When Love Pours Down のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

Zach was the last one home.My mom, Linda Shaw, had made a whole table of food, every dish one of Mia's favorites.My dad, Robert Shaw, set two homemade boxes on the table. "All right. Tomorrow's the weekend, so it's time to draw again.""Nora, you're the older sister. You go first."I put down my fork. I didn't want to eat food I didn't even like, and I didn't want to play a game I'd never agreed to."I'm not drawing. Zach is my boyfriend. There's nothing strange about me going on dates with him, so why do I have to draw from a box for the privilege?"Mia lowered her eyes, ran into the kitchen, and when she emerged, she once again held a kitchen knife to her neck."So you're blaming me, Nora? Fine. I'll just die, then. I won't get in your way anymore!"The blade was still a couple of inches from her neck, but everyone immediately panicked, crying and begging her to put it down.Zach shot me an accusing look too. "You know what condition your sister's in. We're just humoring her to kee

"Go on, then. Don't come running back if you leave."Zach's harsh words followed me from behind.I didn't look back. I strode straight out without a trace of reluctance.There was nothing in that house worth missing anyway.It had originally been a home for just Zach and me.Then my parents said they could no longer make ends meet back in the countryside and showed up asking to stay with us.I hadn't wanted to let them move in. But after Zach's parents died, he'd spent years being passed around among relatives, always feeling like a guest in someone else's home. He missed having a real family around, so he begged me to let them stay.And what had come of it?I hadn't felt an ounce of familial warmth. Every day, they either asked me for money or took something of mine and gave it to Mia.My bedroom.The car I'd bought.And now even Zach.They'd taken him from me and handed him to Mia too.I dragged my suitcase all the way out of the apartment complex, and not one person came after me.I

Robert waved a hand dismissively. "Good riddance. Now the two of you can get on with your lives."Mia gazed at Zach and said softly, "Now that Nora's gone, there won't be any more fighting at home. Isn't that better?"Looking at the three of them, Zach couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.He took a step back without answering."She's left home, and none of you are worried about her?"Robert said nothing.Linda gave an awkward smile. "Nora can take care of herself. What's there to worry about?"Zach studied the three of them carefully. Not one of them showed the slightest concern for Nora.It suddenly occurred to him that these weren't things a loving family should be saying.Keeping his thoughts to himself, Zach started reaching out to everyone he could think of. He contacted Nora's old classmates, trying to piece together everything he could about her past."Nora was close to Liam. You should ask him."It took several people before Zach finally managed to get in touch wi

"Your parents are unbelievable. Even after I laid everything out for them, they kept trying to talk me into staying with Mia and bad-mouthing you. What kind of parents do that?"Zach had heard me talk about my childhood before, but I'd never gone into much detail. Most of what I'd mentioned had sounded like small things such as food, clothes, the way I was treated at home.So he hadn't thought much of it.His own childhood had been happy. His parents argued sometimes, but they'd always loved him. They took him on trips whenever they could and did everything possible to give him the things he wanted.That love was what had carried him through all the years after their deaths.Maybe that was why, deep down, he'd always believed families were supposed to be like his had been. There might be fights and arguments, but underneath it all, there was warmth and love.But the family Liam described, and the one Zach was finally beginning to see for himself, was nothing like that.All he saw was p