Eighteen Years Of IOUs, One Day To Pay Them All Chapter 04

Eighteen Years Of IOUs, One Day To Pay Them All Chapter 04

I watched their faces, still believing that at least one of them would ask me to stay.

Instead, after a long silence, Mom reached into her bag and pulled out an old notebook.

She opened it to a page covered in cramped handwriting.

“You think threatening to cut us off is going to scare us? Fine. Then let’s settle the account first.”

She held the notebook open in front of me.

“I wrote down every cent you ever asked us for growing up. You think we treated you unfairly? Then let’s stick to the facts.”

Tessa hid behind Dad and rolled her eyes.

“Everyone knows you’ve been calculating since you were a kid. Every Christmas, the second you got your Christmas money, you started sucking up to Mom and Dad. Now you’re not getting what you want, so you’re turning on them? Since when is family something you can put a price on? And just so you know, the more you act like this, the less Mom and Dad think of you.”

My hands curled into fists as I took the ledger from Mom.

[September 2005 — Notebook, $5. Paid.]

[March 2006 — Study guide, $20. Unpaid.]

I flipped through page after page.

Every charge was recorded with perfect clarity, matching my IOUs exactly.

That was when I learned that sometimes pain went so deep, all that was left was numbness.

I closed the ledger, my voice strangely calm.

“Fine. Once I pay off the balance, whatever family bond we have ends there.”

Then I turned and walked out of the office.

Back in my dorm, I messaged my faculty advisor.

Me: [Could you help me move my flight up to tonight?]

Meanwhile, my phone kept lighting up with messages from the family group chat called “Bennett Family ❤️.”

Tessa and my brother had already told everyone their version of what happened, embellishing every detail.

The relatives immediately piled on.

My aunt: [What is wrong with Rowan? Starting a fight with her parents over something this small?]

My uncle replied: [Exactly. Imagine how hurt her parents must be.]

I didn’t respond.

Instead, I opened my camera and photographed every page of the ledger.

Then I sent the pictures to the group one after another.

It took me ten minutes to post every expense my parents had recorded.

The group chat went completely silent.

Without saying a word, I opened Venmo.

Amount: $9,840.

Recipient: Diane Bennett.

Note: [Payment in full for eighteen years of IOUs and every charge in the ledger. The balance is settled. From now on, neither of us owes the other anything.]

I sent the money, then left the chat without reading another message.

After that, I pulled my suitcase out from under the bed, folded all my clothes, and packed them inside.

I left the thick stack of IOUs and the ledger on my desk, along with a written statement that I was cutting ties with my family.

This time, the destination on my plane ticket was one I had chosen for myself.

And in that city, I would finally owe no one anything.