Everyone Loved Me After I Left

"You went through so much just to come home, and you're leaving now? Won't you regret it?"

I typed the words "I won't."

My fingers were trembling, but I couldn't bring myself to hit send.

"Stop being such a porcupine, Jasper. Give them a chance to get close to you. And give yourself a chance, too."

Vincent held my hand tightly as he led me outside. He was afraid of losing me again.

Maybe I really was being too sensitive.

I instinctively reached for the back door just like I used to as a child. However, Serena got there first, climbing into the back seat with Cameron and Alina.

My feet stopped moving.

Serena glanced at me a moment later, her face awkward. "Jasper, you can sit in the passenger seat."

When I was little, she had always said the front seat was too dangerous. As I was her precious child, she couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to me. I guess that wasn't the case anymore.

I stiffly pulled my hand back and forced a smile before taking the passenger seat.

I saw Alina holding Cameron's hand tightly in the rearview mirror, comforting him. She didn't even seem to remember that I was her fiancé.

…

When we got out of the car, I saw the same house we'd lived in when I was a child.

"Your father was afraid you wouldn't be able to find your way home after you came back, so he refused to move."

Vincent looked at me, his eyes red.

"Dad…"

My chest tightened, and the tears I'd been holding back for so long nearly spilled over.

I lowered my head and walked inside. My foot slipped just as I rounded the corner into the living room, and my elbow slammed hard against the floor.

A dance mat had been laid there.

"Are you okay?" Alina hurried over and helped me up.

I shook my head, but the pain in my injured right leg was starting to throb.

"Cameron works so hard. He practices dancing every day." Serena looked proud as she said it, but she never told Cameron to move the mat.

When I still lived here, Vincent had been afraid I might trip over something because this spot was a blind spot. He never allowed anyone to leave anything here.

I looked farther inside.

The little wooden rocking horse I'd loved and my school awards were gone from the TV cabinet, replaced by pictures of Cameron.

The house still looked the same from the outside, but everything inside had been redecorated around Cameron's tastes.

Suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I pressed a hand to my chest, and that was when I knew.

This place had stopped being my home a long time ago.