to see my can, touch the lid, remind myself it was still there.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4888\" data-end=\"4930\">But when I reached under my bed\u2014nothing.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4932\" data-end=\"4965\">I checked again. Still nothing.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4967\" data-end=\"5072\">My hands shook as I tore through the room. Closet? No. Desk drawers? No. Behind the bookshelf? Nothing.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4967\" data-end=\"5072\"><a href=\"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=14143\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7889\" src=\"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_7148-300x75.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"75\" srcset=\"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_7148-300x75.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/readmore.cx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_7148-768x191.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/readmore.cx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_7148.jpeg 905w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_14142\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"14142\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Linda turned toward me, her expression all bright and warm.\u00a0\u201cAnd you, sweetheart, can borrow one of my cocktail dresses. We can hem it, glam it up. Practical, right?\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve been saving for mine,\u201d I said, lifting my brows. Linda blinked, then gave me a sympathetic smile that twisted my stomach.\u00a0\u201cOh, honey. I thought you were&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=14142\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_14142\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"14142\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":202,"today_views":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14154,"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142\/revisions\/14154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}