I Walked Away to Find My Own Life

The next morning, Mom suddenly changed her tune.

"Bartley isn't completely off the table."

My hand paused on the mop.

The night before, my sister Faye Radford had slept in my bed, clutching my hand and insisting she could only fall asleep to the sound of my breathing.

I had sat at the edge of the bed the entire night, and the moment the sun came up, I was dragged out of it to do chores.

Still, when I heard those words, a flicker of hope stirred in my chest.

"Really?" I held my breath and looked at Mom.

"Of course. Faye goes with you. She will live with you. Rent a bigger place with bedrooms next to each other, and no locking the doors."

I looked at Faye. She sat in her pajamas, sipping milk without a care in the world, her cheeks rosy.

"What would she even do in Bartley?"

Mom frowned. "She is this sick and you want to force her to work? She cannot be without you. Wherever you go, she goes."

Dad chimed in. "I looked into it. Designers worked often work long hours and travel for projects. That was not a good fit for you."

Kellan Garrett handed me his phone. On the screen was a conversation he had been having with someone from HR.

"I checked, and our company still needed janitors. The hours were short, so whenever Faye needed you, you could be there right away."

He said it with complete sincerity, as if he genuinely solved a problem for me.

Kellan and I had both been hired for design positions at the same company. His future stretched out wide and unobstructed, while mine had to make way for Faye first.

"I was hired as an interior designer," I said.

"Turn it down." Mom said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"You can always find another job. Faye's condition cannot wait."

Dad tapped the flyer on the table, the one from the restaurant downstairs. "Letting you go to Bartley is already the biggest compromise this family is making. Do not be ungrateful."

I managed a thin smile. In this family, fighting for my own life was called being ungrateful.

Faye threw her arms around me. "I knew you'd come through for me."

She leaned close to my ear, her voice so low only I could hear it. "Don't think you can shake me off, Alina. You'll never have a better life than me."

I turned my head to look at her. She flashed me a quick wink, her eyes full of satisfaction.

The second I finished cleaning, Faye announced she wanted to go to the mall for supplies.

My parents agreed before she even finished the sentence. I started to refuse, but Mom's expression turned cold.

"She cannot be without you. Of course you are going."

Kellan took my arm. "Alina, just do as they say. Faye's sick. Cut her some slack."

He pulled me out the front door before I could say another word.

The whole way there, he and Faye talked about what life in Bartley would look like. Faye said she wanted a big room with a bay window, and Kellan looked at her with open adoration.

"Don't worry. You'll get it."

Faye said she was nervous about unfamiliar surroundings and might not be able to sleep.

"It's fine. Your sister and I will take turns keeping you company."

They had it all mapped out. Nobody asked me anything. It was as if my move to Bartley had nothing to do with work. I was just relocating to keep looking after Faye.

The subway station was packed. Faye held onto my hand the entire time.

When the doors opened and the crowd pushed me toward the entrance, she shoved me from behind without warning.

I stumbled into the car, but she let go and stayed on the platform.

The chime sounded. The doors were about to close.

Faye's face went white. She crouched on the platform, helpless, screaming after me. "Don't leave me, Alina!"

I frowned and started to step off. Kellan looked at me, and the coldness and suspicion in his eyes rooted me to the spot.

The next second, he squeezed sideways through the closing doors and ran to her.

Seven years earlier, he had told me he would always choose me first, no matter what happened. This time, he did not hesitate for even a second.