They Took Everything by Vote, So I Disappeared Chapter 02

They Took Everything by Vote, So I Disappeared Chapter 02

They came back from the sushi restaurant at ten that night.

Kelsey was carrying a takeout box.

“Here.”

“Brought you something.”

“That place is crazy expensive. I didn’t even order much for myself.”

“I saved these for you.”

I opened the box.

Inside were four dried-out sushi rolls, the rice around the edges already hard.

No salmon.

No sweet shrimp.

Just a few strips of cucumber and some cheap pork floss.

They were obviously just scraps left over from their meal.

“Thanks.”

I closed the box and pushed it aside.

Kelsey frowned.

“I carried that all the way home for you, and you’re still giving me that look?”

Mom heard the commotion and came in.

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“Mom, I brought her food, and she won’t even touch it!”

Kelsey looped her arm through Mom’s and whined.

Mom glanced at me, irritation written all over her face.

“Erin, your sister was thinking about you.”

“Don’t be ungrateful.”

“Just leave it there. I’ll heat it up tomorrow morning,” I said calmly.

Mom couldn’t be bothered to say anything else.

She turned to Kelsey.

“Kelsey, didn’t you have your eye on that skincare set?”

“I’ll take you to get it tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Mom!”

The two of them walked out, chatting and laughing.

The door closed behind them, cutting off the light from the living room.

I tossed the sushi into the trash can under my desk.

Early the next morning, I got ready to leave.

Dad sat on the couch reading the newspaper without looking up.

“Where are you going?”

“I have an interview for a server job at Southside Diner.”

“Mm.”

He turned a page.

“Stop by the dry cleaner while you’re out.”

“Pick up your brother’s suit.”

“Okay.”

I put on my shoes, opened the door, and left.

But I didn’t go to the diner.

With my bag over my shoulder, I went straight to the municipal records office.

My state ID was in my bag, along with the documents I’d secretly taken from home the night before.

I handed everything to the clerk at the municipal records office.

“I need to update my permanent address.”

The clerk looked over the nondisclosure and security agreement for the research program.

“This assignment is pretty remote.”

“Harsh conditions, too.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“I’m sure.”

I looked at him and nodded.

The clerk typed for a few moments, the printer humming beside him.

A few seconds later, he handed me the confirmation showing my new permanent address.

Next to my name, my permanent address had already been updated to the research facility.

From that moment on, that house was no longer my legal residence.

I found a copy and print shop and scanned and uploaded my legal residence records and background-check documents.

All the paperwork was done.

On my way home, I stopped by the dry cleaner and picked up Bryce’s suit.

When I got back, Mom was just coming out of the kitchen with a plate of bacon and pan-fried chicken cutlets.

“How’d the job search go?”

I hung Bryce’s suit on the rack behind the door.

“I start tomorrow.”

“Sixty dollars a day.”

“Good.”

Mom set the plate of meat in front of Bryce.

Bryce grabbed a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Oh, Mom. My business loan is still being processed.”

“But I need to take an investor out to dinner tomorrow and bring him a gift.”

“I’m still a few thousand dollars short.”

The table went quiet for a second.

Dad put down his fork.

“We don’t exactly have extra cash lying around right now.”

“Kelsey will need living expenses when school starts too.”

Bryce sighed, still cutting into his chicken with his knife and fork.

“Maybe I should just borrow from a loan shark.”

Mom immediately looked alarmed.

“A loan shark?”

“You can’t get mixed up with people like that!”

She thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to me.

“Erin, didn’t Grandma leave you a gold bracelet when she died?”

My hand froze over my plate.

Grandma knew I was the least favored one in the family.

Before she died, she’d secretly slipped me the gold bracelet she’d worn her entire life. Grandma also left me a small ownership share in the family home.

She’d left it to me so I’d have emergency money of my own.

“That bracelet has to weigh at least fifty grams.”

“At current gold prices, you could get $7,240 for it.”

Mom stared at me.

“Grandma left that to me.”

I looked up.

“Can’t you lend it to your brother just to get him through this?” Mom asked, her expression hardening.

Dad tapped the table.

“Enough.”

“We’re family. We don’t need to keep score with each other.”

“All in favor of using the bracelet to help Bryce out for now, raise your hand.”

Dad raised his hand first.

Mom followed without hesitation.

Bryce’s eyes darted away for a second.

Then he raised his hand too.

“Erin, consider it a loan.”

“Once the company turns a profit next month, I’ll pay you back double.”

Kelsey was still chewing as she raised her hand with a grin.