Five People, Four Cups, One Who Walked Away Chapter 07

Five People, Four Cups, One Who Walked Away Chapter 07

Cole didn’t wait until evening. 

At four that afternoon, Lily was the first to arrive. 

She didn’t enter my office. She waited for me at 

the end of the hall. 

She held a box of cinnamon rolls. 

“From the place in the West End.” 

She offered me the bag. 

“Your favorite.” 

I didn’t take it. 

Lily’s fingers stiffened around the bag. 

“I used to know that.” 

“Then Mia kept saying she loved them, and I got it 

mixed up.” 

“Nor, I’m sorry.” 

I looked at her. 

“You didn’t get it mixed up.” 

“You just figured I wouldn’t complain, so you didn’t 

think it mattered whether you remembered.” 

Lily lowered her head. 

After a long silence, she managed, 

“Everything at home is a mess.” 

I said nothing. 

She gave a strained smile. 

“In the end, no one ate that dinner.” 

“Cole threw the cake down. Ethan blamed him for 

being too harsh with you.” 

“Mia kept crying and saying she would move out.” 

“No one cleared the table last night. No one made 

breakfast this morning, either.” 

I found that a little ridiculous. 

“So you’re here because there’s no one to cook?” 

“No.” 

She looked up at once. 

“It just hit me that everything in that house has 

depended on you for three years.” 

“When the utility bills are due, where the medicine 

is, what foods Ethan avoids, how to wash Cole’s 

shirts.” 

“It’s not that we can’t live without a housekeeper.” 

“We took everything you did for granted.” 

At least that was more honest than Cole’s “Come 

back with me.” 

But being honest this late didn’t make up for what they’d done. 

Lily set the paper bag on the windowsill. 

“I’m not going to try to talk you into coming back.” 

“I just wanted to say I was wrong.” 

Not long after she left, Ethan arrived, too. 

He came empty–handed and immediately asked, 

“You and Cole really broke up?” 

“Yeah.” 

“There’s no chance of working it out?” 

“No.” 

Ethan adjusted his glasses. 

“All right. I won’t try to defend him.” 

“But Mia wants to move out. Could you talk her out 

of it?” 

I stared at him. 

“She’s your cousin.” 

“You can’t talk her out of it, so you ask me?” 

He faltered, his expression tightening. 

“She thinks it’s her fault you left.” 

“She hasn’t been eating or drinking these past two 

days. She even put all her drawing boards away.” 

“Nora, she had a rough childhood at my uncle’s 

house. She’s just terrified of getting kicked out.” 

“And?” 

“So we looked out for her a little more. We weren’t 

trying to hurt you.” 

I gave a short laugh. 

“Ethan, you’re still making excuses.” 

“I don’t care whether you meant to hurt me.” 

“Does hurting someone by accident make it hurt 

any less?” 

Ethan was silent for a long time. 

Just before leaving, he said suddenly, 

“The day she bought those mugs, she knew there 

were only four.” 

My hand went still. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Lily asked her about it afterward.” 

“She said the set only came with four, and she figured you wouldn’t mind.” 

Ethan’s voice sounded strained. 

“And the art studio.” 

“She was the one who asked Cole if she could 

have your room after you moved out.” 

“We all thought you would come back, so we said 

yes.” 

So Mia hadn’t always been oblivious. 

She had seen that empty place. 

Then she’d tried to take that seat. 

But they were still the ones who had let her stay. 

That night, Mia sent me another message. 

This time, there was no crying and no apology. 

[Nora, I want to see you.] 

[There are things I’ll only tell you.]