Chapter 5: The Parents’ Lie
That evening, after most of the guests had finally left, Maya’s parents asked her to come downstairs.
She found them in the living room. Her mother was sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in her hand. Her father stood near the window, arms crossed, staring outside at the now-empty backyard.
Chloe was nowhere to be seen.
“Sit down,” her father said without looking at her.
Maya remained standing.
“I’d rather stand.”
Her mother set her wine glass down with more force than necessary.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” she asked. “That video is already spreading. People are texting me. They’re asking if it’s true. If Chloe really almost died because of you.”
Maya looked at her mother.
“No,” she said. “They’re asking if Chloe almost died because of her own actions. And the answer is yes.”
Her father finally turned around. His face was tight with anger, but there was something else underneath — guilt.
“We made a decision back then,” he said. “You were both just children. Chloe didn’t understand what she was doing. She was scared. We didn’t want her to carry that for the rest of her life.”
“So you made me carry it instead,” Maya said.
Her mother’s eyes filled with tears again.
“We thought we were protecting both of you,” she said. “If people knew Chloe had caused the fire, they would have treated her differently. She would have been blamed. We didn’t want that for her.”
Maya felt something inside her crack.
“And what about me?” she asked. “Did you ever think about what it would do to me? Wearing long sleeves in summer. Avoiding every pool party. Letting people think I was just ugly or insecure? Did you ever once consider that I was the one who got burned?”
Her father looked away.
Her mother didn’t answer.
Maya took a deep breath.
“I’m done protecting her,” she said. “I’m done protecting this family’s lies. If you want to keep lying, that’s your choice. But I won’t be part of it anymore.”
She turned to leave.
“Maya, wait,” her mother called after her. “If you do this… if you keep talking… you’re going to destroy your sister.”
Maya stopped at the doorway and looked back.
May you like
“She already tried to destroy me,” she said. “In front of two hundred people. And you were going to let her.”
Then she walked upstairs without another word.
