They Filled Her Suitcase And Emptied My Place In The Family Chapter 08

They Filled Her Suitcase And Emptied My Place In The Family Chapter 08

Ethan stayed three days in Boston. He waited outside my dorm, my classroom, the library. Tried to bring breakfast-I threw it away. Tried to sit next to me in class-I called security. His pride and sense of superiority shattered against my calm.

On the fourth day, he left, defeated.

Later, I heard things weren’t going well at the house. Without me-the unpaid maid and emotional punching bag-life was chaos.

On her first day of orientation, Lily pretended to faint, expecting someone to take her to the

infirmary. No one came. She spent the afternoon alone, and the counselor marked her absent.

Mom threw dirty clothes in the bathroom and called out, “Vera, wash these.” No answer. Then she

remembered I was gone.

Marcus’s computer broke. He reached for me to fix it. When he saw the empty storage room, he

smashed his mouse.

They were finally realizing that the invisible person they’d walked all over was the loadbearing wall

of their comfortable lives. Without it, the whole house was drafty.

On the third day of fall break, I was in the lab when my phone rang-an unfamiliar Evanston number. I almost hung up, but I answered.

“Vera!” Mom’s shrill voice came through, crying. “Your grandmother’s dying! Get back here

now!”

My mind went blank. The test tube in my hand shattered on the floor.

“What?!” I was shaking.

“Your grandmother fell and has a brain hemorrhage! She’s at the county hospital! If you have any conscience, buy a ticket and come back right away!” The call ended.

I don’t remember getting leave or going to the airport. All I could see was my grandmother’s wrinkled face, handing me that money: “Vera, once you go to the big city, don’t look back.”

If anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself.

I landed in Chicago late at night. Rain was pouring. I ran into the county hospital emergency room,

soaking wet.

“Nurse, I’m looking for my grandmother-brought in with a brain hemorrhage!” I gripped the

counter, my voice hoarse.

The nurse checked her records. “She’s on the third floor in general surgery. It’s not a brain hemorrhage-just a mild concussion. She’s awake.”

I stood frozen. The blood in my veins seemed to reverse.

A mild concussion. Not dying.

I made my way to the third floor. The ward door was cracked. Through the gap, I saw Mom peeling an apple, Dad smoking by the window, Ethan and Marcus there too.

“Mom, is this going to work?” Marcus whispered. “Can we really trick her into coming back?”

Mom snorted. “She’s always been close to her grandmother. She’ll come. When she does, I’m going to get her into Northwestern. I’ve already looked into how to withdraw from Harvard—what’s a girl doing going that far? She’s getting too big for her boots!”

Dad exhaled smoke. “Ethan, when she’s back, talk to her. She listens to you most. If she stays to tutor Lily, everything else will fall into place.”

Ethan kept his head down, but his voice came through quietly: “I will, sir.”

I stood outside the door, rain running down my neck, cold to the bone.

They were willing to lie about my grandmother’s life to control me.

I didn’t push the door open. I dialed a private hospital in Boston for a transfer. Then I turned and walked to the doctor’s office.