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Chapter 7
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They Bet I’d Stay Chapter 9
I looked at the phone.There had been a time when Ethan noticed everything.The lunch I’d forgotten. The shoes that rubbed my heels. The birthday nobody at home remembered until he arrived with a cake.I’d loved him because he made me feel worth noticing.But that same boy had watched me search a hotel for five hours while he knew exactly where my suitcase was.The good memories were real. So was everything that came after.He held the box closer.“Take it.”“No, thank you.”“Claire—”“We broke up. You don’t need to buy me anything.”His eyes reddened.“I blocked Chloe. Everywhere. I haven’t spoken to her in months.”I said nothing.“It can just be us again.”“It can’t.”“Why not?”“Because I don’t trust you anymore.”His hands tightened around the box.“I can earn that back.”I used to believe loving someone meant giving them every chance they asked for.Now I had a lesson to teach, a grandmother resting in the next room, and a life I wanted to get back to.“I don’t want to try again,
They Bet I’d Stay Chapter 8
By winter break, I had a waiting list.The tutoring center gave me extra hours, and two parents hired me for private lessons. I also put together a small holiday workshop for students preparing for spring debate tournaments.I rented a small apartment near campus so Gramdma can visit and stay wit me.I sent her pictures.She said the kitchen needed curtains. I told her she could pick them when she came.Then, for three days, she refused to turn on her camera.“The connection’s terrible, sweetheart.”“It worked fine on Sunday.”“Well, it doesn’t today.”On the fourth day, I heard someone in the background tell her not to put weight on her foot.“Grandma.”Silence.“Turn the camera on.”She’d been clearing a garden bed when she lost her balance and drove the edge of her shovel into her foot.A neighbor took her to the hospital.She hadn’t told me because I had finals.Then because I was working.By the time I found out, she was home, struggling between the couch and kitchen with a walker
They Bet I’d Stay Chapter 7
Mom looked me up and down.“We should have left you with your grandmother.”For a second, I couldn’t hear anything else.Students passed behind her, laughing on their way into the dorm. Someone held the door open, waiting for us to move.Mom didn’t lower her voice.“You turned down Westbridge to come all the way out here? What was the point, Claire? To get as far away from us as possible?”“How did you find me?”“Your grandmother finally told us. At least someone in this family understands what you’ve put us through.”Grandma would have told them I was safe. That I was happy.Apparently, all they’d heard was the address.“Can we talk somewhere else?”“No. You don’t get to hide from this.”A girl on the steps glanced over.Mom noticed.“Go ahead. Tell your friends how cruel we are. Tell them we worked ourselves to death raising you, and you thanked us by disappearing.”Heat climbed my neck.“Please lower your voice.”“Why? Are you embarrassed?”Dad stepped closer.“Your sister would nev
They Bet I’d Stay Chapter 6
Blocking Ethan’s number didn’t stop him.For the first few days, he tried Instagram, then email.You’ve made your point. Can we stop this now?Later, the messages changed.Your mom showed me what you sent her. What do you mean, you’re not coming back?Just tell someone you’re safe. Please.I’d broken up with him outside the restaurant. He didn’t get to keep me in a relationship by refusing to acknowledge it.I blocked each account without answering.Chloe made less of an effort.After a few messages telling me to stop upsetting everyone, she went quiet.With both of them finally out of reach, I found myself remembering things I hadn’t thought about in years.Ethan moved to town the year after my parents brought me home.We were both new at school. Neither of us knew where to sit at lunch.He set his tray beside mine.“Anyone sitting here?”I shook my head.By the end of the week, we were walking home together.Back then, he couldn’t stand Chloe.He’d come over with his bike and find me
They Bet I’d Stay Chapter 5
Ethan tied a pink ribbon around the gift box on his desk.He adjusted the bow twice, picturing my face when I opened it.A month of carrying Chloe’s bags and answering every call. All to get her to tell him what I wanted.He still believed the right gift would fix everything.Then his phone buzzed. He reached for it before the screen lit up.But the message wasn’t from me.Mom: Ethan. Is Claire with you?Ethan: No. Why?She called.“Ethan. She’s gone.”“What do you mean, gone?”“I went upstairs to get her for dinner. Her suitcase is missing. So are half her clothes.”Ethan’s hand stopped on the ribbon.“And everything you and Chloe gave her is in a garbage bag by her door.”He stared at the box.“Ethan? Are you listening?”“Yeah.”“Her father thinks she’s trying to punish us. We’ve had to get after her lately, and apparently she can’t handle being corrected.” Mom exhaled sharply. “Call her, would you? Maybe she’ll listen to you.”“I will.”“Honestly, sometimes I wonder why I even bothe
They Bet I’d Stay Chapter 4
Ethan never called that night like he’d promised. Days passed without a word from him.Instead, he showed up on Chloe’s Instagram.On a roller coaster, her hands wrapped around his arm. At the zoo, holding out food for a giraffe while she filmed. Outside a movie theater, carrying two drinks beneath a romance poster.Every post called him her “personal servant.”She might as well have written, “He’s mine.”I didn’t comment. I packed. There was one thing I wanted to do before leaving for Eastmere.Before our exams, I’d promised myself a few days at the beach if I did well. My scores had exceeded even my own expectations.I’d earned this.The trip to Seabrook was paid for with prize money I’d saved from debate competitions. Two nights in a modest hotel, a round-trip flight, and no one to please but myself.Then I reached the gate.Chloe was sitting beside Ethan.He stood when he saw me, a pink backpack slung over one shoulder, her matching carry-on beside his leg. A travel pillow hung fr
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