Chapter 1 My parents forced me to stay home to feed the dog and water the plants while the whole family went on vacation
My parents forced me to stay home to feed the dog and water the plants while the whole family went on vacation. When I asked why, my sister said, “That’s your role in this house.” I packed my things and left. The next morning, the police called about something te:rrify:ing at the house.
“The dog needs to be fed, and the plants have to be watered every single day.”
My mother said it as casually as if she were reading tomorrow’s weather forecast instead of canceling the only weekend I had been looking forward to in months. Her glossy black suitcase sat by the front door, packed so tightly it looked ready to split open. My father glanced at his watch. My older sister, Jade, scrolled through her phone with her sunglasses resting on top of her head, looking like she belonged in a vacation brochure.
“Why am I the one staying behind,” I asked, “while everyone else gets to go?”
Jade barely looked up before smirking.
“That’s your role in this house.”
I waited for my parents to tell her she was out of line.
They never did.
I was twenty-four years old. I worked full-time, paid my own phone bill, helped cover groceries, and yet somehow I was still treated like the spare house key everyone forgot about until they needed it.
I didn't argue.
I went upstairs, packed two sets of clothes, my laptop, my important documents, and the emergency cash I'd tucked inside an old poetry book. While my family loaded the car, I slipped out through the back door and ordered a rideshare to my friend Harper's apartment on the other side of town.
No one realized I was gone until hours later.
At 7:42 that evening, my phone wouldn't stop vibrating.
Mom: Where are you?
Dad: This is immature.
Jade: You'd better be home before we get back.
I turned my phone over and ignored every message.
For the first time in years, I slept through the night without waiting to hear someone downstairs shouting my name.
The following morning, an unfamiliar number appeared on my screen.
“Good morning, ma'am,” a man said carefully. “This is Officer Jackson Reid with the Pinecrest Police Department. Am I speaking with Ivy Barnes?”
My stomach immediately tightened.
“Yes.”
“I'm calling regarding your parents' home on Willow Creek Drive. We've received a report of a break-in.”
I sat straight up.
“A break-in?”
“Yes, ma'am. A neighbor contacted us after noticing the front door standing open. We found clear signs of forced entry. We also found a dog inside. It's alive but extremely distressed. There was no one else in the house.”
My mouth suddenly felt dry.
“My family is out of town.”
“That's what we're trying to verify. Would you be able to come to the property?”
I almost told him no.
Then he continued.
“There's something else. The house wasn't only broken into. It appears someone had been watching the property. Several notes were left behind. One of them mentioned your name.”
My name.
Harper froze in the kitchen with a coffee mug still in her hand.
I switched the call to speaker.
“What exactly did the note say?”
Officer Reid paused for a moment.
“It said, ‘Ivy was supposed to be here.’”
