Chapter 1
The day I finished building the house for Emily Carter, I told her, "You're the only family I've got. This place is your strength, whenever life gets tough, remember you've got this home behind you."
She nodded, tears streaming down her face.
Three years later, I came back from Brighton and pushed open the door. I froze.
The living room was packed with eight folding beds. Three women were cooking in the kitchen at the same time, and the yard was covered with clothes from people I'd never met.
Mark Evans grinned and started introducing everyone. "Andrew Carter, these are my parents, my older brother's family, my second brother's family, my third brother's family."
Thirty-five people had crammed into the six-story building.
And Emily? She'd been squeezed all the way up into the storage room on the top floor.
I didn't say a word. I just turned and walked out.
The next morning, the roar of bulldozers woke everyone up.
The moment the thirty-foot wall sealed them in, Mark's entire family went into full panic mode.
The day I finished building the house for Emily, I told her, "You're the only family I've got. This place is your strength, whenever life gets tough, remember you've got this home behind you."
She stood in front of the unfinished house, nodding through her tears.
That year, I was twenty-six, and she was twenty.
Our parents died young, so I raised her myself.
After high school, I went straight to the construction sites and took whatever tough jobs I could get.
Every dollar I managed to save was just so she could have a better life.
This six-story building with a little yard? I risked everything to make it real.
I told her, "No matter who you end up with, no matter what kind of trouble you run into, this place will always be your home."
She had a place to fall back on, a place that gave her strength.
Three years later, I came back from a project in Brighton.
It was the end of the year, and I wanted to surprise her.
I didn't call ahead.
As soon as I turned into the alley, that familiar white house came into view.
My heart warmed at the sight.
But as I got closer, my brow furrowed.
The fence was strung with clothes in every color imaginable.
Men's, women's, kids', all mixed together.
It looked like a thrift store had exploded.
I pushed open the iron gate, which was just barely ajar.
The air inside was thick with the smell of grease and sweat, hitting me right in the face.
In the living room, the sofa I'd carefully picked out was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, eight folding beds were crowded together in its place.
Each bed was piled high with a jumble of blankets and sheets.
An old lady I didn't recognize was sitting by one of the beds, wiping the mouth of a kid with a runny nose.
From the kitchen came the loud sizzle of stir-frying.
Three middle-aged women I didn't know were squeezed in front of the stove, and the whole place was filled with the racket of pots and pans.
I just stood there in the doorway, frozen.
My mind went completely blank.
"Hey, who are you looking for?" the old lady asked.
The old lady looked up at me, her eyes full of suspicion.
Before I could say anything, Mark poked his head out of the kitchen.
He broke into a wide grin as soon as he saw me.
"Andrew. When did you get back? Why didn't you let us know ahead of time?" Mark asked.
Mark jogged over with a big grin and grabbed my arm.
Mark said, "Come on in, come on in. It's freezing out here."
He practically dragged me into the living room.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, come out! My brother-in-law's back."
In an instant, the whole house burst into a commotion.
Footsteps, chatter, and the wailing of kids filled the air.
People started pouring out of every room.
Old folks, kids, men, women, they just kept coming.
The place was packed, so many people it was almost suffocating.
I glanced around, counting them off in my head.
One, two, three... at least thirty people.
Mark grinned and started introducing everyone.
"Andrew, this is my dad and my mom," Mark said.
He pointed at the wary old lady and a skinny old man with a cigarette in his mouth.
"This is my big brother and his family, four people in total," he added.
"And here's my second brother's crew, five of them," Mark went on.
"And my third brother just got married, so he and his new wife moved in too," Mark said.
"And a few of my cousins, their place is too small, so they're crashing here for now," he added.
Every time Mark introduced someone, they'd just nod at me with these half-hearted smiles, like they totally belonged and I was just some outsider.
It was like I was the intruder in my own house.
Thirty-five people.
They crammed into every corner of this six-story building.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging painfully into my palms.
"Where's Emily?" I asked.
My voice was very calm.
So calm it scared even me.
Mark's smile faltered for a second.
"Oh, Emily?" he said.
He pointed toward the top floor.
"She's up in the storage room on the top floor," Mark said. "It's quiet up there; no one bothers her."
Quiet.