Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 9

Kendra was the last one to come home.Mom had prepared a whole spread of dishes, all of them Jude's favorites. Meanwhile, Dad set two small homemade boxes on the table."Alright. Tomorrow's the weekend, which means it's time for the box game again," he announced. "Owen, you're the older brother. So, you go first."I set down my utensils. I didn't feel like eating food I hated, and I certainly didn't feel like playing a game I never wanted to play."I'm not doing this," I said. "Kendra is my girlfriend, and it's perfectly normal for me to take her out. Why do I have to draw one of these stupid boxes?"Jude's expression fell. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, pressing the blade against his neck. "So you're blaming me, huh? Fine. I'll just die. Then I won't get in anyone's way!"The knife was still several inches away from his neck, but everyone immediately panicked and began crying for him to put the knife down. Kendra shot me a reproachful look. "Come on, you kn

"If you want to leave, then go! Don't ever come back!"Kendra's voice rang out behind me, but I didn't look back. I walked away without hesitation. After all, there was nothing in that house worth staying behind for. It had originally been the home Kendra and I shared. My family had been the ones to come looking for us, claiming they couldn't make ends meet back in the countryside and asking to stay with us. I had refused at first. But after Kendra lost her parents, she'd spent years being passed from one relative's house to another. She missed having a real home and a family of her own.So, she'd begged me to let them stay. However, I didn't get an ounce of the warmth I'd expected from having a family around. Every day, they either came begging me for money or took what was mine and gave it to Jude. My bedroom, the car I'd bought with my own money, and even Kendra—they'd taken everything from me and given them to Jude. I dragged my suitcase all the way out of the apart

"Maybe it's for the best that he left," Dad said, waving a hand dismissively. "The two of you can finally live in peace.""Now that Owen's gone, there won't be any more arguments at home," Jude added, looking genuinely concerned. "Isn't that better for all of us?"Looking at the three of them, Kendra couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She took a step back and said nothing."He left this family," she finally said after a long silence. "Aren't any of you worried about him?"Dad remained silent. "He can take care of himself," Mom said, flashing her an awkward smile. "What's there to worry about?"Kendra studied the three of them carefully, but she couldn't find even a trace of concern for me on any of their faces. It suddenly hit her that these weren't the kinds of things a loving family should say about one of their own.She gathered herself and began reaching out to everyone she could think of. She tracked down my old classmates and asked them about my past,

Kendra said, "Your parents were unbelievable. Even after I made everything clear, they still tried to convince me to get back together with Jude. They kept telling me how terrible you were. What kind of parents do that?"Kendra had heard me talk about my childhood before, but I'd never gone into much detail. As far as she was concerned, it had mostly been trivial things, like what I ate and wore at home. She'd never thought much of it. Her own family had been loving and happy. Her parents argued sometimes, but they'd always loved her. They took her on trips, and whenever she wanted something, they'd do everything they could to give it to her.That love was what carried her through the years. So, deep down, Kendra had always believed that family was supposed to be warm and loving, even if people argued and bickered from time to time.But from the way Isabelle had spoken about my family and from what Kendra herself had witnessed, it finally dawned on Kendra that my parents had b