Chapter 4: The Night I Finally Left

With the business card from the restaurant owner, I found a tutoring job easily.

My student was in middle school.

The family was kind and treated me with respect.

When the owner heard how it was going, he texted me personally.

“Adriana, my sister says her son’s grades have improved so much. Thank you, really.”

Time flew by.

Rhys’s birthday was approaching.

So my mother wouldn’t be embarrassed, I used my paycheck to buy a decent watch and planned to give it to Rhys as his gift.

After buying it, I had almost no money left for school.

But I was determined to get through this last stretch without causing my mother any more trouble.

The night of the party, the house was packed with guests.

I handed the gift to Rhys.

He glanced at the box in his hand, didn’t even bother to open it, and tossed it onto the massive pile of other presents.

I’d seen this show before. I knew what was coming next.

Sure enough, he found another excuse to humiliate me.

“I don’t want anything bought with dirty money.”

My mom didn’t seem to care that the room was full of people. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

“You’ve been leaving early and coming home late all month. What have you really been up to?”

The faces around me were a familiar blur of discomfort and pity.

But this time, for some reason, it didn’t feel so unbearable.

“Nothing much. Just looking for a job I couldn’t find.”

I looked straight at her.

“Wasn’t it you who told everyone in town not to hire me?”

I’d only found that out by accident.

The restaurant owner’s sister had let it slip one day while we were chatting. She hadn’t realized I was standing right outside the door and had spent the rest of the afternoon fuming on my behalf.

I used to wonder how my mother could be so cruel to me.

Eventually, I just got tired of wondering.

I fought back the tears, the sting of her handprint blooming on my cheek.

“Mom, I did what you asked. I gave Rhys his gift. May I be excused?”

She looked like she wanted to say more.

But I didn’t want to hear it.

A while later, my door was pushed open.

Blair stood in the doorway, looking down at me.

“Adriana Rhodes, didn’t you hear Rhys? Once you go to Texas, you’re not coming back.”

She paused, her gaze dropping to the thin chain around my neck.

“I’ve always liked that necklace of yours. Sell it to me. What do you say?”

It was the only thing my father had left me.

In this house, it was the one thing I had always refused to give up.

But suddenly, holding on to it felt meaningless.

“Fine. Five thousand dollars.”

I looked her in the eye.

“Just… take good care of it.”

Blair walked away satisfied, the necklace clutched in her hand.

Downstairs, the party was still in full swing.

None of that laughter had anything to do with me.

When the last of the guests had finally gone, I picked up my suitcase and crept downstairs.

The housekeeper was a light sleeper; the slightest noise would wake her.

I made my way to the front door and eased it shut behind me.

I looked back one last time at the house I had lived in for six years, then turned and dragged my suitcase into the night.

This time, I was really free. I never had to endure it again.

Outside, the night air was colder than I expected. I held my suitcase in one hand and checked the money in my pocket with the other. It wasn't much, but it was mine.

For the first time, I had no idea where I would sleep the next night. Still, the thought of returning to that house frightened me more than the uncertainty ahead.

I walked to the bus station and bought the cheapest ticket I could find. Texas was waiting for me, along with a college that had never been my first choice—but it was a beginning.

As the bus pulled away, my phone began to vibrate. Mom's name flashed across the screen. I stared at it until the call ended, then turned the phone off.

I had spent years hoping she would choose me, defend me, or simply remember that I was her daughter. Tonight, I finally stopped waiting.

I pressed my forehead against the cold window and watched the familiar streets disappear behind me.

I didn't know what awaited me in Texas. I only knew that I would build a life where no one could call me a thief without hearing the truth.

By sunrise, the Wells house would wake to find my room empty. And for the first time, Rhys Wells would have to face a world in which I was no longer there for him to hurt.