Chapter 2

But the moment I saw how my room had changed, all the good vibes just vanished.

Everything I used to own was completely messed up. Now, there wasn't a single thing left that belonged to me; it was all Ruby's and Zick's stuff.

I felt this intense sense of intrusion, like my territory had been taken over. Holding back my frustration, I asked Mom, "Where are my things?"

Ruby quickly butted in, "We put all your stuff away safely. Nothing got thrown out, I swear."

She hurried to reassure me, like she was afraid I'd snap, "Amy, don't worry. We vacuum-packed everything for you. You know, there's so much of Zick's stuff everywhere; it's chaos, so there wasn't much space left.

"And I didn't want your things to get dirty or messed up by accident."

"You're not mad, are you? It's my fault for not thinking it through. Don't hold it against me, okay?" she added.

Before I even got a chance to say anything, she was already playing the victim.

Just like that, I was made out to be the unreasonable one.

Dad folded his arms and snorted, "No one tossed your stuff out, so what are you freaking out about? You don't even live here anymore, yet you act like this place is still yours. Seriously, that's just selfish.

"Besides, Ruby already went out of her way to clear some space for you. Just sort through your things slowly—what's with the attitude?"

"It's okay, Mr. Pendleton. Amy's probably just wiped out, and seeing her room all turned upside down must've stressed her out," Ruby said, trying to smooth things over.

"That's right," Mom chimed in, nudging me toward the living room. "You just sit down for a bit. Ruby and I will straighten things up—won't take long at all."

I was pretty pissed off by what Dad said at first, but watching Mom and Ruby scurrying around to clean up, I just couldn't hold onto my anger anymore.

Maybe I was just making a fuss over nothing. I tried to comfort myself.

I hadn't been home in ages, and with Zick's situation being kind of special, it was not like they did it on purpose. I didn't need to get bent out of shape just because they used my room.

For the next few days, the vibe at home was actually pretty peaceful.

Now that I'd quit my job and finally let myself unwind, I spent most of my days just catching up on sleep. Whenever I felt up for it, I'd mess around with Zick and even found myself having some heart-to-heart chats with Ruby.

Ruby moved back into the room with Lucas, but she still had to get up late at night to feed the baby.

Not wanting to disturb Lucas, she'd carry the baby out to the living room to try and soothe him back to sleep.

Every so often, if I got up for a drink or to use the bathroom and bumped into her by chance, she'd always whisper an apology, asking if Zick's fuss had disturbed my sleep.

Seeing how exhausted she was, I couldn't help but reflect. Was I too petty before?

Honestly, maybe I should just get my own apartment and move out soon; then they could do whatever they wanted with this place.

But I didn't expect reality to smack me in the face for being so naive.

Three days was all it took for the fake harmony to crack; I overheard Ruby griping in the next room, "So when is she actually leaving? It's cramped enough in here already. Now that she's back, we're all practically suffocating.

"All she ever does is eat and sleep. Does she think she's come home to be treated like some princess?"

Ruby didn't stop there; next came Lucas's turn. "Honestly, you're hopeless. If I'd known you couldn't even buy us a proper place, I never would've married you. Now I have to deal with all this crap."

Lucas tried to joke his way out, grinning, "What do you mean I can't afford a place? You're living under a roof, aren't you?"

"Yeah, right," Ruby snapped back. "The minute Amy showed up, I felt like I had to pack my bags. I can't make any decisions in this house anymore."

Dad grumbled, "We need to push her out the door and get her working already. Seriously, she's a grown woman—coming back here and sponging off her folks? What does she think this is?"

I almost laughed out loud. Since when did I ever sponge off my family?

I gave them my share of the living expenses on my second day back.

And then, to my utter disbelief, I heard Mom, who used to always have my back, saying, "Don't get upset, okay? Amy barely ever comes home these days. In a couple of days, I'll talk to her and find out when she's leaving."

"Relax, she won't be here long. If she tries to stay here freeloading without going out to work, there's no way I'll allow it," Mom added firmly.

It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.

Did I really just hear Mom say that?

Just days before, Mom was holding my hand and gently patting my head, her voice full of tenderness. "Amy, life out there's been tough on you. Now that you're home, I will take care of you and help you recharge."

"If you're feeling down or just don't want to work for now, don't stress yourself. Just stay home and relax. As long as I'm around, you'll always have a meal waiting for you," she'd told me.

Her words hit me right in the heart; I was so touched, I immediately sent her 6 thousand dollars to help out with living expenses.

But now what was she saying?

No, I didn't want to start doubting Mom just because of that.

Maybe she was only trying to smooth things over for Ruby, just saying what she thought she needed to hear.

Anyone else in this house might end up feeling distant toward me, but Mom? That was impossible.

Mom had always been gentle and doting with me, right from the start.

Sure, Dad's got his whole favor-the-boys thing going on, but Mom? She did her best to make things fair. If Lucas got something delicious, I got, too. If he had new clothes, so did I.

If I wanted something and Dad refused, Mom would sneak it to me later without a second thought.

Even when I was working far away, she'd blow up my phone with calls and messages, fussing over me more than anyone else in the family.

How could all of that be fake?

No, I shouldn't rush out to call them out right now. I had better just keep my head down and see what happens next.

If Ruby kept stirring up drama, and Lucas couldn't be bothered to back me up, one day I was just going to snap and kick both of them out.

I paid for the house. I was literally still forking over mortgage payments every month.

Back when Lucas was getting married but couldn't scrape together enough for a place, everyone basically pinned their hopes on me.

I bit the bullet, cleaned out my savings, took out a loan, and bought this house. And yeah, we hashed out the details way before, all nice and clear.

The deal was, they could stay here for ten years. After that, it was simple. Either they packed up and moved out, or paid me back for the house, and I sold it to him.

That night, dinner was really bare-bones with yogurt and salad.

I kept quiet. I was not fussy when it came to food; whatever they cooked, I would eat without complaint.

But Dad had to start with his usual passive-aggressive routine. "An extra mouth to feed means more money out the door. Times are tough, so we'll just have to stick to yogurt and salad."

And yeah, that was definitely meant for me.

I shot back, "Short on cash? I literally just gave Mom 6 thousand dollars for groceries and bills, didn't I?"

Dad snorted, "6 thousand dollars? You think that's actually a lot? Have you seen how expensive everything is these days? With all these people in the house, and meat on the table every night, your 6 thousand dollars won't even last a week at this rate,"

"Alright, how about you just give me the money back and I'll take care of all the grocery shopping myself from now on?" I suggested.

Dad choked on his words, then got all flustered and slammed his fork down. His face turned bright red with rage. "You've been working for years—tell me, how much have you ever actually contributed to this family? Now you're back living under our roof, you toss out 6 thousand dollars for living expenses, and then ask for it back? Who does that? That's just shameful."

I couldn't believe my ears. Did Dad really just call me shameful?

Honestly, I was so pissed I actually let out a laugh. I hardly ever talked to Dad anyway. I always tried to steer clear of any drama with him.

And since I started working, he pretty much stopped caring about what I did.

He almost never put me on blast like he did today, actually going out of his way to pick a fight.

"Ever since I started working, I've been wiring over 600 dollars to you guys every single month for living expenses. If that's not good enough for you, then tell me—how much Lucas has actually chipped in, huh?" I snapped.

I added, "Oh, please, let's be real. Forget him giving you anything—I'm betting most of the living expenses I handed over just got funneled straight to cover his bills.

"As a father, you play favorites so blatantly. Doesn't it bother you at all? Seriously, do you even have any shame left?"

Dad slammed his fork and snapped, "How dare you?"