I Stopped Turning Around

Right before I left work on Thanksgiving, my younger sister, Chloe, called me in tears. "Leah, Mom collapsed! The doctor says she might not make it through the night!" I walked out on a client mid-signing and took a cab halfway across the city to the hospital. Then, in the restaurant across the street, I saw my whole family raising their glasses and cheering. Chloe was laughing so hard she pounded the table. "Forty-one minutes! I told you she'd fall for it!" Mom, fork in hand, waved me over. "Come on, the food's getting cold. Honestly, you'll believe anything Chloe says." Dad couldn't stop laughing. "You're sharp most days, but the second we use your mom to scare you, your brain goes out the window." I froze in the doorway and turned to my boyfriend, Grant. He was leisurely topping off Chloe's drink. When he caught me looking, he chuckled. "Don't glare at me. I'm the one who picked the hospital. "Far from your office. It's the only way to really test how devoted you are." The whole table burst out laughing again. Once, I would've been in tears, asking them why. This time, I was just tired. Two years ago, they faked Dad's car accident to make me drop out of a competition. Last year, they claimed Grandma had fallen, and I missed my promotion interview. Every time, they bet on how fast I'd come running back. The more I cared about them, the easier I was to fool. I looked down and replied to the transfer email I'd been sitting on for two weeks. This time, I'm not coming back.