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Chapter 3

Autor: Serene Spring
Dylan opened his mouth to explain, but Julia cut in first. "Ruth, don't blame Dylan. You're both moving to Harborwyn, and I'm scared to live by myself, so he offered to leave the dog with me.

"I'll take good care of Buddy. And I'm only moving in here because it'll be easier on him to stay somewhere familiar."

I stared at her, and the last of my restraint snapped. "His name isn't Buddy! It's Teddy. He's my dog!"

Julia's eyes welled up immediately, and she looked down. "I'm sorry, Ruth. I got his name wrong. I didn't mean to."

Dylan set his utensils down with a sharp clatter. "It's just a name. Do you really have to yell at Julia over that? I already gave Teddy to her. He's hers now, so she can call him whatever she wants."

Hearing him take her side hurt more than I could put into words. My eyes burned with tears, and my voice caught, but I held firm.

"Dylan, I'm not going to Harborwyn with you. You paid 700 dollars for Teddy when we got him. I'll pay you back, and I'm taking him with me. After that, we're done."

As soon as I finished, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I rushed into the bathroom and cried as quietly as I could.

I would never forget the day Dylan put that puppy in my arms. I'd been so happy I threw my arms around him, then immediately started thinking of names.

Dylan had looked completely unimpressed, but he answered anyway, "Let's call him Teddy. He's just as clingy as you are."

For the next three years, Teddy was part of our everyday life. His fur used to turn up everywhere, even on our bath towels. But now, there wasn't a trace of him left.

I fought back another wave of tears and started packing my things, beginning with my toothbrush holder and towels.

Their voices carried through the door, low but clear enough for me to make out every word.

"Dylan, Ruth isn't really mad, is she? What if she actually breaks up with you and refuses to go to Harborwyn? I just wanted to live with you two. I wasn't trying to come between you!"

Dylan scoffed. "Didn't you see the two bags she brought home? She obviously bought them to pack for Harborwyn. She's way too clingy to leave me.

"I made her sleep alone last night, and she probably barely got through it. If she doesn't come with me, where else is she going to go?"

As soon as he finished, I opened the door. Dylan glanced at the storage bags beside me, already starting to fill up. That only seemed to confirm what he believed.

"See? She can't stay away from me. She's already packing."

Then he held out a pair of earplugs.

"Ruth, Julia and I only talk. Nothing has actually happened between us. Once we get to Harborwyn, I'm still going to fall asleep on the phone with her. If you don't want to hear it, wear these."

I didn't take them. Dylan pulled me closer and dropped them into one of my bags.

"Come on, Ruth. If there were really something going on between Julia and me, I would've taken her to Harborwyn with me a long time ago. But you're the one I want to go with. Doesn't that tell you anything?"

Julia jumped in too. "Ruth, guys flirt online all the time. It's not a big deal. If you're worried Dylan can't control himself, I'll stop taking our chats that far. Then he won't keep waking you up in the middle of the night."

They talked like they'd done nothing wrong, and by then, I was completely numb.

When I finally spoke, my voice was calm. "Forget it. Just give me the passcode to your place. I'm going to get Teddy."

Julia shook her head, looking uneasy. "Mom and Dad took him out for a walk. They're not back yet."

My chest tightened, and my voice trembled as I confronted her. "You know Mom and Dad are allergic to animals. They even got rid of the hamster I used to have! How could you leave Teddy with them?"

Julia explained, "Ruth, Mom and Dad aren't actually allergic. They just didn't want you to have pets, so they lied."

My ears started ringing as a rush of heat shot to my head.

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  • When You Were My Home   Chapter 9

    I felt nothing. I smiled to myself, finally at peace with it."It's okay, Ms. Upton. Liorenza's a big place. We're not likely to run into each other," I said.After I hung up, I packed up my art supplies and headed back to campus. Near the bridge, I spotted someone who seemed familiar at first, but I almost didn't recognize him.I stopped in my tracks when I realized it was Dylan.It had only been two weeks, but he looked nothing like the cool, polished man I remembered. He'd lost so much weight that his face had gone gaunt.His eyes were sunken and bloodshot, and stubble covered his jaw. He looked exhausted, like he'd come a very long way and used up every last ounce of strength just to get here.The moment our eyes met, the noise around us faded into the background. For one brief second, it felt like the rest of the world had disappeared.Then Dylan ran straight toward me. He moved so fast he nearly stumbled, all traces of his usual composure gone.The second he reached me, h

