"You can't do this! My mother sewed this stitch by stitch—you know what it means to me…"
Something flickered in his eyes.
But right then, Gloria's teary, petulant whine rose again behind him.
"Brent, I really don't see the point of being alive anymore. My mom and dad are gone, and anyone can just bully me whenever they want…"
The hesitation in his hands vanished. His grip tightened.
The look he gave me went cold.
"Maya, you brought this on yourself! You're your mother's daughter—what, you think Gloria wasn't just as precious to hers?"
"She sprayed me with a water gun first!"
"That was a *blessing!*"
"Maya, from the second Gloria came back you've fought her on everything. And you *still* don't see what you did wrong! I spoiled you—that's what this is. Today I'm going to fix that!"
The moment the words left his mouth, his hands wrenched apart.
*RIIIP!!*
This time the gown split clean in two.
Brent glanced around at the crowd.
He saw the hunger in their eyes. He saw it clearly.
And he shoved me away anyway, tearing my body free from the two ruined halves of fabric.
Gasps cut through the air around me.