Chapter 1
After five years of going no contact with my family, I was making a living moving bodies.
Finally, I scraped together enough for a down payment on a house.
Just as I was waiting to get paid, I bumped right into my brother Finley Lewis
He was here to pick out a burial plot for Kelsey's dog.
Our eyes met for a second, then we both looked away at the same time, like we'd rehearsed it.
It wasn't until I took the 3,000 dollars from my boss that he finally spoke up.
He let out a mocking laugh.
"Didn't expect you'd be doing so well after five years away," he said.
I shot a look at the premium black card in his hand.
"Not bad, but still can't compare to Kelsey's dog," I said.
He didn't even flinch at dropping 300 thousand dollars on a burial plot.
Meanwhile, my entire apartment only set me back 100 thousand dollars.
Finley's tone was a little awkward.
"I know you're not cut out for tough times," he said.
"Just say you're sorry, and you can come back home."
I shook my head and tucked the money into my pocket like it was the most precious thing in the world.
I'd already gotten in touch with a realtor.
Soon, I'd have a home to call my own for the first time ever.
I left the funeral home.
On my way to meet the realtor, Naomi Morgan, I stopped by a bakery and picked up a small cake.
She was a really nice person.
I'd dragged her along to look at countless apartments over the years.
But for one reason or another, I never ended up buying any of them.
Finally, it was settled.
I got this cake so we could share the happiness together.
I hadn't even made it far from the bakery when someone grabbed my wrist out of nowhere.
My heart skipped a beat as I felt a sudden grip on my wrist from behind.
Startled, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
The cake slipped from my hand and splattered all over the sidewalk.
Fuming, I whipped around.
And just like that, I found myself face-to-face with Finley's dark, unreadable eyes.
Stunned, I hesitated as his voice cut through the air, cold and sharp.
"You really have nothing to say to me?" he asked.
Irritation flared up inside me as I yanked my hand away.
"Explain what?" I shot back.
He looked me up and down, his lips pressed into a thin line.
He said, "You're a Lewis. How could you work at a funeral home?
"Maybe you don't care about bad luck, but I don't want you jinxing me and Mom."
I crouched down to pick up the cake.
I said, "If you're so scared of bad luck, then stay away from me.
"I'm making an honest living. There's nothing shameful or unlucky about that!"
He grabbed my wrist again and hauled me up to my feet.
"Maddison, is this really how you're gonna talk to me?" he snapped.
"You were the one who walked out five years ago. Are you still hung up on it after all this time?"
My patience snapped. I ripped my hand out of his grip.
I shot back. "You're the one who can't move on!
"Finley, we've cut ties. Can you stop bothering me?"
Finley's face fell.
He said, "Mom's sick. She keeps asking about you.
"How could you be so cold? Is this really fair to her?"
Now I was the villain again, huh?
Five years ago, Kelsey had her dog attack my cat, and her dog killed it.
All I did was smack that dog once.
And what did I get for it? Finley slapped me, hard.
Back then, he said exactly the same thing.
"Tollie's just a dog. He doesn't know any better. How could you be so cruel?" Finley snapped.
I cried like my world was falling apart.
Clutching my face, I looked to Mom, hoping she'd take my side.
But she crushed me with her words, not a hint of sympathy.
She said, "That cat was just some country stray you dragged home. It ruined the sofa anyway.
"Cats like that die all the time. What's there to cry about?"
Those two sentences were all it took for me to lose all hope in them. That was when I decided to cut ties for good.
Finley's face was stormy as he glared at me, "You really had to go and cut us off over something so trivial?"
"Was it really that big of a deal to you?"
Was it trivial to her?
Eyes red, I let the tears fall without a sound.
The cat was just the spark that set everything off.
It was the last straw that finally broke me.
Ever since I moved back in, Kelsey gave me a hard time every chance she got.
And my own mom and brother?
They never once had my back.
Kelsey said I stole her money.
They searched me and went through my room.
Even when they came up empty-handed, they still couldn't bring themselves to ask her to apologize.
Not once did they ever make her say sorry.
Because I'd spent twenty years living out in the sticks, my hands were always covered in chilblains and my face turned red at the drop of a hat.
Kelsey snapped a photo of me and blasted it in our class group chat, kicking off the whole round of teasing at my expense.
Back then, at twenty, I still cared a lot about my pride.
I kept my chapped, swollen hands hidden behind my back.
And then, I just kicked her square in the chest.
That was the only time I ever hit Kelsey.
That night, Mom forced me to kneel out in the freezing snow.
She had me write "I'm sorry" a hundred times, over and over.
My feelings for them had been slowly burning out ever since I moved back in.
Three years later, I was completely spent.
Jolie's death made me finally decide to leave.
I dropped out of that fancy private school without hesitation and started working to support myself.
As I left, Finley glared at me, his face dark with anger, throwing out threats as I walked away.