Chapter 6

Duncan stared at Brianna, unable to understand why she was the one who felt wronged. Shouldn't he be the one feeling that way?

"I didn't miss the field trip because I stole anything," he suddenly said.

Brianna was caught off guard. "What?"

"You dropped me off at the wrong bus stop on the day of the field trip. You probably don't realize this, but I had to take two buses just to reach the central station, then catch another one back to school. And the money I had last night wasn't stolen, either. I'd been saving it to pay for my training program."

Duncan's expression remained calm, but disappointment lingered in his eyes. His usually unreadable gaze now held unmistakable hurt.

"Why do you always bring trouble into my life, Brianna?" he ground out. "Just leave me alone. Both of you. Can't you stay away from me?"

He wrenched his hand free from her grip.

Brianna stood frozen. A drop of warm blood had landed on the back of her hand during the struggle. She flinched at its warmth, and for the first time, she wondered if she'd accused him unfairly.

Exhausted, Duncan returned to the dorm and found his suitcase lying open, its contents scattered across the floor. He froze.

"Who did this?"

One of his roommates paused his video game and glanced over with a sneer.

"How should I know? It wasn't me," Sean Caldwell replied. "Why are you so worried about someone going through your stuff? Unless you really did steal that money."

Duncan's voice rose despite himself. "I didn't steal anything!"

Sean set down his controller and let out a short laugh. "Sure. But you're protesting a little too much. Who else could it have been?"

The other two roommates said nothing, but the suspicion and contempt in their eyes were unmistakable.

Duncan stood motionless, feeling as though their stares were tearing him apart. After a long while, he crouched beside his suitcase and began stuffing his clothes and letters back inside.

When the lights went out, he climbed into bed. He had no blankets, so he wrapped himself in two thick jackets instead. Grief surged through him, but he clenched his teeth and forced himself to stay quiet.

…

Early the next morning, Duncan left the dorm, almost as if he were running away from it. But when he tried to pay for breakfast with his student card, the reader flashed red.

The cafeteria worker snatched the sandwich back and glared at him. "If you don't have money, don't try to eat for free."

Duncan stood there helplessly as the students behind him grew impatient. Panic seized him, and he hurriedly muttered an apology before fleeing.

Frank regularly deposited money into his student account. Apart from that, he hardly gave Duncan any cash. With his student account cut off, Duncan had virtually no money left to live on.

When he finally found somewhere quiet, he clung to one last hope and borrowed Ronald's phone to call Frank.

"Dad…"

Before he could say another word, Frank hung up without hesitation.

Duncan stood frozen, feeling as cold as if the winter wind had swept straight through him. He'd never imagined his own father could be so cruel, but he had to survive somehow.

Clutching his stomach, he wandered from one business to another, looking for work.

"Excuse me, are you hiring?"

"No! Now get lost. Can't you see I'm busy?"

Hungry and freezing, he kept going from place to place, only to be turned away each time.

Eventually, he found a job helping unload a delivery truck. Four hours of work earned him 50 dollars, enough to cover a week's living expenses.

…

The next morning, a furious shout jolted Duncan awake.

"My money's missing!"

Before he could make sense of what was happening, Sean stormed over and glared at him. "You were the last one back here last night. Did you steal my money?"

Duncan stared at him in confusion. "I didn't."

"Once a thief, always a thief!"

Sean shoved Duncan and his suitcase out of the dorm room. Ignoring Duncan's cracked, frostbitten hands, Sean grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him toward the school office.