Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Less than thirty minutes after Henry left, Melody sent me a screenshot.
It was Gianna’s Instagram post: “Perfect morning
Say you’re hungry and your crush magically
appears with breakfast. I think this might be turning into something real… ?”
The photo showed the exact same box of chocolate croissants from my kitchen table.
I didn’t reply.
Just silently wiped my tears and knelt down to clean up the spilled boba tea. After scrubbing forever, I realized with frustration that the stain had soaked deep into the wool carpet fibers. It wasn’t
coming out.
In a burst of anger, I rolled up the entire carpet and threw it away. It was the one Dad had bought
when he and Henry first moved in with Mom and me.
While I was at it, I gathered every gift he’d ever given me. Even the photos from when our parents
forced us to pose as “one happy family” at their wedding.
It took all day to pack up and throw away six years of memories. Not like he’d want any of this stuff
anyway.
After that day, I didn’t hear from him for days. Things must be going well with Gianna. Or maybe he
was waiting for me to cave first – like I always did, like the good little stepsister who let him sneak
nto her room in the middle of the night.
But this time, I didn’t reach out.
There was no point anymore.
I blocked him on everything – Instagram, Snapchat, texts, calls. Changed the password on our shared Netflix account. Deactivated all my social media accounts.
After that purge, I called Mom who was away on a business trip with Dad. Told them I wanted to spend the summer with Aunt Claire in Boston.
My plan was to stay there until fall, then head straight to Juilliard with Melody. Besides her, no one knew I’d switched schools.
16:07
Offside with My Sten Brother: Hockey Star Refuses to Accent My Condhue
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16:07
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Chapter 7
This way, I could perfectly avoid any chance of running into Henry at home.
Mom sounded concerned on the phone. “Iris, honey, is everything okay between you and Henry? Dad and I hate when you two fight.”
I made up some excuse, not wanting to explain. Just said I missed Aunt Sarah and Grandma.
Begged Mom to book me on the next available flight – I needed to leave tonight.
But as I was heading out, I ran into Henry’s grandmother by our driveways. Though I was not familiar with her.
“Iris, sweetie! I thought you two were flying to Aspen for skiing while your parents are away. He mentioned planning a special trip – you have my full blessing!”
I was confused.
During senior year finals, I had mentioned wanting to go skiing in Aspen, dreaming about a winter getaway.
But given everything, a romantic trip seemed ridiculous now.
Running late for my flight, I mumbled some excuse and hurried off.
What I didn’t expect was to see Henry himself at the airport.
Offside with My Step–Brother: Hockey Star Refuses to Accent My Goodbye.
