I Drew the Blank Straw for Eighteen Years Chapter 08

I Drew the Blank Straw for Eighteen Years Chapter 08

Mom saw the and rushed forward, grabbing iny hand, her voice already thick with tears.

“Wren, you came all the way out here by yourself-why didn’t you tell us? Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been?”

I gently pulled my hand back, stepped away.

“Ma’am.”

Mom looked like she’d been struck by lightning, staggering, nearly losing her balance.

“What did you just call me?” she demanded, disbelieving.

“Ma’am. Didn’t you always say it would’ve been better if you’d only ever had Vivienne and Marielle? Well. You’ve got your wish now.”

Dad rushed to explain.

“That was just something we said in the heat of the moment. How could you take it seriously?”

“Eighteen years of saying it in the heat of the moment, huh?” My voice stayed perfectly level.

Dad’s face went dark.

Mom fumbled out a box-inside, a silver charm bracelet, far finer than the ones Vivienne and Marielle had

gotten.

“Wren, we got this made specially for you. You always wanted one, didn’t you? Here, try it on, see if it fits.”

Mom’s voice strained to sound gentle, but the tremor at the end gave her away.

“Didn’t you already give me one?”

Mom and Dad both went silent, caught off guard.

Vivienne jumped in, trying to smooth things over.

“This one-Mom and Dad picked it out just for you. It even has your name engraved on it.”

“If it’s so special, then why didn’t you give it to me on my eighteenth birthday?”

Mom, Dad, and Vivienne all went quiet.

I spoke first, my voice cold and shaking.

“Because on my eighteenth birthday, I wasn’t the top scorer in the state yet. I hadn’t gotten into Ashcombe

yet.”

“In your eyes, I didn’t deserve that gift. I only deserved an eighteen-dollar plastic bracelet.”

“That’s not it, Wren, that’s not how it was at all!” Mom tried desperately to explain.

“Then how was it? The night before my eighteenth birthday, you’d already ordered the cake for Vivienne and

Marielle.”

“Eighteen years, and I drew the blank straw every single time-not because I had bad luck, but because you never once meant for me to have a birthday!”

I was practically shouting by the end.

Mom and Dad flinched, their faces going white, lips moving without sound.

“That was because… when you were born, the psychic said your star chart was different, that we weren’t supposed to celebrate your birthday.”

I laughed, cold and short.

“Did the psychic also tell you to have me work through every summer and winter break to help pay the bills? To make me give up my spot at Central for Marielle? To make me live in a storage room for three years?”

Mom collapsed straight onto the ground, tears splashing onto her clothes.

Dad hung his head, covering his eyes with both hands.

Vivienne’s eyes filled with tears too.

I said it, calm and even.

“Just admit it. You never loved me.”

I turned to head back toward campus when Mom shot up and grabbed my arm.

“Wren, we know we were wrong. Marielle knows she was wrong too. She wrote you this–for everything she

did.”

I took the apology letter, didn’t even glance at it, and tore it to pieces on the spot.

The scraps fell over Mom and Dad.

“Not every ‘I’m sorry’ can undo the damage. I don’t accept apologies that come this late.”

“Wren, do you really not want us as your parents anymore?” Dad’s voice shook.

“I don’t.” There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in my voice.

Walking through the gate, I spotted Callum waiting for me under a tree right away.

He could tell I was down, and spent the whole walk trying to cheer me up.

When he dropped me off at my dorm, he stopped and turtied to me.

“Wren. Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back. I’ll be right here.”

He held out his hand, revealing a gold bracelet with my name engraved on it.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

I reached for it myself, eyes bright with a smile.

“Yes.”

The bracelet caught the light on my wrist, and something warm settled in my chest.

Life at Ashcombe kept moving steadily forward.

My grades earned me award after award, and I got pulled early into the department’s core research group.

This time, there was no scheming, no weighing who deserved what.

The people around me celebrated for me because they genuinely wanted to.

Meanwhile, after her final blowup with Mom and Dad, Marielle stopped coming home almost entirely, and eventually stopped altogether.

The family found out later that she’d found some guy off the street and dropped out of school outright.

After that, Mom and Dad came to Montreal looking for me a few more times, always loaded down with bags

of gifts.

I never once agreed to see them.

Vivienne somehow tracked down my new number and sent message after message.

I never opened a single one.

Because love that comes too late–I don’t need it.

THE END