Chapter 4

I didn't sleep that night.

It felt like countless tiny needles were piercing my lungs. Every breath hurt so much I could barely stand it.

My prescription painkillers had run out long ago, so I just held Peanut in my arms and white-knuckled it through the night.

When dawn finally broke, I got another call from the RainDrop Fund.

"Mr. Hudson, our platform requires you to undergo another round of testing and submit an updated medical report."

"What if I don't?" I asked listlessly.

"For a disputed fundraising campaign like this, if you refuse to cooperate, the funds will be returned to the donors."

"Then return them. Sorry for the trouble."

My voice came out flat, and I hung up.

I didn't have the money for more tests anyway. If I couldn't get that 10,000 dollars, then so be it.

Peanut burrowed closer into my arms.

I managed a weak smile. "Hungry? I'll go collect some bottles and buy you food, okay?"

He couldn't understand me. He just purred and tilted his little head.

I washed up, grabbed my sack, and headed out.

To save on rent, I lived on the edge of town. The local seniors already had a monopoly on the cardboard and bottles in the neighborhood, so I had to head toward the downtown shopping malls.

There were more wealthy people there. Their empty bottles were worth more, and they were usually easier to approach.

If I politely asked if they needed help throwing away their trash, they'd hand over their empties.

…

Two hours later, my sack was half full.

I was heading toward another mall when a sharp, startled voice rang out behind me.

"Chase? What are you doing here?"

I turned to find Zoey staring at me in shock.

Beside her stood Andrew, loaded down with half a dozen luxury shopping bags. They'd clearly just finished a spree.

I frowned and turned to walk away.

Zoey closed the distance in a few quick strides and grabbed my wrist.

"How could you be digging through trash?"

Her face darkened as her eyes swept over me from head to toe.

When her gaze landed on my washed-out jeans, something complicated flickered in her eyes.

Andrew leaned in.

"Chase, you really know how to play the victim, don't you? Since when do you scavenge for garbage? Or did you know we were shopping here today and decided to put on a show?"

Zoey's expression grew even darker. She grabbed me and dragged me away.

"Come home with me!" she snapped.

I struggled with everything I had. "Let go of me!"

She dragged me into a corner, shoved my hand away, and turned on me.

"Look at yourself! What do you think you look like? All I asked was for you to apologize, and instead you choose to do this—"

"Then what exactly do you want from me?"

I looked up, my face blank.

"You ruin every single job I find. If I don't dig through trash, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Can't you just come home?" she snapped. "You know all you have to do is apologize and I'll forgive you. Is that so hard?"

I looked at her with an ironic smile. "You just think I'm an embarrassment, don't you?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but Andrew suddenly cut in.

"Chase, seriously… you smell. Don't you notice it?"

Before I could say anything, he added, "You need to practice some basic hygiene. You're still part of the Hudson family. You should at least think about Zoey's reputation."

I looked over and met his taunting gaze. The needling pain started stabbing through my lungs again.

"You're the one who's part of the Hudson family now. Not me."

I threw down those words, turned, and walked away.

Behind me, Zoey's voice turned ice-cold.

"Chase, you're still refusing to admit you're wrong? Fine. Don't regret this!"

I pretended not to hear her and quickened my pace.

That day, I couldn't sell the bottles and cardboard I'd managed to gather.

The owner of the recycling station sighed. "Look, some big shot named Hudson put the word out. No one in Seaville is allowed to take your recyclables."

He waved me away. "Don't blame me. I've got to make a living in Seaville too. A big shot like that has too much money and power. I can't afford to cross her."