  • When You Were My Home   Chapter 8

    "Ruth!" Dylan shouted my name as he rushed inside, but no one answered.The house was empty. Everything I owned was gone. Teddy was gone too. He used to come running as soon as Dylan walked through the door, but now there wasn't a trace of him.Dylan dropped onto the bare couch. Teddy's toys used to be scattered around it, mixed in with my throw pillows and all the familiar things that had filled the home we shared.Now they were all gone.His eyes blurred, and the tears finally came. He sat there sobbing, the sound carrying through the empty house.Dylan had always kept his emotions tightly under control. He hadn't even cried when his parents died. But now, for the first time in his life, he cried because of me.Two months later, I enrolled at an art academy in Montevia and started chasing the dream I'd given up six years ago.I threw myself into learning Montevian. At first, I stumbled through even simple conversations, but little by little, speaking became easier. Somewhere a

  • When You Were My Home   Chapter 7

    Dylan pulled out his phone, his hands shaking as he dialed my number from memory over and over.Every call ended with the same automated voice saying, "The phone you're trying to reach is turned off."He started to panic. He kept calling and texting until he missed his flight."We have to find Ruth. We need to know where she went!"Mom and Dad tried messaging me too, only to realize I had blocked them both. When none of their messages went through, they finally lost what little composure they had left.After more than a decade of putting Julia first, they were finally dealing with the fallout.They finally understood. Growing up, all I had ever wanted was their love and attention.I kept reaching for them, desperate to be close to them and willing to do anything to earn their approval. But no matter how hard I tried, they kept pushing me away and blaming me for things I hadn't done.And no matter how much they hurt me, I had never truly hated them. I took every accusation, ever

  • When You Were My Home   Chapter 6

    The timestamp left no doubt. The messages were from right before the exam all those years ago.There had never been any proof that I tore up Julia's exam admission ticket. Instead, the chat showed Julia taking a picture of her own ticket and asking a few friends what to do."What am I supposed to do? I've only been getting those high scores because I cheat! This is the actual exam. There's no way I can cheat this time.""But if your score suddenly drops, won't your parents know something's up?""So what's she going to do? She can't just skip the exam for no reason. Her parents will be furious."A few seconds later, Julia replied, "Easy. I'll tear up my admission ticket and tell them Ruth did it because she was jealous of my grades. Mom and Dad always take my side anyway. They'll never believe her."I get out of taking the exam, and she gets punished. Two birds with one stone!"Then Julia tore up her own admission ticket and sent them a picture. "Just ripped it up myself. Bet no

  • When You Were My Home   Chapter 5

    Dylan's expression changed instantly. He snatched the briefcase and opened it. Inside was a tablet, already playing security footage from my bedroom that afternoon.Julia shut the door behind her. One second, she was sweetly calling me to come eat, looking completely harmless. The next, her face hardened, and her eyes turned cold with jealousy and spite.I was crouched on the floor with Teddy in my arms, sobbing and completely off guard when Julia shoved me down. I hit the floor hard with a sharp crack.Before I could get up, she bent down, dug her fingers into Teddy's neck, and squeezed hard. Teddy yelped in pain. When he saw me fall, he instinctively tried to protect me and scratched Julia's calf, leaving a wound.Startled, I immediately reached toward Julia to check on her, but her expression changed in an instant. Her face crumpled, and she burst into tears, screaming for help.The second she heard footsteps rushing toward the room, she dropped to the floor and played the vict

  • When You Were My Home   Chapter 4

    I'd always been clingy, but Mom and Dad had never stayed with me at night.When I was little, I saved my allowance for months to buy a hamster. With that tiny, warm body curled up in my hands, I finally stopped lying awake at night.Then Mom and Dad told me they were allergic to animals and made me give it away. I cried until I could barely breathe, but I thought keeping it could make them sick, so I gave it up anyway.I never got over it, and now Julia was telling me they had lied about the whole thing. Tears spilled down my cheeks.Just then, Mom and Dad came back, petting Teddy like they'd never been allergic to animals at all. They barely seemed to notice me before handing Julia the leash."Julia, your dog is adorable. He's so friendly, even with strangers."All the anger I'd buried for years came rushing back. I snatched the leash from them. "Mom, Dad, why did you lie to me? You made me give away my hamster!"Only then did they seem to notice me, and they already looked ann

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