My Family’s Suitcase Was Always Too Small for My Future Chapter 01

My Family’s Suitcase Was Always Too Small for My Future Chapter 01

Summer break had just started, and Mom and Dad had already lined up my next job.

“Stocking shelves at the grocery store. Good pay, decent benefits, and you’ll get some real-world experience.”

They’d been pulling the same routine every summer since freshman year.

Freshman year, they stuck me in a diner kitchen while my sister Tessa Whitlock went to Cresthaven for the Fourth of July parade.

Sophomore year, a convenience store for me. Driving lessons for Tessa.

Junior year, I got sent to a tutoring center. Tessa got the Sunhaven Keys.

So where was it this year?

“The Silver Coast.”

My brother Grant Whitlock came in smiling, a pair of shoes in his hand.

“Got these just for you. You’ll be on your feet ten hours a day, so these’ll save your back.”

“I’m covering the trip this year. Tessa’s still young. She should be out seeing the world.”

Tessa squealed and threw herself into his arms.

“I knew it. I’m everyone’s favorite.”

I looked at Mom and Dad. They both looked away.

Not a single person in the room asked what I wanted. I was one year older than Tessa. One.

I smiled, crouched down, and slipped on the shoes. Weightless.

Light enough to walk right out of this family.

***

Mom was packing Tessa’s suitcase when she looked up, as if something had just occurred to her.

“Grant, Tessa’s going to be a senior next year. You should start pulling some strings for a good job for her.”

“Everyone and their mother has a degree now. It’s hard to land something decent, so you…”

She stopped mid-sentence.

It must have hit her that her other daughter, the one about to graduate, was standing right there.

Grant didn’t notice.

“Don’t worry, Mom. It’s all set. The day Tessa graduates, she’ll have a spot waiting.”

Then he paused. Like he’d just remembered I existed.

“You all set, Maren?”

“I’m fine.”

I’d already landed a job out in the Southwest. In a few more days, diploma in hand, I’d be gone.

Grant gave a vague nod and moved on.

Dad jumped in to fill the silence, smiling a little too wide.

“That’s our Maren. Never needs a thing. We’ve never had to worry about her.”

My fingers went still on my laces.

I wasn’t independent. I just knew no one was coming to help.

Grant was the firstborn. Six years of being the only child, the center of everything.

Tessa was the baby. Mom and Dad’s precious little girl.

And me, wedged in the middle, where no one thought to look.

Tessa set her soda down and looped her arm through mine.

“Want me to bring something back for you?”

She meant it. I could tell. But something uneasy flickered behind her eyes, quick and gone. Even Tessa knew this wasn’t fair.

But I knew better.

She’d forget.

Every trip, she remembered the scarf Mom wanted, the tie Dad liked. She hunted down vintage cameras for Grant.

She never remembered a thing for me.

That flicker of guilt would be gone before she even boarded the plane.

I was used to it.

I smiled.

“Surprise me.”

Mom looked up from the packing with a smile.

“See? Tessa’s so sweet to you.”

“Since she’s picking up a souvenir for you, you should pitch in for her trip.”

Dad jumped right in, like he’d been waiting for the cue.

“Tell you what. Hand over your first paycheck to Tessa. Extra spending money.”

“Oh, it’s fine.”

Tessa waved it off, but her eyes slid to me as she said it.

Grant ruffled her hair.

“Don’t worry about it. Just have fun.”

Just like that, my paycheck was spent for me. Nobody asked.

Every summer. Four years running.

That was why, after tuition last year, I had nothing left to live on.

I borrowed fifty bucks from Tessa for groceries. Less than five minutes after she Venmoed me, Mom and Grant both called.

“You’re a grown woman, Maren. You can’t be taking money from your little sister.”

“You’re supposed to be the older one. If you need money, ask Mom and Dad. Don’t go hitting up Tessa.”

I’d texted Mom an hour before that. She never replied.

When Tessa texted, she answered within seconds.

My phone buzzed. I grabbed the shoes and carried them to my room.

A text from my new manager.

[Paperwork’s all cleared. See you at Evermont next Monday.]

[Got it.]

I’d barely hit send when someone knocked.

Tessa let herself in and went straight for my suitcase.

“Mine is so beaten up. Let me take yours.”

“No. I need it.”

“For what? You never go anywhere.”

I didn’t answer.

She didn’t want it because it looked nice. She wanted it because she knew she wouldn’t care if it got trashed by baggage claim.

No matter how carefully I kept my suitcase, hers always came back trashed.

The air between us shifted. She stood there, staring me down, her jaw tight.

When I didn’t budge, she spun around and slammed the door behind her.

I started counting.

“Five, four, three, two… one.”

The door slammed open.

“Maren.”

Mom and Dad, right on schedule. Grant trailing behind.