Chapter 26
Mason was angry too. After pacing around the room, he shouted, “You don’t have to act this way.
“I know that you get upset easily.
“Once Lacey recovers, we’ll buy a new house for her.”
I looked at them seriously. “Let her move in.
“She’s only 17, and she needs people to take care of her. It’ll save you the trouble if she stays with you.”
Ruben threw his plate on the table. The sound of dish shattering shut me up sufficiently.
Ruben was fuming. I’d never seen him so mad.
He probably still believed I was saying this to piss them off..
Dinner ended in silence..
Content, Lacey yawned and asked Ruben to read her a bedtime story.
Mason cleaned up the table.
Ruben helped Lacey back to the hospital bed, grabbed a book, and sat down on the bed to read her a story.
I got up and picked up my bag before telling Ruben and Mason, “I’m leaving.”
There was no response.
Mason wiped the table calmly, and Ruben kept on reading the story
softly.
I headed toward the door and walked past Ruben.
He was looking at the book, his eyes low.
His face was hidden from me. I couldn’t see his expression.
When I left the room, the only thing I heard was his reading. “Just like that. Snow White was chased out of her castle…”
Suddenly. I remembered that long long ago, my parents were killed in a
fire.
Ruben took me in his arms with bloodshot eyes.
With the same soft tone, he comforted me, “You still have me and Mason.
“As long as we’re alive, you always have a home.”
What a liar.
My vision blurred. Finally, I covered my face and broke down crying.
I knew that I didn’t have a home anymore. My brothers were gone to me.
I ran back to school overnight. Once I arrived, I went to the lab and finished an experiment I was working on.
There were only seven days left.
In seven days, I had to wrap up all my business in Bluewell, including my school work and my personal affairs.
I worked almost all night.
The next morning, I took a nap before returning home.
My bedroom had already turned into Lacey’s.
While cleaning a guest room for me, the maid complained, “This is your home. Why are you giving your room to a stranger?”
As I packed my books and clothes into my suitcase, I told her with at smile. “She’s not a stranger. She’s the sister of Ruben, Mason, and me.”
And this wasn’t my home anymore.
The maid sighed. Then, I heard Ruben ask in an indifferent voice, “Why are you packing? Where are you going?”
