Following her tryst with Victor, Amanda had enough money to pay for car insurance. When the insurance was paid, she began driving her mom’s car or borrowing her cousin Babsi’s 1998 Ford Escort. She thought the model had a fitting name. Amanda’s mom asked where she got the money to pay the insurance. Amanda had already thought up a lie. She told her mom, “There is this nerdy guy, Jordan, at school whose dad is a stockbroke...

Amanda Cortland was going on eighteen when she and her cousin, Barbara, or Babsi, as she was called, were lounging in the family room watching TV and sharing local gossip. “Congratulations, Amanda!” her cousin said with a hug. “For what, Babsi?” “You’ll turn eighteen in a month!” “So what? Big deal.” “You’ll be out of school in a few months. That means freedom, independence, and you’re in control. It’s so liberating. You’...