LOGINMy first Christmas since the transfer arrived before I knew it.Mom had started messaging me a month before Christmas, asking if I'd come home for the holidays.I said I was busy with work and wouldn't be coming.She asked if I would ever come back.I told her work was only going to get busier.She stopped asking, and I stopped reading her messages.The day before Christmas Eve, I was at home deciding what to cook for Christmas dinner when the doorbell rang.I opened the door and found Mom on the other side.There was much more gray in her hair than I remembered, and she seemed to have aged a lot.When she saw me, she gave me a careful smile."Eleanor, I just came to drop off a few things."I paused, then stepped aside to let her in."You said you weren't coming home, so I thought I'd bring you some food."I brought a few things for Christmas dinner. Can I put them in the fridge?""I don't eat salmon."Her eyes reddened and she waved her hands quickly."It's not salmon. It's cheese and
One month after the transfer, I'd finally settled into my new life.My new colleagues were kind and thoughtful. When they learned about my night blindness, one of them made sure to walk me home every evening.No one called me a burden. No one accused me of faking it.For the first time, I knew what it felt like to be seen and cared for.One afternoon after work, I walked downstairs with a colleague and saw Theodore waiting outside the building.He'd lost a lot of weight. His jaw was covered in stubble, and he looked exhausted."Eleanor..."The moment he saw me, Theodore's eyes lit up. He hurried toward me, but stopped a few feet away, as if he was afraid to come any closer."How did you find me?""I asked everyone I could at your company. Eventually, someone told me you had transferred here."Theodore looked at me with pleading eyes."Can we talk? Please."I hesitated, then nodded.After saying goodbye to my colleague, I took Theodore back to my apartment."What did you want to say?"T
Two weeks after my transfer became official, Willow suddenly messaged me."Did you make Theodore take the money back?"I glanced at the message and ignored it.At lunch, I checked my phone again and found a barrage of furious messages from Willow."Why aren't you answering me?"Do you really hate seeing me do well?"No matter what petty tricks you pull, you'll never beat me!"I'd never understood why Willow hated me so much.I'd had so little growing up, yet even that seemed like too much for her. Whatever I had, she always wanted to take it from me."I haven't spoken to Theodore. You're overthinking it."Willow replied almost immediately."That's impossible! If it weren't for you, Theodore would never treat me like this!""If anything I said mattered, Theodore wouldn't have given you that money in the first place.""That's because you're pathetic and nobody likes you.""Say whatever you want. Now you get to find out what it feels like when nobody likes you, either."Willow clearly was
The day after Theodore called me, Mom sent me one long message after another."Eleanor, you actually left?"Are you upset? If you're upset, just talk to me. Why would you run away from home?"I'm worried about you being out there all by yourself."I read her messages before replying with just one sentence."But I was alone at home too, Mom.""How can you say that? You have your father and me. You have your sister. Theodore is at home waiting for you. We were always there.""But none of you ever really saw me. I never mattered to any of you."The four of you were a family. I was always the one on the outside."After sending that reply, I put my phone down and focused on my work.At lunch, I saw that both Mom and Theodore had sent me several more messages.I opened Mom's last voice message and heard the exhaustion and regret in her voice."Eleanor, I've had a long talk with Theodore, and I've been thinking about everything that happened."We did so many things that hurt you. But we reall
I was wheeling my suitcase toward the door while Theodore and my parents sat in the living room, helping Willow plan her grad school applications.It was as if our arguments had never happened and they hadn't taken my money and my design. The four of them sat together, happily planning Willow's future.A future they were building on my suffering."Where are you going?"Theodore stood and reached for me, but I stepped around him and kept walking."None of your business."Mom barely glanced at me before turning her attention back to the paperwork."Ignore her. She's just running away from home to make a point. If you keep giving in to her, she'll only get worse."I said nothing. My heart had already hurt so much that I couldn't feel anything anymore.When I was young, Willow often threatened to run away from home. But I had never dared to do the same.Because I knew that if I left, no one would come looking for me.Theodore grabbed the handle of my suitcase, his voice careful and gentle.
The next day, I was cleaning my suitcase in my room when Theodore walked in, looking uneasy."Eleanor, could we lend Willow our savings?""Why?""She wants to go to grad school and needs the money."I stared at Theodore in disbelief."Did you forget our promise?"Theodore and I had agreed to officially become mates by the end of the year. The $120,000 we'd saved together was supposed to cover the marking ceremony.Theodore looked away, unable to meet my eyes."We could just complete the marking without holding a ceremony."Willow's situation is urgent. We can still be marked without the ceremony."I took a deep breath."Half of that money is mine. I'm not agreeing to this."She can apply for scholarships and get a part-time job after school starts."He immediately argued back."Willow's been pampered her whole life. She can't handle a part-time job. It would be too hard for her.""I've been working part-time since college. Why can't Willow?"Theodore answered without thinking."Willow'







