Chapter 4

That evening, Renee came home furious, dragging Piper behind her. The girl's eyes were swollen red from crying.

Renee demanded, "Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

My hands froze over the things I was packing. I couldn't think of what there was to explain. She then grabbed my arm and hauled me into the study.

"Piper was crying at school because of you. Even Thomas felt terrible. I knew it. I knew the whole gracious divorce act was fake. You went behind my back and made a scene at the school, airing everything out on purpose."

Listening to her pile accusations on me, all I felt was cold. Years of love, and this was the version of me she had settled on.

Maybe she'd never cared enough to see me any differently. So what was the point of defending myself?

"Believe whatever you want. It's not like you care about people knowing that you cheated."

Renee was livid.

Then, Megan got fired. Renee could dispose of my entire family as easily as brushing dirt off her sleeve.

Mom went ballistic over it. Meanwhile, I'd finally landed a job after all those interviews. Life was just starting to taste a little less bitter.

Then Mom showed up out of nowhere. "Explain yourself. What happened? Your sister got fired."

The loving mother act was gone. She grabbed me and started dragging me along, demanding answers.

The stares from everyone around us hit like stones, and the job offer I'd just gotten immediately vanished.

"Sir, I'm sorry. We'll be in touch."

I swallowed the humiliation and apologized, stumbling out the door with Mom still pulling me along like a rag doll. She didn't see how wrecked I was. She never stopped talking, and every single word was about Megan.

The despair swallowed me whole. My ears were ringing, and my chest felt like it was caving in. What made it worse was spotting Renee across the way, dressed to the nines, standing there with Thomas, watching me like I was entertainment.

Her expression said it all. This was what I got for not behaving.

I felt like a clown the whole world had walked away from, completely untouchable. For one brief, terrible second, I wanted it all to stop.

Mom yanked me back before I could spiral further. Not because she was afraid of losing me, but because she was afraid I'd find happiness somewhere she couldn't reach.

I was so tired that I forgot to fight back. I just stood there and let her fists land the way they had when I was a kid.

I looked over at Renee and laughed like a man who'd lost his mind. Love always ended the same way. Was she finally happy now?

Eventually, my misery must have stopped being fun to watch, because she left with Thomas.

I stumbled home in a daze, pulled out a suitcase, and started packing. The plan was simple. I'd go somewhere nobody knew me and start over, however I could.

I was halfway out the door when the pain hit. My stomach seized so violently that it doubled me over, and the color drained from my face as I collapsed to the floor.

I fumbled for my phone to call for help, but my fingers were shaking so badly that I dialed Renee's number by mistake. I was in too much pain to see the screen clearly, so I just begged whoever was on the other end.

"Help... My stomach..."

A scoff came through the line. "Oh, so you were perfectly fine making trouble earlier, and now suddenly you're dying? Cut the games, William. Apologize for what you pulled at the school, and maybe we can move past this."

I could barely hear her. All I could manage was a weak moan. I felt something tear open inside me, blood spilling steadily as the pressure built until my whole body burned.

The pain peaked, and the warmth started draining from my limbs. Renee hung up in disgust, and in the last second before everything went dark, I finally heard what she said to Thomas.

"If he wants to die so bad, let him."

So I'd dialed the wrong number after all—just like I'd chosen the wrong person and believed the wrong words. Mistakes had a way of compounding.

Well then, I was sorry about that. And just like she wanted, I let the darkness pull me under.