Chapter 4: Rumors and Bruises

I was stunned. I stared blankly at the comments, blinking in confusion. Was I crying so much I started hallucinating?

I rubbed my eyes and fumbled for my phone under the blanket, but the screen was dark. I wiped my tears and looked again. The comments were still rolling by:

[Can’t blame Derek for wanting her. With that fair, delicate look—crying like a rain-soaked daisy—even as a woman I find her adorable.]

[Tsk tsk, the supporting girl is cute and knows how to sweet-talk. Not just Derek—even those boys in the neighborhood back then would’ve been thrilled if she called them big bro.]

[Grew up pampered in Maple Heights, never so much as washed a dish—just that natural delicacy is enough for Derek to treasure.]

Derek—that was the name of the fierce crew chief.

My face turned red. These comments—were they talking about me and the crew chief? No, that couldn’t be.

My mind felt fuzzy, and I was exhausted from the day, so after crying a bit more, I drifted off to sleep. I dreamed of home, the sound of piano keys under my fingers, and my cousins laughing on the porch as lightning bugs blinked in the dusk.

Before dawn the next day, the rooster crowed and I had to get up to work in the fields. My eyes were a little swollen from crying so much the night before.

I splashed cold water from the metal sink onto my face, trying to make myself look presentable. The strange comments from last night were gone. I figured I’d just been so tired lately that I started dreaming weird things.

As I worked, I heard people whispering nearby. It was Heather and the others—the female volunteers from Maple Heights who came with me. She used to go to my high school. I wasn’t close to her, but she was in the same class as the biological daughter, Kelsey, and I’d heard they were good friends.

Their voices carried in the crisp morning air, and I tried not to listen, but the words stuck anyway.

"A fake, and she still thinks she’s some rich girl from the neighborhood. So unlucky to be assigned to the same town—she’s always lazy and just flirts with guys."

"She’s been a flirt since she was little, you know. None of the boys in the neighborhood escaped her. Good thing the family’s real daughter came back—now no one cares about this fake, serves her right."

"Tsk, such a drama queen. Lucky for us, the crew chief doesn’t like women. Just watch—if she slacks off again, the crew chief will take care of her."

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, refusing to let them see me cry.