My Mother’s Death Put Me in a Courtroom and a Home That Isn’t Mine

Seventeen-year-old Maeve survives a car crash that kills her mother, haunted by vague memories of rain, laughter, and blinding headlights. Sent to live with her estranged father, Thomas, his overly enthusiastic wife, Julia, and a baby brother she ignores, Maeve feels out of place. In court, facing the drunk driver, Calloway, a memory clarifies: she was driving,

not her mother, who had handed her the keys. Guilt-ridden, she confesses to Thomas, who holds her, insisting it wasn’t her fault. A letter from her mother reveals hopes for Maeve’s bond with her father. Calloway’s plea deal leaves her empty, but Maeve starts healing,

connecting with Julia over waffles and proposing a dinosaur mural for her brother’s room. She vows to Thomas to be better for her family, planting her mother’s favorite flowers, slowly finding her place in this new, fragile home. (