Chapter 2

Not long after I sent the message, cheers erupted from the living room.

I opened the sunroom door. Sean was busy lighting candles on a cake, and Taylor was clearing the table for dinner.

Mandy threw herself into Emmett's arms, laughing.

For a moment, I thought they were celebrating my birthday. Maybe they'd just taken things too far.

Like in a novel, they would wait until I was at my lowest before saying, "Happy birthday, Nora!"

But then Mandy pulled me over, and Sean lifted Mimi onto the table.

"Come on, Nora. Wish Mimi a happy birthday."

I stared at the familiar-looking cake.

"Oh," Sean said casually. "That cupcake came free with this pet cake."

My stomach lurched.

I ran to the bathroom and vomited until there was nothing left, not even bile. Only then did the retching finally ease.

Sean hurried over with tissues and rubbed my back.

When I didn't take them, he quickly offered me a glass of warm water.

"Here. Rinse your mouth."

Then he added, "Try to finish throwing up soon. We've set this bathroom aside for Mimi. She won't like you using it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I pulled away from his touch, my voice hoarse.

Sean curled his fingers back toward his palm.

"Stop looking for things to complain about, Nora. You've only been home a few hours, and all you've done is make everyone miserable."

"I'm looking for things to complain about?"

"Sean, I spent fifteen hours on a train because of one message from you. Then I climbed twenty-five flights of stairs."

"I almost had two asthma attacks. I came home to find you'd given my room to a cat, and then you fed me a cake the cat had eaten."

"Who's really causing problems here? Who?"

Emmett leaned against the doorway, frowning impatiently.

"Here we go again. How many fights are you going to pick over this petty crap?"

Mandy stood with the cat in her arms, her eyes lowered and her voice timid.

"I'm sorry, Nora. Please don't be mad. I'll just take Mimi and leave."

I looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"Okay. Go."

When we'd first rented the apartment, Sean hadn't had any money because his mother was sick. Taylor had said he'd spent almost everything on traveling.

Mandy had said she had depression.

I'd paid half the rent myself. Even after I left, I'd kept paying.

I'd always believed the five of us were a family. Whatever disagreements we had, we would work them out eventually.

And now?

I paid half the rent, only to be sent to sleep in the sunroom for a cat.

Apparently, even using the bathroom was an imposition on her.

Why should I put up with that?

I got to my feet, stormed into my bedroom, and threw the pet toys out the door.

Cat hair drifted through the air, making my throat itch.

I slammed the door and hurriedly pressed my inhaler to my mouth.

My body sagged against the door. I covered my ears, trying to suppress the frustration and hurt rising inside me.

But their words still pierced the wood like a thousand tiny needles, driving straight into my heart.

Emmett picked up the cat bed.

"Stealing a cat's room now, Nora? Which one of you is the animal?"

Taylor, the brother who'd promised to protect me ever since we were little, slammed his fist against the door.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Nora?"

And Sean, the man who'd promised to love me for the rest of his life, said nothing.

He just kept comforting Mandy.

Her poor little cat had lost her room. What a tragedy.

I quietly picked up my phone and messaged the landlord.

"Mrs. Carter, I won't be renewing the lease next month."

She replied almost immediately.

"All right, Nora. You're the only reason I've been renting it to you all for half price."

I'd met Mrs. Carter the year I graduated, when I found her unconscious on the street.

I'd been out looking for work. I took her to the hospital, then went to my interview.

She'd tracked me down afterward. When she learned I was looking for an apartment, she offered me a fifty-percent discount.

"Are you sure? If you've made up your mind, I'll find new tenants."

"Oh, and happy birthday."

Then she sent me some money.

I sniffled, and tears spilled down my face.

A woman I'd known for only a year remembered my birthday. The people I considered family remembered the cat's, but not mine.

I tapped out my reply.

"Thank you, Mrs. Carter. I'm sure. I'm ending the lease."