Page 2 of Mac

It was my turn to grab Jonathan’s hand. “C’mon, there’s no point in staying down here. Stu won’t change his mind.” I pulled Jonathan toward the stairs that led to my bedroom.

As soon as we entered my room, I plopped down on my bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. As stunned as I was, I should have anticipated something like this. I’d figured he’d tolerate me staying here as long as I paid him rent, but clearly, he despised me even more than I thought. Then again, he had enough money left over from Grandma’s life insurance policy that getting rid of me wouldn’t cause him any financial problems. Stu had never treated me well, but despite that, his final rejection of me stung. If there were any more tears left in me, I might have cried at how unfair it all was, but I forced myself to get through today. I could fall apart later, when I was alone.

Meanwhile, Jonathan began pacing while running his hands over his closely cropped brown hair. I was afraid he was going to wear out the carpet. “That guy is a total asshole.”

I let out a sigh and nodded my head in agreement. “He is. But there’s nothing I can do about that. It’s probably for the best I get out of here, anyway.”

The truth was, I was scared to stay here with Stu, but I was also scared to be on my own. I didn’t have much money saved, but I was taking Stu’s decision as a sign it was time for me to move on to new things. I would look for a second job if I had to.

Resigned, I sat up and started looking around my room, trying to gauge how much stuff I needed to pack. I came to the sad realization it would only take my large suitcase and a few boxes to remove everything that was mine.

“You can stay at my place,” Jonathan offered, kneeling in front of me. “Mom loves you and would be happy to have you there.”

His mother, Louise, had always been nice to me. While I didn’t want to take advantage of anyone’s kindness, I wasn’t exactly in a position to turn down his offer. I promised myself it was a temporary solution and my first goal would be to make enough money to find my own apartment.

“Okay,” I said, trying to sound as grateful as I could, although I was hesitant and anxious at the sudden turn in my life. I stood up and looked next to my door where I noticed a few moving boxes Stu must have put in my room earlier. “At least the asshole gave me some boxes.” My attempt at a joke fell flat when my voice cracked.

Jonathan and I spent the next two hours packing my belongings. Once we were done, my eyes scanned the room one last time to make sure I didn’t miss anything. “I guess that’s it.”

I grabbed a box while Jonathan grabbed another and dragged my suitcase behind him down the stairs. I didn’t bother to tell my uncle we were leaving. I had no desire to speak to him ever again.

After another trip inside to grab the remaining boxes, we loaded everything into the back of my car. It was depressing to see that all of my possessions fit inside a small trunk.

Just as I opened my car door, I remembered something my grandmother had told me about when she first got sick. “I need to run inside for one more thing. I’ll be right back.”

I climbed up the stairs and ran into Grandma’s room. I was immediately hit with a blast of lavender. It was a scent I would always associate with her. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the fact sink in that this was the last time I would be surrounded by the things she held dear. With one last deep inhale, I wiped the lone tear that had fallen down my face, opened her walk-in closet, and looked for the box she’d described. Back in the furthest corner sat a small, purple hatbox. I didn’t bother to look inside; I would go through it later when I wasn’t feeling so emotional or in such a hurry to leave.

As I walked out of her door, I ran right into a solid wall. Looking up, I met the angry glare of my uncle.

“What are you still doing here?”

He was drunk, his bloodshot eyes and the slur in his voice a dead giveaway. How did I miss the fact he was drinking earlier? Drunk Stu was even worse than sober Stu. I needed to get out of here quickly and not say anything to set him off.

“I was grabbing one last thing. All of my stuff is already in my car. I’m leaving now.” I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t take the box away from me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want me to take anything from Grandma’s room.

“Good. Don’t need you coming back for anything after tonight.” It was the only thing he said as he turned to walk down the hallway to his room.

I let out a small sigh of relief and ran down the stairs as fast as I could.

As soon as I sat down behind the steering wheel of my car, I shut the door, slammed the car into reverse, and sped away from the house I had spent a majority of my life in. I didn’t look in my mirror to give it a final glance. With Grandma gone, there was nothing left tying me to that place.