Chapter 2

I froze with my fork hovering over the plate.

The steak looked delicious, but I had lost my appetite.

I set down my knife and fork.

“Then I’m done here. Enjoy your dinner.”

Tracey quickly caught my arm.

“Helen, don’t go. I said dinner was on me. Nobody has to split anything.”

Barney’s expression darkened.

“You’re not paying for anything.”

Then he turned to me.

“You were happy to come when Tracey was paying, but now that you have to chip in, you’re leaving? Did you only come to mooch a free dinner off your little sister?”

Ethan frowned too.

“Helen, don’t ruin the evening. Skip a couple of lattes, and you’ll have enough to cover your share.”

I almost laughed.

I could barely afford three meals a day. Where was I supposed to find money for lattes?

“Money’s tight. I can’t afford to split this bill,” I said calmly while standing up.

With that, I walked out of the restaurant.

I had barely reached the bottom of the steps when Ethan came after me.

“What was that about? The card I gave Tracey has a $5,000 monthly limit, and I heard your parents give her another $5,000 a month.”

He stared at me, puzzled. “Aren’t you supposed to get the same? What have you been spending it all on?”

His confusion seemed genuine. He actually believed that I had been getting that money.

Clinging to one last shred of hope, I patiently explained, “My parents sent both allowances to Tracey. The cards you and Barney got for us both went to her too. I haven’t received a cent.”

His grip on my hand loosened.

His frown deepened.

“If you spent it all, just say so. You don’t have to make up a story like that.”

I stared at him.

He only sounded more certain as he went on.

“Barney told me he got you a card. Tracey said the only card she received was mine, and your parents have always treated you both fairly. Why would they give her both allowances?”

The last of my hope died. I sneered and said, “Believe what you want.”

My stomach growled all the way back to the campus dining hall.

I was used to going hungry, but tonight, it hurt in a way it usually did not.

When the cool night air touched my wet cheeks, I realized I had been crying.

Ethan had not always been like this.

He was a few years older than me. When we were little, he was small and scrawny. The other kids in the neighborhood never wanted him around.

Tracey was always tagging along after Barney. She never paid Ethan any attention either.

I was the only one who went looking for him every day. I had no one else to play with, either.

Later, he and Barney got into the same college.

They grew closer and eventually started a business together.

Ethan made plenty of friends and often came over to our house for the holidays.

I missed having him to myself, but I was happy for him too.

The boy who had once only had me finally had other people who liked him.

Before I started college, Ethan and I had even made a promise.

Once I enrolled, we would officially start dating.

However, later, he told Barney, “Your family’s always been so careful to keep things fair. If I start dating Helen while Tracey’s still single, she’s going to feel left out. Helen and I should hold off for now.”

Had my family ever actually been fair?

Ethan was smart enough to see what was happening.

He just chose to believe the version that suited him more.

I bought a plain baked potato, the cheapest thing on the dining hall menu, and ate it through my tears.

It was almost ten by the time I got back to my dorm.

When I went to brush my teeth, I found there was barely any toothpaste left.

I squeezed the tube for several minutes before I managed to get a little out.

Outside the bathroom, my roommate Jenny Powell was chatting with the others. She sounded envious.

“Did you guys see the dorm group chat? Someone’s selling a brand-new bath and body gift set. Apparently, her parents didn’t check with each other, and each sent her the exact same one.”

I stopped short.

As I passed behind her, I stole a casual glance at her phone.

Sure enough, the girl who had received two gift sets was Tracey.

I quietly went back to my desk.

Opening my cabinet, I shook the last few drops of moisturizer out of a sample bottle.

Then I opened my shopping app and ordered a $27 tub of lotion.

A little while later, Jenny came back carrying a large shopping bag.

“Look what I got!”

She excitedly pulled out the items one by one.

“This toner and moisturizer set usually costs a few hundred dollars. There are sheet masks and a cleanser too. Everything’s brand-new.”

Tears welled up in my eyes again.

I quickly lowered my head and pretended to scroll through my phone.

Then I spotted a message I had no memory of seeing, even though it was marked as read.

[Helen, the college has an international exchange program starting over spring break. Would you be interested?]