They Wanted Me to Chaperone My Sister Abroad, So I Vanished Chapter 05

They Wanted Me to Chaperone My Sister Abroad, So I Vanished Chapter 05

My thumb traced the cartoon sticker as I drifted out of the park and into a nearby café, needing stillness.

A tray slid into view before me, holding a coffee and a slice of cake.

I squeezed the crumpled handful of loose cash in my pocket, my voice barely audible. “Sorry, this must be a mistake. I didn’t order anything.”

I couldn’t afford it. Admitting you’re broke at nineteen feels like swallowing glass.

My parents had more than enough money to send both daughters overseas, yet my allowance was always pitifully low.

Linda got piles of weekly spending money, as if they’d split both our allowances and handed every cent to her.

When I scraped together change just to buy school supplies and worked up the nerve to beg my folks for extra pocket money, all I got was cold scolding.

“Stop wasting money on trivial nonsense at your age. Your only priority should be studying.”

“Linda’s stuck on her homework—go help her work through it.”

Linda’s graduation gift had been a bank card. Meanwhile, the commuter train fare back from the remote amusement park had eaten most of what little cash I owned.

She upgraded to the full lineup of Apple products every single year. I didn’t even own a personal phone of my own for graduation.

The café staff just smiled and nodded at my wrinkled school uniform. “You’re a student, right? We’re running a graduate special—this coffee’s on the house. As for the cake, that handsome guy over there ordered it for you.”

I twisted around and spotted Julian Vance, a boy in my grade, grinning and waving me over.

Linda always dragged me along everywhere she went, and I was quiet by nature, so I’d never grown close to my classmates. I never imagined Julian would be this warm toward me.

“Bella, you have no idea how popular you are with everyone! We were all crushed when you skipped graduation photos!”

“I’m so glad I finally got a chance to talk to you—let’s take a selfie. Everyone’s gonna be jealous I’ve got a picture with you!”

Julian beamed like an eager, loyal dog and immediately posted our photo to his Instagram.

He rambled on nonstop, and for the first time in forever, my heart felt light and unburdened.

I wasn’t some weird, unlikable outcast after all. So many people had liked me, quietly, without me ever knowing.

When I prepared to leave, he insisted I take the untouched cake slice to go. “You’re way too thin—eat this, seriously. Wishing you all the best, Bella.”

I stood there awkwardly clutching the cake box, watching him glance back and wave until he vanished around the corner. I didn’t even notice my smile never faded the entire walk home.

The front door flew open the second I reached the building entrance, and furious faces bore down on me. My shoulders locked up instantly, hunched inward on instinct.

“Bella Miller, how dare you walk in here grinning!”

Mom’s voice cracked with shrill, angry sobs. “We left you resting in the first-aid station, and you took off wandering! Linda got heatstroke running all over the park searching for you! Now she’s stuck in the hospital, all because you couldn’t wait for us! What if something terrible had happened to her? Could you ever live with yourself?!”

Owen stormed out of his bedroom, his gaze zeroing in on the cake box hidden behind my back. He ripped it out of my grasp.

“You had time to take selfies and post them online, but not a single text to let us know you were leaving? You just vanished without a word!”

I reached out, desperate to grab the cake back. “I don’t have a phone. I didn’t want to ruin your day out—”

Owen cut me off, his rage flaring hotter. “No phone’s just a cheap excuse! You did this on purpose!”

He tore open the packaging without mercy, and at the sight of the frosted cake, he hurled it straight into my face.

Thick cake slid down my skin, smearing across the floor into a mushy mess. Cream coated every inch of my face, blurring my vision completely. Warm liquid dripped down my cheeks, and I couldn’t tell if it was my tears or melting frosting.

Marcus stepped forward, his brows drawn tight with disapproval.

I stared at him, clinging to the last fragile thread of foolish hope I’d held onto for years. “I really didn’t mean it—I didn’t know this would happen…”

He sighed softly, no trace of sympathy in his expression, and brushed past me without stopping. “You crossed a line this time, Bella. We’d originally planned a four-person graduation trip, but I think it’s best if you sit this one out.”

One by one, they rushed out the door carrying Linda’s overnight bags, not sparing me a single glance.

The motion-sensor lights clicked on, then died one by one, leaving me in the dark. I sank slowly to the floor, my joints creaking with exhaustion and heartache.

The brief joy I’d shared with Julian felt like a dream that had never truly existed.

I stretched out a stiff finger, scraped a tiny dollop of cream off the floor, and popped it into my mouth.

It tasted sweet.

That single fleeting sweetness could never drown out years of accumulated hurt and grief. And even that tiny scrap of happiness, my family couldn’t bear to let me keep.