Be Careful What You Steal

"Hand over the gold chains and cash in your drawer. Don't make me take them myself."

The front door had barely closed when my older sister, Brielle Rowan, planted herself in my bedroom doorway, hands on her hips, as if she owned the place.

I looked at her evenly. "Why would I? I spent four years working overtime to save that money."

"Why? Because Mom just turned a bag of garbage into fifteen thousand dollars! Our family's finally getting the life we deserve!"

She slapped a bank deposit receipt onto the cabinet, chin high.

"That box in the building lobby really works. And they just changed the rules. One wish per household per month. The more valuable your offering, the bigger the reward."

She beamed. "Mom, Dad, and I already agreed. I get our family's turn this month. I'm wishing for a BMW 3 Series and forty-five thousand in cash for my wedding fund."

I glanced at her new designer jacket. She'd bought it last month on my credit card.

"Then pay for your own offering," I said. "Keep your hands off my things."

"Those necklaces are just collecting dust. What's wrong with pitching in?"

My father, Graham Rowan, had been sipping tea on the living room couch. He set his cup down with theatrical patience.

"Tessa, that's no way to talk to your sister. We're family."

He gave me the kindly expression he wore whenever he wanted something.

"Brielle is marrying into a respectable family. We need to make sure she goes into that marriage with some standing. It's about the Rowan name. And the connections will help you someday, too."

Just then, Mom came in, positively glowing. She shot me a disapproving look and turned the deadbolt behind her.

My phone began vibrating.

The family group chat was exploding with pictures. Its name was "Our Happy Family of Four."

Four separate receipts from an expensive seafood restaurant. A selfie of my younger brother, Owen, holding up an enormous king crab.

Then Owen sent a voice message. Behind him, I could hear laughter and clinking glasses.

"That king crab was incredible! Some people can stay home and eat frozen dinners. We don't need anybody ruining our family-of-four celebration."

There were five people in this family.

Four of them had gone out to celebrate without me.

I'd just come home from work to a cold, empty kitchen. And now, instead of dinner, I was being ordered to hand over the savings I'd spent years earning.