I remember the night of my older sister's 18th birthday, when we left home. We were both shaking, afraid to get caught by mother. But we weren't.
When we made it to our small apartment in another town, we cheered.
"No more being used and manipulated by the wicked witch!"
Oh. how wrong we were.
A few weeks a letter showed up.
From mother.
She knew where we were. And, you know what else? She had bought us a house.
"No, Terri. We can't go to that house." Melissa had told me.
And yet we did. We moved into the house.
We've been living in the house for 22 years. 22 years.
All the pain mother had caused us. Everything she had ever done to us…and yet here we are.
I dyed my hair black…just like her hair was. I started wearing the clothes she wore.
And Melissa? She picked up mother's smoking habit. Same brand of cigarettes. Same color lighter.
Mother had once told us that we would always be under her control.
And she was right.