The Son They Never Wanted Became the One They Needed Chapter 03

The Son They Never Wanted Became the One They Needed Chapter 03

The day the SAT scores came out, my whole family gathered around the computer to check Logan’s results.

When they saw he’d barely made the SAT score requirement, they erupted in cheers.

They immediately started talking about celebrating with a big dinner.

Everyone crowded around Logan as they headed out the door.

Not one person asked how I’d done.

Later, when they noticed I barely talked about colleges during application season, they simply assumed I’d only gotten into a community college.

I stood behind the counter, expression calm.

I didn’t bother correcting them.

Then the café door chimed again.

Natalie Brooks walked in carrying several shopping bags and headed straight for Logan’s table.

I watched as she laid the gifts out one by one.

An iPhone.

An iPad.

A laptop.

Each box had a bigger logo than the last.

When I brought their drinks over, she was gently patting Logan on the head.

She looked up and froze.

“Ethan? What are you doing here?”

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest.

“Summer job.”

I had just set the drinks down when one of Logan’s classmates leaned over and whispered,

“Isn’t Natalie the girl next door who brought you that blessed charm from church the other day?”

“She’s gorgeous.”

I looked up sharply.

“What blessed charm?”

“Before the practice SAT, Logan posted on Instagram saying he wished he had a blessed charm from church for good luck.”

“The very next day, she brought him one. She even went all the way to St. Gabriel’s Chapel to get it.”

Logan slowly reached into his backpack and pulled out a pale yellow Blessed Exam Medal.

He dangled it between his fingers with a smile.

“You didn’t get one, Ethan?”

“I thought Natalie got one for both of us.”

The familiar seal of St. Gabriel’s Chapel engraved on the medal stabbed at my eyes.

The weekend before the practice SAT had happened to be my birthday.

Logan was in Ashford City for his performing arts conservatory audition.

Mom and my sister bought him a cake to celebrate.

I was home alone.

After thinking about it for a long time, I’d finally texted Natalie Brooks and asked if she’d spend the day with me.

She’d agreed.

But she’d chosen St. Gabriel’s Chapel.

When I was little, Logan had pushed me down the stairs.

I’d injured my knee.

Climbing mountains had been torture ever since.

The trail to the chapel stretched for over a mile.

By the time we reached the top, my legs were so weak I could barely stand.

But when I saw Natalie kneeling sincerely before St. Gabriel, praying for academic success and a bright future.

I’d thought every painful step had been worth it.

Like an idiot, I’d believed that because I was the one who climbed that mountain beside her.

I was also the one she was praying for.

I never imagined that someone else’s name had been in her heart from the very beginning.

I turned to look at Natalie.

She immediately looked away.

“The priest said each Blessed Exam Medal could only be prayed over for one person,” she explained awkwardly.

“The SAT was really important for Logan.If he didn’t make the SAT score requirement, all the hard work for his audition would be wasted.”

But.

I had taken the SAT this year too.

The words I’d planned to tell her—

That I’d been accepted to Ashford University—

Caught in my throat like a lump of cotton.

I couldn’t force them out.

I couldn’t swallow them either.

I took a deep breath and turned to leave.

Natalie hurriedly called after me.

“Ethan, wait.”

She dug through the bottom of one of the shopping bags and pulled out a flat shipping box.

“This one’s for you.”

I took it from her.

A strip of clear packing tape still clung to one corner, as if it had been pulled out of another package at the last second.

Inside was an Spanish learning tablet.

There was still a promotional sticker on the box that read Free Gift.

“I stopped by a bookstore a couple days ago,” Natalie said.

“They were giving away this Spanish learning tablet with a set of study materials, so I picked one up for you.”

“Even if you only got into a community college, don’t give up.”

“Study hard for the next couple of years, and you can always transfer to a four-year university.”

Someone snorted.

Then laughter exploded around the table.

“Seriously? My little brother stopped using one of those in sixth grade.”

“Maybe his English isn’t even as good as a sixth grader’s. A little extra studying won’t hurt.”

“Come on, guys. That’s enough.”

Logan slid the iPhone toward me.

“Ethan, if you don’t like the tablet, we can trade.”

“You can have all of these.”

Natalie immediately stopped him.

“I bought those especially for you.”

“Ethan’s grades aren’t good. The English tablet will help him.”

“Really?”

I pushed the tablet toward Logan.

“Didn’t Logan fail the English section of the SAT too?”

“Seems like he could use it.”

Logan’s smile froze.

His face turned red, then pale.

Natalie frowned.

“Ethan, if you think my gift wasn’t expensive enough, just say so.”

“You don’t have to take it out on Logan.”

“Oh, it wasn’t expensive enough.”

I turned around and tossed the shipping box into the trash.

“I don’t want it.”

“Don’t insult me with a free promotional gift.”

Natalie stared blankly at me.

She clearly hadn’t expected that reaction.

In the past, no matter what she gave me, I’d always accepted it happily.

Even when the difference between what Logan received and what I got was impossible to ignore.

I’d only be upset for a little while.

Then I’d convince myself to treasure it anyway.

“Ethan…”

Natalie called my name quietly.

I didn’t turn around.

I walked straight back behind the counter.

Then I pulled a Blessed Love Charm from my pocket and dropped it into the trash.

It landed with a soft click.

As if something that had bound me for years had finally broken free.