Chapter 5%
The line was still warm in my hand when I heard my father’s voice, Calm. Tired. Like the kind of tired that’s lived a thousand lonely nights waiting #
“Come home, Doris,” he said.
“I’ve been waiting for you for twenty years.”
Twenty years Twenty years of waiting And me, too afraid or too proud or maybe just too broken to pick up the phone.
My knees almost gave out, but I caught myself. Instead, I sank to the edge of the bed and let the tears fall.
“I’m coming home,” I whispered, voice barely a ghost.
He didn’t say anything more. Just the sound of his breath, steady and real, a lifeline. I hung up before I could say goodbye. That’s when Edmund walked in. Like a shadow slipping through the cracked door. His eyes were cold
the truth on me and hated it.
He didn’t even bother to pretend %
calculating – like he could smell
know you saw the tickets,” he said. Smirk like he was telling a joke. “Limited to six, Doris, Me, Elizabeth. Lester, Loisa. The twins. That’s
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“You’re deliberately excluded.”
His voice dropped to a dead calm Like ice melting on concrete,
“When I get back, I’ll buy you a diamond set. Take you to Hawaii.”
t‘ e those words were supposed to be a consolation prize. Then he turned, walked out without another glance. Just like I was air.
I stood there a moment, silent. Staring at the door he just closed behind him like a coffin.
The next morning, I moved through the motions in the kitchen. Omelets, bacon, toast the smell sharp and mocking.
From the living room, I heard the twins. Laughing, shouting like it was Christmas morning.
“This cruise is the biggest ever!” Lester yelled. “We’re going to have so much fun!“%
Their voices were bright, innocent. And cruel
Then Elizabeth showed up, arms loaded with takeout bags.
She dropped them on the counter with a loud thud and sneered, “I don’t like Doris’s cooking,” she announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s like chewing on cardboard or swallowing salt straight from the shaker. Bland, over–salted, and completely uninspired–just like her.”
The room went still for a moment, and then she tossed her head, eyes gleaming.
“You know, family dinners used to mean something. Now? It’s just a reminder of how pathetic some people are. Doris tries, bless her heart, but you can’t polish a stone that’s already cracked all the way through.”
The twins giggled, but Lester wasn’t done.
“Yeah, Mum, I mean, why even bother pretending you care? You make food like you don’t want us here. Like you’re waiting for us to leave just to be alone with your failures.“M
Loisa nodded, picking up the thread with a sharp grin.
“Honestly, it’s kind of sad, mum. You cook like you’re punishing us. Like every burnt edge and dry bite is your little protest. But we’re not fooled. We see right through you.”
Elizabeth snatched a bag from the counter, opening it with exaggerated care.
“So family, eat this. Real food. Food that people who actually matter deserve. We leave in an hour.“?
Their eyes flicked over me like I was some ugly secret they all shared but refused to admit out loud.
I watched as they dug in like they were starving, piling their plates, asking for more drinks, more snacks.
“Get me water.”
“Pass the salt.“W
“More napkins.”
Invisible, I faded into the background, biting down the bitterness that wanted to choke me.”
Just before they left, Edmund’s voice cut through the kitchen like a whip.
“Where’s my wallet?“B
Ho spun around, eyes sharp, accusing me without a word.
“You’re hiding it, aren’t you?” His eyes burned. “Because that’s what you do–hide things. Hide from responsibility, hide from respect, hide like the useless, jealous little nobody you are.”
I shook my head quietly
He didn’t wait. His hand slapped my face. Hard.
The world spun. Blood poured from my nose like a cruel joke.
I collapsed.
The floor was cold and steady beneath me as my vision blurred. Then Elizabeth gasped, her voice dripping with fake innocence.
3:13 PM
The floor
was cold and steady beneath me as
“Oh! Sorry, brother–in–law,” s she said, voice syrupy
how clumsy I am.”
my vision
blurred. Then Elizabeth gasped, her voice dripping with fake innocence.
sweet. “I must have taken your wallet by
mistake while digging through my earrings. You
know
She pulled it from her bag with a smirk only I noticed. I knew. It was a setup. A
everyone.
way to make
me
small. To
humiliate me
in front
of
The family gathered their bags
like it was a holiday, smiling and shouting their goodbyes.”
Lester, pretending to be kind: “Don’t worry, Mum. I’ll bring
you a fridge magnet.””
Loisa added, ,“And I’ll bring you keychain.“}
“We’ll bring you dirty laundry, Grandma.” The twins laughed
and even
pushed their
tongues out.
Their words hit like knives, soft but sharp.
The door slammed shut behind them.§
Silence.
I
didn’t wait Didn’t
- it. Zipped it. Left
cry.
I walked straight everything else behind.0
to the bedroom, dropped to
my knees,
and
dragged my
old
bag out from
under the bed.
I grabbed
took a cab and
went I straight to the airport.}
Then my phone
buzzed.”
Edmund.
Guard the house while we’re gone. We’ll be out for a
week. Don’t mess anything
up.”
Another message
> Sorry I
I’stared at
cruelty.
followed instantly.
slapped you. But you provoked me. If
the words, the gall of it. A man
only you
weren’t always so damn jealous.
who’d used his hands to silence me now using words to rewrite history. Still blaming
You ruin things for yourself.
me
for his
I smiled not out of
joy, but
clarity.
Then I blocked his number.
Deleted the thread. Gone.}
I slipped
the phone into my coat
done guarding a house
I was
Home.”
pocket, stepped onto the
plane, and didn’t look back once.”
that had never been a home. I was going back to the only place that ever was.
