By the time I get home, it’s late at night. Much later than I expected. Emmitt and I sat on the rooftop past sunset, the city lights illuminating our view.

And now it’s past 10:00 p.m. and I’m shuffling down my driveway, already wincing in preparation for the shouting that’s bound to come.

As expected, as soon as I turn my key and step into the foyer, I see both Ma and Baba sitting in the living room. They glower at the sight of me and I sigh, shutting the door behind me.

Let’s hear it. I don’t say it, but I might as well have.

“Do you know what time it is?” Baba asks, staring me down.

I lift my shoulder in a vague gesture before unlacing my boots and stepping out of them.

“Past my bedtime, that’s for sure,” he says. “But your mother was so worried something happened to you that I couldn’t sleep.”

Sure. Worried. We’ll go with that, I say again in the safety of mind. In person, I just offer them a blank gaze and shrug off my jacket, hanging it up on the coatrack.

“Where were you?” Ma demands, her voice sharp. It feels like needles pricking my skin. “You have no idea what kind of dangerous things can happen at this time of night. You are the most irresponsible—”

“Keep it down!” Anam shouts from upstairs. “I’m trying to study!”

My mother’s expression darkens further. “You see what you’ve done? You’ve set such a horrible example for your sister that now she doesn’t think twice before disrespecting us.”

I try not to let my incredulity show on my face. As if I’m the reason Anam hates them.

I tug my hair tie, releasing my unruly locks. I work my hands through my braid methodically, untangling knots and letting the dark waves hang loose against my back.

“What have we done as parents to deserve this?” Ma asks, shaking her head. She looks to Baba, who rubs circles into his temples. “We’re good people. We gave you everything. And you choose to repay us by being disobedient?”

My gaze narrows. They always do this—play the part of the victim, as if I’m the one being malicious. We’re your parents, we’re good people, we raised you, we sacrificed so much for you, we have done nothing but love you. Even though I recognize and appreciate all the effort they’ve put in to ensure Anam and I have a good life, it’s still ridiculous to act like that gives them the right to dictate our futures. The older I am, the more I resent the implication that it’s my responsibility to repay them for my existence.