Seven Times They Chose Him. The Last Time, They Lost Me Chapter 05

Seven Times They Chose Him. The Last Time, They Lost Me Chapter 05

The car drove for over an hour and stopped at a hotel next to the Amtrak station.

I slept in the car. My cast dug into Aunt Claire’s arm, hard and stiff.

When I got out, the night wind hit me and I shivered.

Aunt Claire took off her jacket and wrapped it around me.

When I turned my smartwatch on, it was full of missed calls.

I dismissed them and blocked Mom and Dad’s numbers.

Aunt Claire glanced at me. “Leo, we’re going to Rockport.”

“Are Mom and Dad coming?”

“No.”

I just nodded and didn’t ask again.

I actually wanted to ask who would go to my parent-teacher conferences from now on.

The words reached my mouth and I swallowed them.

I opened my good hand. In my palm was half of the braided charm.

I’d torn it off Biscuit’s neck. When it snapped, half stayed around his neck.

“Aunt Claire, can this be fixed?”

“Yes. When we get there, I’ll braid you a new one.”

“I’ll weave your hair inside, just like this one.”

At the hotel front desk, Aunt Claire filled out the emergency contact form with her own name.

The front desk lady looked at my cast.

“Do you need me to call a doctor?”

“No, thank you.”

Aunt Claire carried me to bed. I didn’t sleep deeply. My left hand still clutched the broken half of the

braided charm.

The room was on the sixth floor, with a window facing the Amtrak station.

At night, I could hear trains pulling in. Clack. Clack.

In the middle of the night, Aunt Claire’s phone rang.

She went to the balcony and kept her voice low.

“Let him sue. They signed the school transfer papers themselves. The lawyer’s been on it for a

while.”

“The money is from my shop. They can’t touch a cent.”

She hung up and came back, stroking my head.

I pretended to be asleep.

She stood by the bed for a moment and sighed softly.

Truth was, I was okay. More than okay.

At two in the morning, someone pounded on the door.

I sat up in bed.

Outside, Dad’s voice. “Leo! Open the door! Dad’s here!”

I didn’t make a sound.

I lay back down and pulled the blanket up over my nose, leaving only my eyes out.

Outside the blanket, the pounding came in waves.

I squeezed the broken braided charm in my palm until it was sweaty.

Dad kept pounding. His fists hit the door with loud bangs.

The door next door opened. Someone cursed. “Are you crazy? Keep it up and I’m calling the police!”

Aunt Claire opened the door and stood in the way. “You heard him. Keep pounding and I’ll call the police.”

Dad saw her and froze for a second, then reached out to push past her.

Candy Crush Saga

“Let Leo out. He’s coming home with me.”

Aunt Claire didn’t move. His hand missed and hung in the air.

“You saw the transfer papers.”

“What gives you the right to take Leo? He’s my son!”

“Where were you when he passed out from the blood draw?”

Aunt Claire stood in the doorway, biting off every word.

“You were cutting up an apple for Connor. Now you remember you’re his dad?”

Dad’s face turned red.

“That was a misunderstanding. Connor was

“I don’t want to hear it.”

Aunt Claire cut him off.

“Leave. We have a train to catch tomorrow.”

He stood at the door, breathing hard. “Claire, don’t push me.”