Chapter 4
Madison followed close behind, and though I couldn’t see her expression, I imagined a flicker of mockery in her eyes as she
tugged Zachary’s arm.
“Wow, a Ferris Wheel! Zachary, I want to ride that too…”
When we heard the attendant announce there were only two seats left, Zachary didn’t even glance at me. He took Madison’s
hand and bolted ahead to snag one of the last seats.
Twenty minutes later…
When he returned to the ground level, he looked all over the mall but couldn’t find me anywhere. I had already left.
It was around 8 p.m.
I picked up my suitcase and left my bedroom. Underneath my house key, I pressed a folded note that simply read “We are
done.”
Without looking back, I walked out.
At 11 p.m., my phone buzzed. It was Zachary calling. I was in the living room talking with my parents and didn’t notice.
An hour later, he called again. I flipped my screen off, powered down my phone, and went to sleep.
I didn’t wake up until noon the next day. When I finally restarted my phone, I was surprised to see over a dozen missed calls.
Sensing something, I opened Facebook. Even Zachary-who was always indifferent-had, for the first time ever, sent multiple messages back-to-back:
[What do the keys and that note mean?]
[Seriously? You’re mad I forgot your birthday? Not picking up calls or replying to texts, playing hard to get-do you think that’s cute?]
[Lily, you’ve got one hour to get your ass back here. Otherwise, don’t bother coming back ever again.]
I noticed the last message had arrived three hours ago. I exhaled, tapped my screen, and deleted Zachary’s chat thread.
A knock sounded at my door. With my consent, Mom brought in a glass of warm milk.
“Morning, darling. Here’s the milk, drink it up, it’s good for your stomach.”
Last night, I had shown up unannounced with my suitcase. My parents hadn’t asked a single question-they just cared for me as always.
I wrapped my arm around Mom’s and sniffled, saying, “Mom, I found a place. It’s small, but it’ll keep me covered.”
She smiled brightly. “Then go for it. How much more do you need? I’ll pitch in.”
Even though I shook my head to show I had enough, she still transferred $20,000 to me.
She said, “A woman needs her own place and savings to stand on her own feet.”
So I called the landlord and set up a lease signing for next Monday.
That evening, Dad not only cooked a full dinner but also bought a cream cake to make up for missing my birthday yesterday.
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Staring at the lit candles, I pressed my hands together and made a heartfelt wish: that my parents would stay healthy and everything would go well.
Just moments after blowing them out, I received an unexpected message.
R
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