Início / Making Room for Everyone but Myself / Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Todos os capítulos de Making Room for Everyone but Myself: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

10 Capítulos

Chapter 1

When I got home, I scheduled an appointment to file for divorce. The earliest available date was 21 days away.As I confirmed the appointment, Victoria Reed was on the phone with Gavin Burton."Your medicine's in the side pocket of your bag. Don't forget to take it before bed. Make sure you lock all the doors and windows, too. Call me anytime if you need anything."It wasn't until she hung up that she noticed me standing in the entryway."Why are you soaking wet?" she asked.Rainwater dripped from my pant legs, forming a small puddle on the floor."You took the umbrella."Victoria fell silent. There had only been one umbrella outside the supermarket, and she'd taken it to keep Gavin dry."You could've called out to me.""I did, but you didn't hear me."She was about to explain herself when her phone rang again. Apparently, Gavin's water heater had broken down.Victoria immediately grabbed her toolbox. "He's living alone, so he's probably panicking. I'll go check on him and b

Chapter 2

The day my fever broke, Mom asked me to come over for dinner."Your brother's getting married, so we need to talk about buying him a house."She made it sound like a family discussion, but she'd clearly made up her mind long before I arrived.During dinner, Dad spread a floor plan across the table and announced, "Orson's still 60,000 dollars short on the down payment. You and Victoria are doing pretty well financially, so you can cover it for him for now."My younger brother, Orson Townsend, kept his head down, scrolling through his phone as though the conversation had nothing to do with him."Why should I have to pay for it?" I asked.Mom stared at me in surprise. For more than 20 years, I'd given my parents whatever they wanted without ever questioning them."You're his older brother! If you won't help him, who will?""He's 27, Mom. He has a job, and he's perfectly capable of supporting himself."Her face darkened. "Orson's getting married, and that's a big deal for this fam

Chapter 3

With my divorce appointment drawing closer, I went to the hospital for an endoscopy. I'd scheduled the procedure two months earlier, and Victoria had promised to accompany me.Before we left, she slipped a piece of candy into my bag."Your blood sugar might drop after the procedure, so have this as soon as you wake up."She remembered that I was afraid of pain, and she hadn't forgotten that my hands would start trembling if I went too long without eating.When we arrived at the hospital, she even unbuckled my seat belt for me."Don't be scared. I'll be right here with you," she assured me.It had been a long time since she'd been this attentive, and for a moment, I almost believed her again. After all, I was about to undergo a medical procedure, and I wanted someone beside me.But just as I was about to have her sign the anesthesia consent form, Gavin called.Apparently, he'd run into his ex-wife outside the courthouse, and she was refusing to let him leave. I could hear people

Chapter 4

The day Gavin moved in, I started packing my belongings into boxes.Victoria stopped me from closing one of them. "Gavin can stay in the guest room. You don't need to clear anything out for him.""I'm packing for myself," I said.She didn't seem to understand what I meant.Just then, Gavin appeared in the doorway with his luggage. "Lucas, I'm only staying for a couple of days. Victoria told me you wouldn't mind, so I figured it would be okay."Gavin made dinner that evening.Victoria took a bite of the fish and chips and smiled. "This tastes just like I remember.""You still remember?""Of course! You were only 16 the first time you cooked, and you accidentally used sugar instead of salt. You almost burned a hole through the pan!"They laughed together across the table, while I felt like an outsider who had stumbled into their private little world.Gavin put some fish on my plate and said, "Lucas, you should try some, too.""I'm allergic to fish."Victoria's smile faltered.

Chapter 5

Victoria called me for the first time ten minutes after I left, but I didn't answer.Over the next two hours, she called another 47 times before I finally picked up.Neither of us spoke at first, and the line was so quiet that I could hear her breathing."Where are you?" she eventually asked."On a train to Norwell.""Get off at the next stop. I'll come pick you up.""I have work tomorrow.""Then take the day off."I fell silent for a moment, and she eventually relented. "Fine. I'll come to Norwell.""Just sign the divorce papers and mail them to me," I said. "There's nothing else you need to do.""I'm not signing them.""Then I'll take you to court."Her breathing grew unsteady. "Lucas, we don't have to go that far."I watched the city lights disappear into the distance as the train sped along."We passed that point a long time ago. I just couldn't bring myself to admit it," I murmured.With that, I hung up and put my phone on Do Not Disturb.It wasn't until later that

