I wasn\u2019t even invited, not officially. My sister Salome just texted the night before like,<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re free, we\u2019ve got room in the car.\u201d I said yes before even thinking about it.<\/p>\n
I needed the break. Things at home had been\u2026tense.<\/p>\n
The plan was simple: drive upstate, stay at a friend\u2019s cabin, wine, junk food, trashy reality TV.<\/p>\n
I tossed my stuff in a bag and met them in the driveway just as they were finishing up loading the back.<\/p>\n
Blankets, snacks, beach towels\u2014even leopard print, of course. That\u2019s Salome\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n
When I climbed in, everyone eemed surprised\u2014but not in a bad way. Just\u2026 quiet for a second too long. I brushed it off.<\/p>\n
Then I saw her in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
Mara.<\/p>\n
My ex\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n
The same woman who swore up and down she\u2019d never take sides\u2014until she did.<\/p>\n
Until she lied for him. Until she blocked me on everything after pretending to care about what he did.<\/p>\n
She smiled when she saw me. Like nothing ever happened.<\/p>\n
I looked around the car. No one said a word. Not even Salome.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when it hit me\u2014this trip wasn\u2019t just a coincidence.<\/p>\n
It was a setup. My stomach dropped. I wanted to open the door and run,<\/p>\n
but we were already pulling away from the curb. Trapped. With Mara.<\/p>\n
And my so-called friends who thought this was a good idea.<\/p>\n
The first hour of the drive was excruciating. Mara kept trying to make small talk<\/p>\n
, asking about my job, my dog, anything to break the ice. I gave her one-word answers,<\/p>\n
my arms crossed tightly over my chest. The other girls, Lena and Priya, kept glancing<\/p>\n
at each other in the rearview mirror, their faces a mix of awkwardness and anticipation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I wasn\u2019t even invited, not officially. My sister Salome just texted the night before like, \u201cIf you\u2019re free, we\u2019ve got room in the car.\u201d I said yes… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"\n