Chaper 2 Chapter 2 1 took a deep breath and hit call on Mom's contact . [ ] The phone rang forever before she picked up . " Hello ? Chloe ? " Mom's voice was muffled by background noise - sounded like she was at the grocery store . " Why are you calling right now ? What's up ? " " Mom ... " The word barely made it out of my throat . [ ] " Mom ... I ... my living expenses ... " ] ] " What about your living expenses ? Quinn just told me she sent you your allowance . " Her tone was already getting impatient . [ ] " What , two thousand dollars isn't enough for you ? " [ ] Wait . What ? Two thousand ? ] I was stunned for a second , but pushed through with a shaky voice . [ ] " No ... Mom , Quinn didn't give me two thousand . She only sent me three hundred ... " [] " " Three hundred ? " Mom's voice went up about three octaves , sharp enough to pierce my eardrum . [ ] " Chloe ! There's a limit to how much you can lie ! There's no way Quinn would only give you three hundred when she told us she's been giving you two thousand a month . Two thousand isn't enough for one college student ? Do you think our money grows on trees ? " ]] It was like getting hit with a bucket of ice water . [ ] She's been telling my parents she gives me TWO THOUSAND every month ? " Mom , it's true ! She really only sent three hundred ! I have the screenshots , I can show you- " I was desperately trying to defend myself . But Dad grabbed the phone and cut me off . His voice was even colder , more disgusted . " Quinn warned us you'd been seeing some guy and spending money on him . I didn't want to believe it , but here we are - you're actually lying to your parents over some boyfriend ? " [ ] " Dad , no ! I'm not dating anyone , and I'm not lying ! It really is only three hundred ! If you don't believe me I can send screenshots ! I can barely afford to pay utilities- " I was sobbing now , words tumbling out incoherently . [ ] " ENOUGH ! " Dad's roar made my phone speaker crackle . " You'd go this far for some guy ? Everything we taught you just went in one ear and out the other . Do you have any idea how hard we work every day ? How difficult our lives are ? Can't you just be responsible and budget better ? " [ ] " Dad , but I really don't have a boyfriend- " I was choking on my tears , still trying to explain . [] But the line had already gone dead . [ ] They wouldn't even let me finish a single sentence . ] ] In that moment , something shifted inside me . A thread of hatred started weaving through my chest . Why do they only listen to Quinn ? ] Why can't they hear me out for once ? ] ] We're both their daughters . Both of us . So why do they treat ML like this ? [ ] I hugged my knees to my chest , crouched in the corner of my dorm room . Sunlight was streaming through the window , but I felt frozen to the bone Ding The dorm group chat was requesting money . Fifty bucks each for utilities . ] I numbly sent the payment , then stared at my remaining balance in horror . $ 220 left [ ] It was only the beginning of the month and I was already down to $ 220 . I couldn't even imagine how I was going to survive the next three weeks [ ] Chapter 2 Suddenly , another notification popped up . A message from Quinn . [ ] [ Chloe , you financial disaster ! Not only are you ignoring my messages , but you just blew another $ 70 . It's literally Day One and you're already burning through money ... [ Are you a fucking debt collector ? Spending money like this every single day ? ... ] [ ] More poisonous messages kept flooding in , but I was used to this by now . [] Every time I went over her arbitrary spending limits , she'd call me up for one of these verbal beatdowns . [ ] I thought about confronting her about the " two thousand dollar " lie , but then I stopped myself . [ ] If I pushed back , she might take away the remaining $ 220 . After what happened in high school - when she docked me a hundred bucks for buying tampons- knew better than to gamble . ] ] I couldn't afford to lose . Literally . ]