Chapter 3
They didn't know I lived near Alex's place because it was the old house my grandma left me.
It was old and cramped, but it was the only roof I had over my head.
When my grandma passed away, she left that little house to me.
She said, "Emily, this place might be a bit shabby, but at least it's a home.
"As long as you have a home, you don't have to fear the storms."
They had no idea I never spent a single dollar of Alex's money.
Every so-called handout went into my notebook: every breakfast he bought me, every swipe of his student ID, every little thing he covered.
Every cent was accounted for.
Whenever I earned money from my part-time job, the first thing I did was pay him back.
But he always refused to take it.
He would say, "Why are you being so particular about paying me back?"
I thought it meant he cared.
Looking back now, maybe he simply couldn't be bothered.
But at this point, nothing I said mattered anymore.
To everyone else, I was that girl leeching off a guy.
The truth didn't matter anymore.
They only believed what they wanted to believe.
I tried to explain.
During a gen ed lecture, the professor gave us a group assignment.
When we split into groups, something strange happened in the classroom.
Everyone else broke into twos and threes, hashing out teams.
Only I stood there alone, a vacuum around me, as if I had the plague. No one wanted to come near.
Not a single person wanted to team up with me.
I looked around, searching for even one friendly face.
But not a single one.
Some pretended to be absorbed in their phones.
Others gazed out the window.
And a couple closed their eyes, faking sleep.
I worked up the nerve and walked over to a girl who seemed a bit more approachable. "Hey, can I join your group?"
She looked up, her gaze flickering for a moment. "Sorry, our group's already full."
I counted. Three. The group was clearly not full.
"My grades are really good. I ranked third in my major last semester," I said, trying to prove my worth.
Right then, a guy nearby snorted. "So what if the parasite gets good grades? She's still mooching off Alex."
"Maybe Alex did all her assignments for her."
"Yeah, like she could ever get those grades by herself."
Everyone started piling on, as if everything finally made sense.
"I'm not mooching off him," I blurted, my voice rising before I knew it. "I paid my own tuition by working, and my living expenses too..."
"Oh, please," another girl cut in, rolling her eyes. "Like anyone's gonna buy that."
"Quit acting all high and mighty. Everyone knows your true colors."
Just then, Sophie's gentle voice rang out.
She showed up out of nowhere, her face perfectly staged with sympathy.
Sophie said, "Guys, don't be so hard on Emily. She really does have it tough."
She paused, a knowing smirk curling at her lips.
"After all, not everyone can get Alex to take care of them for so many years.
"That's a skill, I guess."
The whole class burst out laughing.
Their laughter jabbed at me like needles.
My face was on fire. I wished the ground would crack open and swallow me.
My palms were slick with sweat, my nails digging into the flesh, but I couldn't feel a thing.
The teacher finally had enough. Frowning, he said, "Emily, go join group three."
Everyone in group three's face fell, but with the teacher watching, no one dared object on the spot.
Throughout the whole discussion, my teammates ignored me completely.
Nobody acknowledged what I said.
I said, "I think we could approach it from this angle..." but they kept right on discussing, as if they hadn't heard me at all.
Nobody used the materials I put together.
"Here are the sources I found..." I held them out, but no one even glanced at them. They shoved everything aside.
I tried to join the discussion, but every time I opened my mouth, someone would cut me off.
"We've already decided.
"We don't need your opinion.
"Just stay out of the way."
In the end, I gave up.
I sat there quietly, watching them buzz with excitement over the project.
It was as if I were invisible.
No, worse than invisible.
I was a parasite everyone despised.
An eyesore they wished would disappear.