Leaving Their Home for Good のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

Dad slammed the door and stormed out.Connor smirked and disappeared into his room.Mom held out her hand to me."Five dollars. Tonight's rent."I looked down."I gave all my money to Connor.""That's your problem."She stood and slid open the balcony door."No money, no room. Go on your own. Don't make me tell you twice."I said nothing.I went to my bedroom and picked up the small backpack I kept packed with toiletries and one clean set of clothes.It had happened so many times that I was used to it.When I opened my bedroom door, Connor walked in carrying an armful of sneakers and dumped them across my bed."Since you didn't get into college, maybe you should finally get a job and move out."He rubbed his shoulder dramatically."Then I can turn this room into the walk-in closet I was supposed to have."I looked around the room, already crammed with his clothes and sneakers, and said nothing.I picked up my bag and tried to leave.Connor grabbed it."If you're hidi

Mom shoved me through the front door.I stumbled and almost fell.Connor was already holding up his phone.A transfer notification glowed across the screen.It was six hundred dollars—my tutoring pay.That money was a month of early mornings, late buses, hoarse explanations, and careful lesson plans. It was the first money that had ever truly been mine, and I'd planned to use it to start a new life."Give it back."My voice came out raw.Connor ignored me.He opened a shopping app."These shoes are nice. So are these headphones. Oh, and this jacket."One payment confirmation followed another.By the time he looked up, he was smiling."Six hundred dollars disappears fast. I barely bought anything."The room swayed around me."Give me my money back."He raised his eyebrows."Back?"For years, your allowance came from the money I saved using coupons. Now that you finally earned something, of course it belongs to me."Something in me broke. I screamed and lunged for the

Back in Vancouver, Mom began clearing out my room.Only then did she realize how little I owned.Everything that belonged to me fit inside a single cardboard box."Mom, why are you spacing out?"Connor glanced in."Just throw Micah's stuff out. I still need help moving my clothes before the contractors get here."She said nothing and went to help him.When the renovation crew arrived, the small room was already empty.One wall—the one adjoining Connor's bedroom—was covered with physics equations in my handwriting.A contractor stared at it."Your kid must be serious about school."Dad snorted."Serious? He likes pretending. Probably copied all that from somewhere."He pointed at the wall."Tear it down."The first strike of the sledgehammer made Connor grin.Within days, the two rooms became one large bedroom and closet.Connor filled the racks with clothes and shoes.That evening, Mom cooked an enormous dinner. Dad opened a bottle of wine.Then, unexpectedly, Mom sa

After several months in Landorll, I stopped feeling like every ordinary comfort might be taken away if I used too much of it.My days moved between lecture halls, laboratories, the library, and Dr. Redmond's place.I didn't count every pound before buying lunch.I didn't worry about whether I could afford to eat dinner.Once my mind was free to focus, my grades rose naturally.One evening, after finally solving a physics problem that had bothered me for days, I leaned back and rubbed my neck.That was when I noticed the old Canadian dollar coin on my desk, the one that had come one minute too late.I held it between two fingers.I hadn't thought about home in a long time.I used to believe I'd remember every insult forever.Instead, Landorll kept giving me new things worth holding on to. The old ones didn't matter anymore.I thought life might continue that way indefinitely.Then one afternoon, after class, I turned the corner toward Dr. Redmond's building and saw three fam