Elowen

I've come to a conclusion that I must've been the universe's most hated person to walk the earth.

I was fully convinced of that by the time I dragged my suitcase down the stairs that morning.

It didn't just dislike me or feel mildly inconvenienced by my existence. Passionate hatred—that's the feeling it had for me. Because there was absolutely no other explanation for why my life had turned into a badly written comedy where every punchline involved my dearest stepbrother.

My duffel bag was slung over one shoulder, a backpack hanging off the other, while I half-dragged my suitcase like a struggling single mother of three. My laptop...