The day I returned home, the rain was pouring. My brother, Mitchell Bishop, didn’t come to pick me up.
“Maggie’s not feeling well. You’ll have to get home yourself.”
His voice over the phone was cold and detached, devoid of any warmth.
I quietly packed my things and set out for home.
It had only been a year since I was sent away to boarding schooll, yet somehow, I had forgotten how to get back.
The day Mitchell drove me to that place, the journey felt so short—so short, I didn’t have time to explain to him that I didn’t push Maggie Andrews down the stairs.
So short, I couldn’t calm Mitchell’s fury before he shoved me into that dark, suffocating prison.
But now, after walking in the rain for what felt like forever, soaked to the bone, I still couldn’t find my way home.
Maybe, I no longer had a home.
Our parents had passed away when we were young, leaving Mitchell and me to rely on each other.
But now, Mitchell had chosen Maggie over me.
For more than a year, he didn’t visit me once.
Once, when I fell gravely ill, all I wanted was to go home. I desperately missed Mitchell.
But when I called him, he didn’t even let me finish my sentence before cutting me off.
“Don’t be such a crybaby.”
Mitchell abandoned me. I had no home to return to.
–
“You’re making a scene. You’ve been there a whole year; why are you still this stubborn?”
Mitchell stormed into the police station, his face a mask of irritation as he glared at me, dripping wet from head to toe. His brows furrowed in disdain, and his voice lashed out like a whip.
“Maggie was sick today—that’s the only reason I didn’t pick you up. You’re an adult now, aren’t you? Can’t you find your way home without pulling a stunt like this? Did you really think I’d let this kind of behavior slide?”
“I’m sorry, Mitchell. I didn’t mean to. I… I really forgot how to get home.”
My legs trembled, and the sound of his anger made my body instinctively cold with fear. Already shivering from the rain, I now felt frozen to my core.
When Mitchell fell silent, his expression unreadable, I panicked. Without thinking, I groveled before him.
“It’s my fault, Mitchell. It’s all my fault. Please forgive me. Don’t send me back there again. I promise I’ll be good. I’ll do whatever you say, Mitchell.”
Even the police were stunned. One of them hurried to lift me up and gently tried to reason with him.
“Let’s go home. I don’t want you embarrassing me here.” Mitchell’s face was dark with fury. He turned and walked out.
I followed him closely, almost afraid to breathe.
Before getting into the car, I carefully placed my damp jacket over the seat to protect it.
“What are you doing?” he snapped, his brows knitting into a tight frown.
Lowering my gaze, I mumbled softly, “My clothes are wet. I didn’t want to dirty your car.”
Mitchell’s frown deepened, his irritation clearly visible. I immediately lowered my head even further.
After a long pause, he finally sighed, his tone impatient. “Just get in.”
–
Had I been gone too long? The house where Mitchell and I had spent over a decade of our lives felt completely unfamiliar now.
The framed photo of us that used to hang in the living room was gone, replaced by one of him and Maggie.
The cream-colored sofa I had begged Mitchell to buy had been swapped out for a garish pink one I disliked.
My bedroom? It was no longer mine. It looked completely different. Everything that once belonged to me was gone, replaced by someone else’s scent, someone else’s presence.
“Nora, you’re back?”
Maggie emerged from Mitchell’s room, her smile delicate and saccharine.
