Chapter 4: Broken Trust

Unlike the old money of the Harris, Bennett, and Brooks families, the Sanders clan was new money—Dad struck it rich after a tornado and clawed his way into circles that never truly welcomed us.

We were the classic outsiders—invited to the party but never really in the group chat. Dad’s construction business boomed, but whispers followed us everywhere, from the Piggly Wiggly parking lot to the high school gym.

As a kid, I hated it. I’d ball up my fists, ready to fight back. But Dad always stopped me, crouching down to say, "Keep your head up, Nat. Let ‘em talk. We’ll prove ourselves by working twice as hard."

So I learned to swallow my pride, to fake-laugh at their jokes and copy their slang, always chasing after Derek, Marcus, and Caleb, desperate to belong.

From grade school to college, my whole life was mapped by which cafeteria table I sat at, which bus seat they saved for me, which group chat included my name. I never stopped trying.

At some point, it stopped being about fitting in. I just wanted their friendship for real.

But when Dad’s business tanked and the market crashed, they all pulled away. In our town, falling is easy; getting back up is the hard part.

Suddenly, invitations vanished, texts went unanswered. Their parents were polite but distant, like we were always guests in their world. It stung deeper than I cared to admit.

This time, I stopped trying to please them. I went to school, got a job at the local coffee shop, and started making new friends. The loneliness lingered, but at least I wasn’t pretending anymore.