Chapter 3

She grabbed my arm. "You're not leaving until you pay up in full."

It hit me. Every month, I'd remind Joey to send the rent, worried he'd forget. I'd gotten used to handing my pay over to him, thinking it gave him some security.

This month, swamped with work, I'd forgotten to remind him.

Her screeching voice pierced my throbbing head. "Your brother came for his things, said he was broke. And now you play dumb? I knew you were trying to skip town."

My mind was spinning. Then I remembered Joey's laugh on the phone.

This was his plan. After five years of acting, he was finally unleashing his hatred.

Dizzy, I fumbled for the cash in my pocket. She snatched it before I could speak. More than one hundred. Maybe covered half a month.

Leaning on the wall for support, I stumbled into the bedroom to grab a few things from the floor. My stomach gnawed with hunger. I'd figure the rest out later.

Money in hand, she still wasn't done. "Weirdest siblings I ever saw, sharing one room. Brother dresses like a million bucks. You owe me a cleaning fee too."

A high-pitched ringing filled my ears.

Her words were like needles. I tried to stand.

But before I could even straighten up, everything went black, and I crashed to the floor.

The last thing I heard was a sickening thud, then her panicked voice. "Get your stuff and get out," before she fled.

I woke up hours later. The apartment was silent. Rain tapped against the window. I grabbed my bag and left.

Passing a convenience store, I saw the owner toss a bag of rotten fruit and some expired bread rolls into the dumpster.

I stood and watched. When I realized what I was thinking, a hysterical laugh almost bubbled up. I wondered when I hit this point.

I fished out an unopened roll, squatted by the curb, and stared at it for a long time before finally taking a bite. Thank god it was dark.

My phone buzzed. A WhatsApp notification. Joey had sent and then immediately recalled a message.

Looking at that little notice, my eyes blurred. He'd probably sent it to the wrong person, or it was something nasty. But I was an expert at fooling myself. Maybe, just maybe, he was a little worried.

I checked my pockets. Empty.

I called him. It took several tries.

The wind was loud. "Can you come get me?" I was broke. Couldn't walk to the house.

A long pause, then a laugh. It sounded victorious. "What's wrong, Nina? Don't you have legs?"

Not a trace of sympathy or compromise in his voice.

I couldn't even get a word out. All I heard was the beep as he hung up.

During those five years, he'd said the same thing. Knocked over the soup I'd made him.

Laughed when I begged for a ride to the hospital.

Back then, I believed his leg injury and "depression". I thought his condition made him cruel.

Now I knew. It was just hate. He always believed I was the one who should be responsible for our parents' deaths.

I should've realized it way earlier. He'd been sick of me for ages.

I finished the roll. The street was dead. He wasn't coming.

Out of options, I called Otto. It was the middle of the night his time. He answered fast.

I didn't want to keep him up, so even though I felt embarrassed, I just got straight to the point and asked if he could lend me some money.

Otto was silent for a long moment on the other end.

My ears burned. We hadn't spoken much since he went abroad. This was out of line. So I decided to end the call.

"Where are you?" he interrupted.

My mind was foggy. I mumbled the address and hung up.

Deep down, I knew no one was coming. Otto was all the way overseas. He probably just asked for my address so he could pass it along to Joey.

The streaming comments flickered back.

[Ugh, the nuisance is trying to guilt-trip the male lead again!]

[Good thing he's not falling for it. He knows it's Elisa's birthday.]

[If he ditches her now, we'll make sure his 'winning her back' arc is pure agony!]

So today was Elisa's birthday.

Joey used to celebrate mine. Our parents never bothered. He, the ultimate jock, would order pink princess cakes, buy me frilly dresses.

I couldn't remember how many years it had been since he'd done that.

I was dozing off on the curb when I heard, "Nina."

I looked up. A tall figure was walking toward me.