Everything had its place.
Shoes belonged by the door.
Dinner was at six.
Homework came before television.
And children, according to my father, were expected to respect the rules established by their parents.
Laura and Dad loved each other.
I know that now.
But they also collided constantly.
It was like watching two storms meet.
The older Laura became, the worse it got.
By fifteen, she had begun to push against every boundary.
She cut her hair shorter than Dad liked.
She listened to music he called “noise.”
She wanted to travel.
She wanted to leave our small town.
She wanted a life bigger than the one she saw around her.
And then she met Daniel.
That was when everything changed.
Chapter Two: The Boy My Father Never Accepted
Daniel was seventeen when Laura met him.
He lived on the other side of town with his mother and younger brother.
