Chapter 3

My dad stood at the gate, looking back at me.

He didn’t say anything, but he gave me a reassuring wave.

Instead of calling an Uber, I decided to walk all the way back.

It took me forty minutes to reach the apartment complex where I had lived for the past two years.

It was an old, run-down brick walk-up.

The hallway lights were perpetually broken. I pulled out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and climbed the stairs step by step.

When I reached the door, I pulled out my keys. Before I could even insert them into the lock, I heard voices coming from inside.

The door opened.

The living room lights were on, and there was a pair of unfamiliar canvas shoes at the entrance.

"Chloe?"

A female voice came from inside, sounding a bit panicked.

I looked up and saw Lily standing up from the living room couch.

Behind her was Ethan. He was standing by the table, holding a disposable paper cup.

"Why are you back?" Ethan frowned, his tone carrying an accusatory edge.

I leaned against the doorframe.

"This is my apartment. Why wouldn't I come back?"

"That’s not what I meant."

He paused.

Lily stood there, looking incredibly awkward and uneasy.

"Chloe, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. Ethan was just trying to help. Please don't blame him..."

"You don't need to apologize to me,"

I cut her off.

"He’s the one who lent the money, not you."

Ethan slammed the paper cup onto the table and took a few steps toward me.

"Chloe, don't talk like that. Lily is really going through a tough time. She got scammed and couldn't even pay her rent—"

"So you brought her to our home?"

"What do you mean 'brought her home'? I’m just letting her crash here for a couple of days. She’ll leave as soon as she finds a place."

I glanced at the living room.

A thin blanket was spread over the couch, and the pillow was the memory foam one Ethan usually used.

"You're sleeping on the couch?"

"Yeah. She gets the bedroom, and I take the couch,"

He nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"It’s just for a few days."

"Ethan, did you even bother to ask me? This is a shared apartment. You let a third person move in without even consulting me?"

He was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned impatient.

"Well, weren't you supposed to be staying at your parents' place tonight anyway? Besides, it was an emergency. She had nowhere else to go tonight."

"So because she has nowhere to go, she gets to move into my home?"

"Does she not have other friends? No coworkers? Can't she stay at a hotel?"

Lily’s eyes welled up with tears, and her voice began to tremble. "Chloe, I’m really, really sorry. I’ll leave right now..."

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Ethan turned and grabbed her arm to stop her, then looked back at me with absolute disapproval.

"Chloe, that’s enough. She’s just a young girl who just started her internship in this city. She has nobody else to help her. Do you really have to be this heartless?"

"I'm being heartless?"

Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion hit me.

"You’re right. I don’t have to deal with this." I walked straight into the bedroom, pulled open the closet, and started stuffing my clothes into a suitcase.

Ethan followed me in. Seeing me packing, his voice finally lost its confident edge. "What are you doing?"

"Moving out."

"Are you crazy? Over something this small?"