Chapter 2

At six in the evening, the whole family had their bags packed and two cars ready to go.

I stood beside them with my baby nephew in my arms, seeing them off, and watched my brother strut around wearing my new sneakers, my baseball cap, and my whole tracksuit.

Those were the birthday gifts everyone had given me that year. I'd never used a single one.

Not because I was too precious about them. They just weren't meant for me at all.

The sneakers my mom gave me were in a very masculine color, and the size was Kevin's, not mine.

The baseball cap was Kevin's favorite player. Paul said it was autographed, that he'd gone to a lot of trouble to track it down just for me.

And the tracksuit was from Megan. The color, the size, the print, every bit of it was something Kevin liked.

They all quietly ignored what I actually felt, took whatever they wanted, and still made a show of wishing me a happy birthday.

"Dottie! Happy birthday! Every one of us went out and bought you a gift."

"These things weren't cheap, so if you decide you don't like them, or they don't fit, you can just pass them on to your brother later. Don't let them go to waste."

They watched me with those fake smiles, all of them waiting for me to say, "Then I'll give them to Kevin!"

And then they'd praise me for being so mature, so good about looking after my brother.

But I didn't say a word. I refused to give them the satisfaction, and I hid all of it away instead.

My mom sulked about it for a long time over that. She didn't say my name for a whole month, and rolled her eyes every time she saw me.

Now all of it was on Kevin's body, and he was thrilled, over the moon, throwing dance moves to mock me.

"Sis, you had this stuff shut up in a cabinet and never touched it, so I figured I'd break it in for you!"

Paul jumped in to smooth it over, afraid I'd make a scene, and cut in front of my words fast.

"Since when is your sister that petty? So he's using it, what's the big deal? A few cheap things, that's all."

My mom chimed in too, papering over it, saying it was fine, then pressed a hundred dollars into my hand and told me to take good care of my nephew at home.

"Here. A hundred dollars, your living money. Spend it carefully."

Megan was listening beside her and couldn't help adding a complaint.

"A hundred dollars? We'll be gone almost two weeks. That's not even enough for her to order a little takeout, is it?"

"It's plenty!"

My mom didn't care in the slightest. She took my scholarship money and tucked it into her bag, answering in an offhand tone.

"She's home looking after your nephew, she doesn't have to go out and spend anything, and there's food and drink in the house. A hundred dollars isn't enough?"

Megan pressed her lips together and said nothing. She stayed with the baby a little longer, then walked out the door with them, smiling.

Bang——

The door slammed shut, heavy, like a stone gate that would never open again, sealing them off from me for good.

From the moment they made the plan to the moment they left, not one of them had asked whether I wanted to go, and not one of them thought of me as part of the family.

I just stood upstairs at the floor-to-ceiling window and watched them.

Watched my mom greet the neighbors so gracefully, telling them the whole family was going on a road trip, positively glowing about it.

The neighbors all told her she was born lucky, young and pretty and so easygoing and outgoing, not like the other grandmothers at all.

My dad didn't say anything the whole time. He just sat in the car smoking, and glanced up at the window, like he was looking at me.

The next second, my phone rang.

It was a message from him.

"Aren't you coming, Dottie?"