Chapter 3
My phone buzzed. It was Emily. [My parents made the decision for me. They want me to stay in Northbridge, since I have family and friends here to look after me.
[Alex's dad is a close friend of my dad's. I can't leave him hanging. Hope you understand?]
I wasn't angry. I wondered why she hadn't told me sooner.
If I'd known, I wouldn't have thought she was the only one who stuck around for me.
She sent another message. [Why don't you change your college choices too? We could stay in Northbridge together. Wouldn't that be nice?]
No, it wouldn't.
I looked around.
David was holding the menu, chatting with Alex about what dishes to add.
Alex loved sweet food and couldn't stand anything spicy. David never forgot that.
Emily had her gloves on, carefully peeling shrimp for Alex.
All these years, I'd never seen her show this kind of thoughtfulness.
I realized I didn't belong here. Nobody cared if I was there, or what I ate, or if I left.
I stood up quietly and left without anyone noticing.
As I closed the door behind me, they were still chatting away. Nobody even looked up.
Back in the kitchen, I put on my apron and gloves, throwing myself into the dirty work.
*****
By nine o'clock, I was rubbing my shoulders as I walked out of the restaurant.
Susan called out, "Ethan! Your grandpa left something for you. Wait here for a bit."
I stood by the curb, waiting for her to pull up.
When the car pulled up, I saw Susan, her husband, and my little sister inside.
My little sister was probably tired, slumped over in her car seat.
I reached for the back door, but Susan clicked her tongue. "Forget it. Just take a cab. If you open the door and wake your sister, she'll throw a fit."
Before I could say anything, she handed me an address and sped off.
The exhaust hit me in the face, making me cough twice.
After comparing how much cash I had with the estimated cab fare, I hopped on the bus.
After two transfers and almost an hour, I finally made it to Susan's place.
The last time I was here, it was right after my grandpa got his cancer diagnosis. He said he was too sick to look after me and hoped Susan would let me stay with her.
I never even saw Susan. I stood outside the door, listening as she told my grandpa to leave. "My daughter's about to start elementary school.
"How am I supposed to handle another kid? He's old enough to go to boarding school. Don't make this my problem!"
I pressed the doorbell, and Susan opened it, looking annoyed. "You're so slow. Just like your dad, always dragging your feet."
She tossed me a pair of shoe covers. "Put these on."
Even before I stepped inside, she grabbed a little stool, covered it with a sheet of paper, and said, "Sit here and wait. Don't mess up the couch."
I didn't move. "Just hand over Grandpa's things, and I'll be out of here."
Just then, the door cracked open a bit. My little sister peeked out, curiosity shining in her eyes. "Don't you have a home? Why are you here so late?"
Meeting her innocent gaze, I felt a lump in my throat. I couldn't say a thing.
Susan quickly shoved two plastic bags into my hands. "Your grandpa told me to give you these odds and ends while he was in the hospital.
"Alright, that's it. You can go now. Your sister needs to sleep, so don't linger and disturb her."
I turned and walked away.
Night had fallen, and there wasn't a bus in sight.
After wrestling with myself for ages, I couldn't bear to spend the money on a cab, so I started walking back, one step at a time.
It was almost fifteen miles from east to west. I walked and paused; my blisters burst and rubbed raw, and it took me over seven hours.
By the time I got back downstairs, the sun was already up.
The bread vendor looked at me in shock. "Ethan, what happened to you? You look like a ghost."
I forced a smile. "It's nothing. I walked a really long way."
But no matter how long that walk was, it was nothing compared to the lonely road ahead of me.
*****
Another couple of weeks went by, and I finally got my paycheck from my part-time job.
The real estate agent called. The house sold smoothly. I started boxing up my stuff and mailing it out, little by little.
The day before I was about to leave the city, my parents showed up. For once, they were actually talking about the same thing.
"Ethan, I remembered you're taking the SAT this year, right? So, you'll be heading off to college soon. What are you planning to do with the house?" Susan asked.
David chimed in, "Honestly, you're still pretty young. Keeping the house isn't a good idea. It's easy for scammers to take advantage.
"Why not sell it? We'll set the money aside for you, and when you get married, you can use it for your wedding."
I stared at them, not calling them out on their lies.
Just ten minutes ago, they were bickering right outside the door. I caught every word through the wall.
Susan claimed the house belonged to her side of the family, so she should inherit it.
David snorted, saying they bought it with money from their marriage, so he deserved a share, too.
They'd both forgotten. Back then, when they tossed me aside and left me with my grandpa as if I were nothing but garbage, his only request was to make sure the deed to this old house was in my name.
I kept my cool and said, "Sure, you can call the agent. But I'm pretty tired today. Let's handle it tomorrow."
They both looked pleased, chatting quietly as they left.
*****
Early the next morning, my parents showed up right on time and knocked on the door.
As soon as I opened it, they tried to squeeze inside, but the moment they saw what was inside, they stood rooted to the spot.
Inside, a middle-aged couple I didn't recognize was measuring the living room with a tape measure. "What are you doing here? Who are you looking for?"
"We're looking for our son."
"What son?" the woman cut in, not bothering to be polite. "We finished the transfer on this house yesterday. We're here today to take measurements for the renovation.
"We even paid extra to snatch up this valedictorian's house, so if you've got no business here, get out."