Chapter 6

I didn't go outside, even though Victoria remained across the street for another half hour.One of my coworkers eventually noticed her and asked, "Is that woman waiting for you?""No," I said."She's been staring at us the whole time.""Maybe she's mistaken me for someone else."I picked up a stack of catalogs and carried them into the stockroom. By the time I came back out, Victoria was gone, but she'd left an umbrella by the entrance with a small note tied to its handle."The forecast says it's going to rain tonight."I took the umbrella inside and put it in the lost-and-found bin.The Norwell branch was a bookstore specializing in photography, housed in a converted photo studio. We sold books on the ground floor and offered photo restoration services upstairs.My first project after taking over was titled "The People Behind the Camera".We collected old photographs from neighborhood residents and documented the lives of people who spent so much time looking after their fam

Chapter 7

My parents showed up in Norwell a week before the bookstore's grand opening.Mom grabbed my arm the moment she walked through the door. "Are you done with this nonsense yet?"There were still customers in the store, so I pulled her hand away and said, "Let's talk outside.""Why? What's wrong with talking here?" she demanded, raising her voice. "You walked out on your wife and ran off to another city, and now you've made Victoria stop paying for Orson's house! Do you even care about this family anymore?"Dad slapped a document onto the counter. "Orson's already made the down payment, and the rest is due next week. All you have to do is sign this."I opened the document and discovered that they wanted to use the apartment I'd owned before getting married as collateral for Orson's mortgage. They had even filled in my name beside the signature line."I'm not signing anything," I said firmly.Mom's expression stiffened. "He's your brother!""And?""You already have a house and a jo

Chapter 8

Later, Orson showed up with his fiancée, but he hadn't come to see the exhibition. He was there to confront me."Lucas, the mortgage company said you withdrew as my guarantor, and now I'm going to lose the house!" he complained."I never agreed to guarantee your mortgage in the first place.""Dad gave them a copy of your ID."I looked toward my parents, who had followed Orson into the store. Neither of them would meet my eyes, and I quickly realized what had happened.Dad had gotten someone to forge my signature and submitted the paperwork to secure the loan before pressuring me to sign the actual documents.But when the lender contacted me to verify the information, I'd immediately filed a formal dispute.Mom grabbed my arm. "The paperwork's already been submitted! All you have to do is sign it. If they find out what happened, your father could get into serious trouble!""Then he'll have to face the consequences of what he did," I replied.Dad's face turned livid. "Are you re

Chapter 9

The day our divorce was finalized, Victoria didn't try to change my mind.As we left the registry office, she handed me a folder containing the property settlement documents, the keys to our house, and an appointment slip for a follow-up endoscopy scheduled two months later."The doctor said you shouldn't put it off any longer," she told me."Did you make the appointment for me?""I scheduled it a while ago. Whether you go is entirely up to you."With that, she released the folder, making no attempt to persuade me to keep the appointment or use it as an excuse to ask for anything in return.I slipped the appointment slip back inside. "Thanks."The pedestrian signal turned green, but Victoria remained where she was. I had only taken a couple of steps when I heard her call out behind me."Lucas, I'm thinking of leaving town for a while."I turned around. "Where are you going?""Sylora. My company's renovating a school, and I've applied for a six-month assignment on-site."In t

Chapter 10

A year later, we held the second installment of "The People Behind the Camera".Victoria returned to Norwell on the exhibition's final day.She hadn't told me she was coming. Instead, she waited until the last group of visitors had left before approaching the admissions desk with her ticket."Is there still time to see the exhibition?" she asked."Sorry, we're closed.""What about tomorrow?""We're taking everything down tomorrow," I explained.She nodded, her ears red from the biting wind. "That's too bad."I stepped aside to let her through. "You've got ten minutes."We hadn't kept in touch much over the past year. Occasionally, Victoria would send me photographs of the renovated school or remind me about my medical checkups. Sometimes I replied, and sometimes I didn't, but she never pressured me for an answer.After Dad was penalized for forging the mortgage documents, things had been quiet on the family front for a long time.Mom had come looking for me twice. The firs

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