He Promised Me A Home And Gave It To Her Chapter 03

The day before the trip, we went to Julian’s family’s old Victorian house.

He wanted to put together a graduation scrapbook with photos from the past eight years.

Pictures were spread across the living room carpet.

In one, I was ten years old, soaked to the bone and wrapped in Orion’s jacket, while the three boys crowded around me, making faces at the camera.

There was another from when I was twelve. Jace had been ordered to stand outside as punishment, and I’d secretly stood on the other side of the fence to keep him company.

When we were fifteen, we’d built a snowman together in the yard.

On the back of one photo, Julian had written:

[Every year from now on, we’ll be together.]

What we’d had back then was real.

That was why losing it hurt so much.

Vivian studied the photos for a long time before smiling.

“Wow, you guys were really close while I was gone, weren’t you?”

She made it sound like a joke.

But Orion immediately reassured her.

“We’ll make up for lost time.”

“We’ve got plenty of years ahead of us.”

Only then did Vivian smile again.

Julian opened his laptop and showed us some apartments near Kingswell University.

“I found three places.”

“Vivian can’t handle stairs, so we should pick a building with an elevator.”

Jace chimed in.

“And she needs a quiet room. Nothing facing a busy street.”

Orion was looking at a photo of one of the kitchens.

“This one’s got a big kitchen. Vivian has a sensitive stomach, so we should cook for her instead of relying on takeout once we’re in Kingswell.”

They discussed everything seriously.

They went over which way the bedrooms faced, how much natural light they’d get, and how far each apartment was from the nearest hospital.

Vivian lay on the couch, pointing to the largest bedroom.

“This one has a balcony.”

“I could paint out there in the mornings. I like it.”

Jace made the decision immediately.

“Then it’s yours.”

It was only then that Vivian seemed to remember I was there.

“Where’s Elena going to sleep?”

The living room went quiet for a moment.

Orion took my hand.

“Elena’s easy to please.”

“She’s not picky. She can take whichever of the other two rooms she likes.”

Jace laughed.

“She’s slept in my family’s stockroom before. Give her a bed and she’ll survive.”

They weren’t wrong about what I’d endured.

I’d slept beneath an overpass and in hospital waiting rooms.

Sometimes, when Dad got drunk and locked me out, I’d spend the entire night curled up in the stairwell.

That was why they were so sure I could put up with anything.

But just because someone can endure something doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

Vivian edged a little closer to me.

“Then Elena should take the room with the balcony.”

“She is Orion’s girlfriend, after all.”

Orion tightened his grip on my hand as he gently reassured Vivian.

“You take it.”

“Elena won’t fight you for it.”

He didn’t ask what I wanted.

In his mind, I would never put him in a difficult position.

I looked down at our joined hands and suddenly remembered when I was sixteen.

Orion had stayed with me at the hospital all night. At dawn, he’d held my hand just like this.

He’d told me, “Elena, if there’s something you want, you can always tell me.”

“You don’t have to keep giving everything up for everyone else.”

After that, I really had tried asking for things.

But every time, there was someone else they believed needed their help more.

Eventually, I learned to give in again.

“I don’t need the balcony.”

I spoke up before anyone else could.

Vivian beamed.

“I knew Elena would understand!”

Julian handed me the finished scrapbook.

The last page was still blank.

He carefully wrote:

[See you at Kingswell. See you at our new home.]

“Elena, you should write something, too.”

I took the pen, struggling against the tears gathering in my eyes.

They genuinely expected me to go to Kingswell University with them.

And they had just as genuinely made sure someone else had a place in that so-called new home before I did.

I lowered my head and wrote:

[Safe travels.]

Vivian leaned over to read it.

“Why does that sound like something you’d write in someone’s yearbook?”

“It’s not like we’re going our separate ways.”

Jace laughed and gave her a playful nudge.

“Elena’s never been great with words. Give her a break.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

I laughed along with them.

The upstairs room that had originally been set aside for me was now filled with Vivian’s paintings.

Julian said she was entering them in a competition. He was worried about moisture damaging them and thought this was the safest place to store them for now.

Before I left, I slipped the second key into his coat pocket.

I’d barely reached the front gate when Julian came running after me.

“Where’s your key?”

“I left it upstairs.”

“Hang on. I’ll go get it.”

“Don’t bother.”

I looked at him.

“Vivian’s competition pieces are all in there. The less I go into that room, the less chance there is of me accidentally damaging something.”

Julian frowned.

“Elena, why are you acting like you’re just a guest here?”

“That’s your room.”

I looked toward the closed window on the second floor.

“It used to be.”

He froze.

Suddenly, Vivian cried out from upstairs.

“Julian! One of the frames fell over!”

Julian turned toward her voice without thinking.

It took less than a second.

But I already knew where he was going.

I walked away with the scrapbook in my arms.

Only one key remained on the cord around my neck.

As I walked, it made a faint metallic clink against the ring Orion had given me.

It was as though they were both things I’d eventually have to leave behind.