Chapter 4

The day before the graduation celebration, the living room was filled with gift boxes of every size.

Jeff stood in front of the full-length mirror, wearing a custom-made white suit, and carefully straightened his bow tie. Mom stood behind him, gently smoothing the wrinkles from his jacket.

"Mom, where's my suit?" I walked over to the couch, where garment bags were piled everywhere.

Without even turning around, Mom kept adjusting Jeff's cuffs and answered casually, "You've never liked being the center of attention, anyway. Tomorrow, just sit with everyone else and enjoy the food. It doesn't matter what you wear."

Ann walked out of her room with a dismissive snort. "Everyone's coming to celebrate Jeff tomorrow. You can wear whatever."

She glanced at me. "That white T-shirt you're wearing is fine."

I watched them fuss over Jeff, circling around him as if I were an audience member watching a play that had nothing to do with me.

"Okay." I smiled. "It's comfortable, anyway."

Jeff turned around with his usual innocent grin. "See? Henry knows how to keep life simple."

I did not answer. I simply turned around and went back to my room.

Late that night, the laughter and conversation in the living room finally faded.

I locked my bedroom door and pulled my old suitcase from beneath the desk. I packed three changes of old clothes and my college acceptance letter. That was all I took.

At six o'clock the next morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The rest of the family was still asleep, resting up for the graduation celebration later that day.

Dragging my suitcase behind me, I quietly opened the front door without making a sound.

Before leaving, I gently placed my house key on top of the shoe cabinet.

In the middle of the marble coffee table lay one last thing.

A metal bookmark.

Its surface had darkened with age, and the edges were worn from years of use.

Whitney had slipped it into my hand the first time she took me to the library during our freshman year.

She had smiled and said, "Henry, from now on, all my patience for reading belongs to you."

I had kept it for three years.

Now, I left it behind on that cluttered coffee table.

I pulled my suitcase downstairs and got into a taxi headed for the airport.

The terminal buzzed with travelers as boarding announcements echoed through the building. I collected my boarding pass, passed through security, and stopped in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

Outside, the morning sun was just beginning to rise, its golden light spilling across the runway. My phone vibrated. A message from Mom flashed on my phone screen.

[Your dad and I talked all night. The graduation celebration should include you too.]

[When you wake up, I'll take you to the mall so we can buy you a suit, okay?]

I did not reply. Instead, I blocked them one after another. Dad. Mom. Ann. Finally, Whitney.

After that, I left the family group chat called ‘Our Loving Family’.

The world became quiet.

I turned off my phone, picked up my suitcase, and walked toward my departure gate.