Chapter 3

When I woke again, I was lying in an emergency room bed.

The doctor looked grim.

“You have severe heat exhaustion, and you were bitten by a dog. You need rabies shots immediately.”

“The vaccine and immunoglobulin will cost eight hundred dollars total. You can pay at the front desk.”

My throat was painfully dry.

There was no one beside me.

I called my parents and asked them for the money.

Mom’s shocked voice came through the phone.

“Eight hundred dollars because a little dog barely bit you? That’s robbery!”

“You don’t have enough points. We can’t approve that kind of expense. You’ll start thinking you can get whatever you want without earning it.”

Her voice turned impatient.

“Enough. We’re taking Poppy out to buy strawberry cake. We don’t have time for this nonsense.”

She hung up.

The doctor looked at my pale face, clearly uncomfortable.

“Leaving a dog bite untreated isn’t something to take lightly. Try borrowing the money from someone. Your health comes first.”

I gripped my phone and started calling people.

One after another.

My relatives comforted me.

But none of them agreed to lend me money.

They promised to speak up for me instead and tagged my parents in the family group chat.

“My brother works at the hospital. That really is what rabies treatment costs. Nora isn’t lying.”

“It’s only eight hundred dollars. Just pay for the kid’s treatment.”

Mom sent me twenty dollars in the group chat.

Her message was almost casual.

“Rabies vaccine? She’s just jealous because we took Poppy out without her, so she’s creating drama.”

“I have the money, but I’m not encouraging this attitude that she deserves things she didn’t earn.”

“Just block her. Don’t listen to her nonsense.”

With trembling fingers, I tried calling again.

Sure enough, the call wouldn’t even go through this time.

I had competition scholarship money coming.

But it needed approval and paperwork.

It might take a month to arrive.

I couldn’t wait that long.

I called almost everyone in my contacts.

In the end, Mr. Moretti, the owner of the Italian restaurant where I worked part-time, agreed to lend me the money.

The moment it arrived, I got up to pay for my treatment.

Then my phone buzzed.

Eight hundred dollars had just been charged to my bank account.

The merchant name read:

Sterling Silver.

When I was a minor, the account I used for my part-time wages had been a joint account under Dad’s name.

They’d promised they would never touch my money.

So even after I turned eighteen, I hadn’t immediately moved everything into an account of my own.

I never imagined they would take the money the exact moment I borrowed it.

My face went white.

The nurse at the front desk asked whether I had another way to pay.

I gave her a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry. I can’t pay right now.”

I dragged myself home.

Then I ran into Poppy coming through the door with bags piled in her arms.

A silver bracelet gleamed around her wrist.

She beamed at me.

“Nora, look! Dad just bought this for me.”

“It was eight hundred dollars. Isn’t it pretty?”

Eight hundred dollars.

Exactly how much I’d borrowed.

My eyes burned red.

“That money in my account was for my rabies shots! Why did you take my money to buy Poppy something?”

The hurt inside me swelled until I thought I might burst.

My whole body went cold.

Dad jumped at my shout.

“Why are you yelling?”

“There was a problem with the card when we tried to pay, so we used yours. We raised you all these years. What’s wrong with using a little of your money?”

Mom hurried to smooth things over.

“Enough, Nora. We used your money this time, so we’ll give you thirty points as compensation. Happy?”