Chapter 3

As if they were afraid I might suddenly make a scene, the birthday dinner was brought to a hasty end. When it wrapped up, Bryan affectionately linked his arm through Mom's. "Ma, I've been craving your clam chowder. Can I come over for a while?"

Mom instinctively glanced at me. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. "Sure. Let's all go home."

I stood frozen in place, unable to hold back the sudden prickle of tears behind my nose. For three years, the door I couldn't open, no matter how much I begged on my knees, was unlocked for Bryan with just a single sentence.

The car sped toward the old apartment. When the door was pushed open, a pair of men's casual slippers sat in the entryway. It was unmistakably Bryan's size.

He casually tossed his coat onto the bench beside the shoe rack, as if he had returned to his own home. Meanwhile, I, Mom's and Dad's flesh and blood, felt so out of place that I didn't even know where to put my hands and feet.

I scanned my surroundings.

Bryan had taken my place in the family portrait on the wall. The eight-year-old clivia I had cared for on the windowsill was gone. Now, there was nothing but an empty flowerpot.

More than half the balcony was piled high with Bryan's art supplies. My certificates of achievement had disappeared from the bookshelf, replaced by Bryan's textbooks.

It dawned on me that Mom and Dad hadn't locked me out for the past three years out of anger or resentment. They were just afraid I'd catch on to the fact that they had another son.

While I was lost in thought, the aroma of the simmering clam chowder began to drift from the kitchen. Drinking in the harmonious family of five before me, I couldn't bring myself to stay any longer and was just about to make up an excuse to leave.

Mom abruptly handed me a bowl of mushroom soup. "Here, Ray. I know you don't like clam chowder, so I made you some mushroom soup."

For a moment, the softest part of my heart felt as though it had been struck. I blinked back my tears and said, "Thanks… Mom."

However, before the savoriness of the soup could even settle on my tongue, Mom dropped a bomb. "Joyce's pregnant with Bry's child. Hand over that baby cross necklace you had custom-made to Bry."

My spoon slipped from my hand and dropped into the bowl, splashing soup onto the rim.

Bryan, who was beside us, smiled. "Joyce found out a couple of days ago. The doctor says the pregnancy is still delicate, so Ma wants to use the baby cross necklace to help keep the baby safe."

My face went ghastly pale as I forced out, "I had that necklace made for Avery."

"But Avery's dead."

Memories I had kept locked away came crashing back all at once.

…

When Joyce was five months pregnant, I'd picked up the scent of a stranger's cologne on her. I kept my composure and, one day, showed up at her workplace completely unannounced.

I pushed the door open only to find Bryan pinning her against the desk. The two of them were wrapped up in each other.

Like a madman, I smashed everything within my reach. I held up my phone, determined to expose the adulterous pair to the world.

Joyce accidentally struck the corner of the desk while attempting to protect Bryan in the middle of the argument. Warm blood hastily soaked through her dress.

I scooped her up into my arms and raced to the hospital, but it was still too late. We lost our baby.

My bottled-up grief abruptly overflowed, and I was swallowed whole by the despair of losing my own child.

Joyce held my hand, her face filled with guilt. "I'm so sorry, Ray. I promise I'll cut all ties with Bryan. I'll never see him again."

I believed her. Yet, in less than three months, they ended up in bed together again.

So, how could I not loathe them? How could I not go mad?

…

"Avery's dead. What's the point of keeping a meaningless necklace?" Mom's sharp rebuke snapped me back to reality.

I tightened my grip on the baby cross necklace I wore close to my skin. "I prayed on my knees for this necklace for Avery. I will never, ever give it to someone else!"

My stubbornness thoroughly infuriated Mom. She reached out and tried to snatch it from me.

As we struggled over it, Bryan suddenly went limp and crashed hard onto the floor. In a heartbeat, the door was flung open, and Joyce hurried inside.

Bryan clutched his waist and whimpered, "I just wanted to borrow the necklace to keep my baby safe, Ray. If you don't want to give it to me, you could've just said so… Why did you push me?"

Before I could even defend myself, Mom slapped me hard across the face. "Have you lost your mind? Bryan donated his kidney to save Rachel. His lower back can't take a hit like that! How can you be so cruel?"

Joyce helped Bryan to his feet and led him out. When she walked past me, her gaze lingered for a moment on my swollen cheek. "I thought you had really changed, Raymond."

My heart jolted, and the explanation that had been on the tip of my tongue died in my throat. I stood frozen in the kitchen until everyone had left.

Then, I pulled out my phone, booked a ride, and headed to the cemetery on the outskirts of town. There was no longer any place for me in this family. I might as well leave with Avery.

However, when I finally reached the cemetery, I discovered that Avery's grave was gone. A brand-new headstone had taken its place, and the inion read, "Here Lies Bryan Long's Beloved Dog."