Chapter 3: Broken Homes, Broken Rules

I paid the bills, stocked the fridge. For a while, things felt almost normal again.

It seemed like a win-win, but I always felt uneasy and decided never to do it again.

I told myself it was over. I’d paid my dues. But the guilt never really left.

But once Brandon tasted success, he wouldn’t let me go.

He started texting me late at night, cornering me between classes. “C’mon, Eli, just one more time.”

Not long after, he begged me again to help him cheat.

He was relentless. He made it sound like I owed him.

When I refused, he threatened to expose my previous cheating and get me expelled.

He dangled my secret over my head like a guillotine. I felt trapped.

I had no choice but to keep helping him.

My hands shook every time I walked into the testing room. I felt like I was wearing a target on my back.

But during a later mock test, because Brandon secretly sold answers, more than a dozen students’ papers were identical.

He got greedy, started selling my answers to anyone who’d pay. The whole thing blew up in our faces.

We eventually got caught…

The principal called us in, his face red with anger. My dad had to come down to the school. I thought that was the end of everything.

At that moment, Detective Harper’s phone rang, interrupting my story.

The ringtone was some old country song. He picked up, grunted a few times, then hung up and glared at me.

He answered with a few “hmms” and “uh-huhs,” then hung up and looked at me coldly.

I could tell from his face that things were about to get worse.

“In your first year, you saw a psychologist, right? At that time, you were diagnosed with dissociative disorder, is that true?”

The question caught me off guard. I blinked, trying to remember.

I was stunned, but quickly remembered that when I started high school, my family took me to a counselor.

My mom had been worried. She thought I was shutting down after the accident. It was just a few sessions, nothing serious.

But that was because my dad was drinking a lot, and my mom was worried I’d have issues. It was just counseling. It wasn’t split personality at all!

I never told anyone what we talked about. I just wanted to feel normal again.

“Detective Harper, I don’t think my therapist has anything to do with this. Why bring it up?”

I tried to keep my voice steady, but my hands were sweating again.

“Of course it does. My colleague just checked your account. There are no chat records with Chris, not even that username. You’ve been lying all along!”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I shook my head. That couldn’t be right.

“That’s impossible!”

I’d talked to Chris every night. He was real. He had to be.

“Whether this Chris is imaginary or real, either way, you can’t escape responsibility for cheating!”

He leaned in, voice low and hard. I could smell stale coffee on his breath.

“It’s not like that…”

I felt like I was drowning. Nothing I said mattered.

“Actually, the cheating method was your own idea, including organizing the SAT cheating. You planned it all, didn’t you?”

He pressed harder, his eyes boring into mine. I felt the walls closing in.

Detective Harper pressed harder with every question. Looking at him, a wave of anger welled up inside me.

I wanted to scream. Instead, I clenched my fists under the table.

I saw it clearly now. Harper never mentioned Brandon selling answers, just focused on me. He’d been bought off by Brandon’s parents!

The realization was like ice water down my spine. I wasn’t just fighting for my future—I was fighting against people who could crush me without blinking.

“Sanctimonious!”

The word slipped out before I could stop it. My voice echoed in the small room.

Anger made me lose control. I don’t know where I got the courage, but I actually said what was on my mind, right to his face.

For once, I wasn’t scared. I was furious.

Detective Harper looked at me in surprise, like he couldn’t believe a poor kid like me would dare talk back in a police station.

He raised an eyebrow, then scowled. “Watch your mouth, kid.”

“What did you say?”

His voice was low, dangerous. But I didn’t care anymore.

“I said, you’re a sanctimonious jerk. You dug up all this just to pin everything on me for Brandon! Tell me, how much did his parents pay you?”

I spit the words out, shaking with adrenaline.

Detective Harper was stunned. It took him a while to react, then he yelled: “Eli Turner! Watch your attitude!”

His voice boomed off the walls. But I could see the doubt flicker in his eyes. I’d rattled him.

He was rattled!

For the first time, I saw a crack in his armor. Maybe I wasn’t as powerless as I thought.

Looks like my earlier guess was right—he really had been bought off!

The thought gave me a twisted sense of satisfaction. If I was going down, I wasn’t going quietly.

After a while, he finally calmed down and said in a low voice, “Keep talking about your cheating.”

His tone was quieter now, almost weary. I took a shaky breath.

The situation was completely against me. What should I do?

I felt like I was on a sinking ship. I needed a way out, and fast.

I had to find a way out…