Chapter 4 The News

My father heard the commotion and stomped out. "What's going on here?"

Zachary spoke before I could. "All I did was step on her stupid model. It was an accident, but she yelled at me!"

My father looked at the broken model and then at me. "What's the big deal? You can just make a new one, Nellie. Zachary's going on the trip tomorrow. Don't sour his mood."

I looked at them and felt whatever sadness I had wither away. I was only upset because I actually held out hope for them. Now, they'd snuffed out that sliver of hope.

I crouched down and picked up the broken shards of my model. Reparations went on until 3 a.m. The glue stuck to my finger. I damned near tore off a layer of skin in my attempts to get rid of it, but I felt no pain.

I tucked the model into the lowest layer of the crate once I was done with the repairs. Then, I tucked the lottery ticket and ID into my bag. Dawn would come soon. I looked at the repaired model, and that was when it hit me.

Some cracks would always be there, no matter how many repairs were done. This sorry excuse of a home was a reflection of that. It was time for me to give up on repairing something that wasn't worth it.

I helped with packing up their things on the night before the trip.

My mother said, "You don't have anything to do at home anyway. Sort out our stuff, Nellie."

I said nothing. I packed up Zachary's surfboard, Queenie's white dress, my father's papers, and my mother's sunscreen.

"You can help out at home. Water the balcony's plants once every two days. And Zachary's package should be delivered in a few days. Don't open it. If Queenie's gig notification comes, keep it safe."

My father said, "There's food in the fridge. Whip something up when you're hungry."

Zachary said, "Don't go into my room."

Queenie was holding a shell trinket as she said quietly, "I'll get you some real shells, Nellie."

I nodded. "Sure."

That was the last thing I was willing to say in this household.

They retired early that night. I didn't. I'd cleaned the room from top to bottom just as the digital clock shone 4 a.m. I smoothed out the sheets, cleaned my desk, and tucked all the trophies, old photos, and the birthday wishes no one had bothered to see in my drawer.

All I brought with me was a suitcase, and it was light. I'd spent 18 years in this household, but I barely had anything I could call my own.

The clock flickered to 5 a.m. I placed the house keys on the shoe cabinet. Then, I snapped my old phone's SIM card in two and tossed it into the bin under our apartment complex.

They dragged their luggage and went to the airport at 6:30 a.m. I did the same.

They flew to the beach at 8:20 a.m.

I flew to Aocity at 8:45 a.m.

My mother realized she couldn't get in touch with me when it turned noon, but she wasn't worried about me. She just wanted me to collect Zachary's delivery. Unfortunately for her, my old number was no longer in service as I'd blocked her on all socials.

They arrived at their hotel at 3 p.m. At the same time, the lottery shop posted the good news. "First prize goes to one of our customers! It's ten million!"

The next-door neighbor snapped a photo and sent it to my mother. "The lottery shop's owner just told us the winner's an 18-year-old girl, and it happened on her birthday. Is it Nellie? She just turned 18 a while ago!"

The news slowly drained the color from my mother's face. She quickly called the shopowner. The shopowner said, "Yes, yes, it was an 18-year-old girl. Bought the ticket on her birthday. I gave her a lollipop, too. I heard she flew to Aocity to cash in this morning."

My father lunged for the phone. Zachary shot up from his seat, and Queenie's shell trinket fell from her hands.

My flight had brought me more than 1000 miles away from that household, and I'd gotten myself a new SIM card there.

The reward center in Aocity texted me, "Your reservation is confirmed, Ms. Wood."

I was a thousand miles away from them. They couldn't catch up to me anymore.