Her once-radiant blonde hair was a tangled mess, and her blue eyes were bloodshot and swollen from days of uninterrupted crying.

She had been quickly abandoned by every superficial friend who had once laughed at her cruel jokes.

“Maya, please,” Chloe begged, her voice cracking pitifully as she stood in the hallway.

She did not dare step her wet shoes over the threshold into my sanctuary. “I have nothing. Mom and Dad won’t even speak to each other; they just scream through their lawyers.

The state is freezing the assets. The lawyers are taking everything else. Maya, I don’t know how to do my own laundry. I don’t know how to ride the subway system. I’m so sorry. I am so, deeply sorry. Just tell me you forgive me. Please, let me sleep on your floor.”