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hey there welcome to Sleeping Reddit
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Pills i'm Emily Carter and tonight I've
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got a story that'll hit you right in the
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fields it's about how my world got
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turned upside down by the people I
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trusted most and how I came out stronger
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so grab a blanket get cozy and let's
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dive into this wild ride picture this a
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year ago I'm 35 living in my dream house
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with my husband Jake life's good you
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know i'm a nurse working long shifts but
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I love it if you told me back then I'd
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be homeless by now I'd have laughed so
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hard I'd spill my coffee but that's
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exactly what happened and it all started
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with a promise one that turned out to be
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emptier than a gas tank on E it's a
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Sunday evening and I'm at my
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mother-in-law Linda's house for one of
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her classic family dinners
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the table's set like it's Thanksgiving
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but the vibe tense as heck my
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sister-in-law Rachel is sitting there
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eyes red dabbing her face with a fancy
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napkin like she's in some drama movie
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she's going on about how her husband
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Mike walked out 6 months ago leaving her
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with a pile of secret gambling debts
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i'm going to lose everything she cries
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my house my car even mom's old china set
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linda who's got this commanding presence
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like a drill sergeant puts a hand on
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Rachel's shoulder and fixes her gaze on
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me emily we can't let that happen can we
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family sticks together
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i'm nodding feeling bad for Rachel but
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something's off her sobs feel a little
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too perfect like she's practiced them in
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a mirror then Linda drops the bomb
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your house Emily it's so big for just
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you and Jake why not sell it the
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market's crazy good right now you could
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help Rachel clear her debts and we could
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all live together one big happy family
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think of the money you'd save on bills i
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nearly choke on my mashed potatoes sell
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my house the one I busted my tail to buy
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jake shifts in his seat looking uneasy
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but Linda's on a roll all sweet smiles
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rachel's bankruptcy hearings in 2 weeks
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we're running out of time hun i try to
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brush it off with a vague "We'll think
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about it but my stomach's in knots."
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Linda's got this look in her eye the
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same one she had when she talked Jake
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into loaning Rachel 20 grand from our
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wedding fund a few years back spoiler
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we never saw a penny of that money again
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over the next few days Linda's
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relentless my phone's blowing up with
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her calls and texts one minute she's
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laying on the guilt thick "How could you
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let your own family suffer?" The next
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she's acting like we're heartless for
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jake who's always been a peacemaker
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tries to stay out of it but Linda's like
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a dog with a bone she keeps hammering
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away making us feel like we're the bad
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guys for wanting to keep our home
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finally we crack the guilt's too much
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and we list our house it sells in like a
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week boom gone we hand Rachel a check
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for 90 grand and Linda's over the moon
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hugging Rachel and going "This is what
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family's all about." But her hug it
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feels more like she's gloating i tell
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myself it's fine we're doing the right
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thing but deep down I'm uneasy we move
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into Linda's place squeezing our stuff
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into her cramped guest room i'm trying
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to stay positive telling Jake "This is
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just for now we'll get back on our
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But things start going south fast
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rachel's gratitude fake as a $3 bill
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i catch her and Linda whispering when
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they think I'm not around and our stuff
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keeps getting moved to the garage one
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box at a time i bite my tongue not
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wanting to rock the boat but it's like
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I'm walking on eggshells then comes the
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day it all falls apart it's a rainy
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Tuesday and I'm dragging myself home
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after a 12-hour shift at the hospital
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i'm beat soaked from the rain and when I
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get to Linda's porch I freeze
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every single thing we own is stuffed
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into garbage bags getting drenched
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there's a bright yellow note taped to
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the door in Linda's handwriting needed
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the guest room for something else
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my hands are shaking as I read it i call
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Jake barely holding it together they
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threw us out I managed to say all our
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stuff's on the porch jake's shocked but
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then I hear Linda's voice in the
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background cold as ice
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tell Emily not to make a scene rachel
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needs the guest room for her new office
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before I can process Rachel pulls up in
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a brand new BMW looking like she just
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walked out of a salon no sign of the
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broke crying mess from a few weeks ago
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she sees me standing there surrounded by
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my soggy stuff and goes "Oh you're still
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here?" like I'm some stranger she ran
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into at the mall i'm reeling
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we sold our house to help you I say my
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voice cracking rachel just laughs a
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sharp nasty sound and I'm so grateful
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she says all fake sweetness that money
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was just what I needed to start my new
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boutique business mom and I have been
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planning it for months we knew you'd
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never go for it if we told you the truth
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so we had to get a little creative
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creative they straight up lied to us
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conned us out of our home and now I'm
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standing in the rain with nothing i
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glance through the window and see Linda
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watching arms crossed with this smug
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little smile it hits me this was their
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plan all along they played us like a
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fiddle and the kicker Jake staying with
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them he texts me later mom says "I need
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space to think please don't make this
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harder." I'm staring at my phone rain
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mixing with tears and it sinks in this
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wasn't just about money it was about
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control they wanted to break me but
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here's where they messed up i'm not
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someone you can just toss aside working
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as a nurse I've learned to keep records
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of everything every text every email
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every shady family meeting where Linda
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and Rachel spun their lies i saved it
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all including a voicemail from Rachel
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drunk at last week's dinner bragging
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about how she and Linda cooked up this
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business opportunity to scam us i take
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my evidence to my best friend Claire
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who's a killer lawyer
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we're in her office and I'm still in my
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damp scrubs spreading out texts emails
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and recordings on her desk
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clare's eyes get wider with every page
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this she says holding up an email where
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Linda spells out their whole scheme is
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fraud plain and simple and Rachel
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admitting they faked the bankruptcy to
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pressure you we're going to bury them
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the next day Linda's perfect little
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world starts to crumble we hit her with
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a legal notice for fraud cops show up at
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her house asking about misappropriated
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funds then the local news catches wind
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of it overnight Linda goes from Queen
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Bee to the town's biggest scandal they
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play Rachel's voicemail on TV her
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slurring voice admitting everything and
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Linda's cool as a cucumber act falls
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apart you can't prove nothing," she
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yells at the reporters swarming her
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country club but it's game over the
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court case is quick and brutal for them
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my records plus Rachel's loose lips
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leave no wiggle room the judge orders
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them to pay back the full 90 grand plus
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extra for damages rachel's fancy
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boutique built with my money gets seized
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and sold off linda's reputation toast
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her socialite friends drop her like a
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hot potato whispering about her behind
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her back but it doesn't stop there as
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the story spreads other people start
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mike Rachel's ex-husband says Linda
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drove him away with the same kind of
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three other daughters-in-law share
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stories of how Linda manipulated them
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too her whole house of cards comes
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crashing down now I'm doing better than
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ever i've got a cute new condo paid for
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with the settlement cash jake calls
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sometimes begging to talk but I'm done
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some things you just can't come back
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from last week I drove by Linda's house
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and saw a big for sale sign in her yard
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i couldn't help but smile
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karma's got a way of evening things out
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doesn't it looking back losing
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everything taught me who I really am it
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showed me I'm tougher than I ever knew
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the best revenge it's not just getting
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even it's rising so high they can't
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touch you so to Linda and Rachel who
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thought they could crush me thanks
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you made me stronger smarter and
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i'm not just a survivor I'm a fighter
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and fighters don't just get by we win
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thanks for listening to my story on
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sleeping Reddit pills if you've got a
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tale of betrayal or bouncing back drop
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it in the comments i'd love to read it
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like subscribe and hit that bell so you
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don't miss our next story life's messy
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but we're tougher than the toughest
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storms catch you next time