Sharon Maloney's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

Sharon stood at the breakfast table Sunday morning and watched her parents announce that Sophie had officially joined the family. The six-year-old sat between them wearing a pink dress, smiling at everyone like she belonged there. Sharon's mother reached over and fixed Sophie's hair ribbon. Sharon waited until afternoon when her parents sat in the back garden near the treehouse. The structure rose from an old oak, all painted columns and golden trim, cherry blossoms falling across the railings. Sophie had already pinned a photo of herself to the railing, wearing some band's logo and making a heart shape with her hands. Sharon climbed the ladder and took the photo down, folding it twice before tucking it in her pocket. Then she walked back to the house and found the book her mother kept on the hall shelf, the one with candy-striped pages and mirrored edges that tracked family expenses. She pulled it down and carried it outside. She rehearsed the words in her head. Sophie costs too much. Look at the numbers. We don't need her. But when Sharon opened her mouth in front of her parents, her father spoke first. He said they'd already sold the treehouse to pay for Sophie's school clothes and the doctor visits she needed. The structure would be gone by Tuesday. Sharon looked back at the cherry blossoms and the empty railing where the photo had been. Her mother smiled and said Sophie was worth it. Sharon walked back inside and put the book on the shelf. She still had the folded photo in her pocket. She went upstairs to her room and stood in front of the mirror, but this time she wasn't rehearsing anything. She was trying to figure out why her plan never had a chance to land. Her parents had already decided. They'd given up the treehouse before she even knew to ask. She pulled out the photo and looked at Sophie's green eyes and freckles, then slipped it into her desk drawer under her Transfiguration notes. The plan against Priya needed her focus now. At least that one she still controlled.