The Summer I Left

By the time my family got back from the trip, half a month had passed.

Nobody had told me when they'd be home.

The moment Aiden walked through the door, he saw my face without a mask.

He let out a scream and hurled the water in his cup straight at me.

Water dripped from my hair onto the floor.

Mom and Dad scrambled to check on him.

"Are you okay, Aiden? Did he scare you?"

Dad jabbed a finger against my forehead, yelling at me.

"Haven't I told you? You have to wear a mask around Aiden. Why can't you just listen?"

I lowered my head and pulled the soaked mask out of my pocket, putting it back on.

Whatever explanation I had stayed stuck in my throat.

It wasn't until dinner that things settled down.

They ate at the table. I sat in the kitchen.

There was a small table in there, and it had been my spot ever since Aiden came home.

Mom pushed open the kitchen door.

She was carrying a plate of leftovers, and when she saw me sitting on the floor eating, she let out a sigh.

She dropped a chicken leg into my bowl.

"Aiden is our real son, after all. I never thought we'd taken home the wrong baby back then. His autism is still pretty severe. Don't blame your dad and me for this."

My eyes stung, but I nodded and kept eating, shoveling food into my mouth.

Mom watched me for a moment.

She seemed to hesitate, then spoke again.

"Zac, maybe you shouldn't go to college. We're just an ordinary family, and Aiden still needs treatment. That school of yours isn't cheap, either."

My hands went stiff around the bowl. I looked up at her, stunned, and felt my heart drop straight to the floor.

I forced the corner of my mouth into something like a smile.

"Mom, you never used to talk to me like this."

She looked a little embarrassed and wiped her palms on her pants.

I lowered my head.

"Once I'm in college, I won't trouble you two anymore."

She started to say something, then stopped, sighed, and walked out.

I finished the dishes in the kitchen and headed back to my room.

My current room was what used to be the storage closet. A bed and a desk filled the whole space.

There was no wardrobe for my clothes, so they sat piled on the windowsill.

Someone knocked on the door.

I opened it to find Joy Harris standing there.

"You saw what I posted in the group, right? I'm repeating the year with Aiden. Huntington University is a sure thing for you anyway. When I go next year, we'll still end up at the same school."

I thought that was almost funny.

I'd grown up with Joy. I knew exactly how ambitious and competitive she could be.

"Which matters more to you, your own future or Aiden?"

She pressed her lips together.

"Both matter. You have no idea how much Aiden's been through. You stole his life. The least you can do is give way to him."

The words had barely left her mouth when the sound of shattering glass came from Aiden's room.

Panic flickered across her face, and she shoved me aside and ran off toward his room.

My lower back slammed into the corner of the desk, and I winced at the pain.

A moment later, Dad's furious voice rang out.

"Zac, get over here!"