Chapter 3

Samuel's composure finally cracked.

"Why do you always jump to ridiculous conclusions?"

Irritation crept into his voice as he looked past me at Nora. "No wonder she's turned out like this! You taught her to react emotionally instead of thinking calmly!"

I smiled faintly.

"We've stayed calm for long enough," I said, taking Nora's hand in mine. "If you won't leave, we will."

Samuel slammed the door behind him as he stormed out.

"I'm sorry, Mom." Nora gripped my hand tightly. "You two fought because of me again."

My heart ached. I immediately corrected her. "None of this is your fault. Let's pack our things today and move back to where I used to live, okay?"

With tears in her eyes, she nodded.

…

Samuel didn't realize we'd left until the following morning.

The only message he sent was a single question mark. He was as brief and aloof as always. He expected me to explain myself or apologize.

I didn't bother replying to him.

It wasn't until the third day that he finally lost patience. He added Riley and Raymond to our family group chat.

"From now on, Riley and Raymond are family too," he announced. "If anyone needs anything, just say it here."

Riley immediately shared a photo of the three of them dining together at an upscale restaurant.

Raymond followed it with a photo of a brand-new laptop. "Thanks, Mr. Cadwell! This thing runs games like a dream!"

Samuel thought nothing of spending five thousand dollars on a new laptop for Raymond, but when Nora wanted a five hundred dollar phone before starting college, he called her materialistic.

I didn't waste my time watching their little performance. Nora and I both left the group.

Samuel finally called.

"What exactly are you trying to prove?"

"I'm making room for your family of three," I replied evenly. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

"How long are you going to keep this up?" He sounded exhausted. "You disappeared without a word, took Nora with you, and now you've gone out of your way to embarrass Riley and Raymond. Have you ever thought about the position you're putting me in?"

The way he put it made it seem like he was the one being wronged.

I hung up without another word. I no longer had the energy to argue with him.

We had no contact after that.

A week later, Nora realized she'd left something behind, so we returned to the house together. The moment we opened the door, we found Samuel, Riley, and Raymond gathered around the dining table.

"It's creative. I love it," Samuel said with a smile.

He took off the watch on his wrist and tossed it into the trash. Then, he put on the lopsided friendship bracelet that Raymond had made for him by hand.

The discarded watch had been a birthday gift from Nora. She had saved an entire year's worth of scholarship money to buy it.

Nora stood silently in the entryway for a moment. Then, with a bitter smile, she tossed the tie she was holding into the trash.

Samuel turned his head toward the noise. A flicker of awkwardness crossed his face.

"Riley and Raymond came over to celebrate my birthday. Their apartment downstairs had a leak, so I invited them here," he explained.

Neither Nora nor I responded. We simply went to collect the things we'd come for.

Samuel frowned. "It's been a week. Today's my birthday, and you're still treating me like this?"

I looked up. "Did you remember that it was Nora's birthday yesterday?"

Their birthdays were only one day apart.

Samuel's face drained of color.

By then, Nora had found what she'd come for. Without a word, she stood up, took my hand, and led me toward the door.

Samuel took a deep breath and hurried after us as if he wanted to explain himself.

But Riley suddenly cried out, "That hurts." He stopped immediately.

He never took another step, and neither did we look back.

I thought this indifferent routine would continue until the day Nora and I finally left for good, but shortly before we did, Nora was in a car accident.