Page 44 of Yard Sale

“No one thinks that.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “You don’t have to protect my feelings, alright? I grew up with this. I have spent every second of my formative years aware that my existence was unwanted.”

She said nothing, and I felt a small twinge because it was nice, for a second, with her almost defending me. But I knew better than to think one of the people who’d married into the family would take my side.

“Anyway, it is what it is. There are experimental treatments, and I got most of them, and they didn’t work. My vision plateaued for a while, but over the last couple of years, it’s gotten worse and worse. I’ll probably be totally blind by next year.”

She sucked in a breath, then cleared her throat. “How old are you, Tiago?”

“Thirty-two. Why?”

“Thirty-two,” she whispered.

“Anne, is there something⁠—”

“Well. Here’s Ollie’s room,” she said, a little too loudly. God, that was fucking weird. She knocked on the door and leaned her head in close. “Ollie, your uncle is here. I hope you have pants on.”

I grimaced as she opened the door, and to my great relief, bright light spilled out. I was able to get a look at the room, which was pretty massive for this beach house. There were two double beds against either wall and a dresser between them. There was a TV mounted and another darkened doorway, which I assumed led to a bathroom.

On the bed by the furthest wall was a shadowy figure I assumed was my nephew. He was clearly tall from the way his feet stretched all the way to the end of the bed, and he had one arm flung over his face. I could hear faint music, which I took to mean he had headphones on.

“Just, ah…just…hang on,” Anne said. She moved past me, and a moment later, I heard a shout.

“Mom! What the fuck!”

“Language. And your uncle is here.”

“Uhg. Can’t you put him with the twins?”

I bristled. The twins. Peter’s two, who were three years old. It occurred to me suddenly that toddlers were getting their own room, and I was being asked to encroach on a teenager’s space.

This was fucked in every direction.

“Listen, I think I should probably just get a rental,” I started.

Anne whipped her head toward me. “You’d never be able to find one in summer. And Ollie can be nice to his uncle for a few days⁠—”

Ten days. Not a few days. I shook my head. “Anne, it’s fine. Trust me when I say I have people who can find me a place to stay at the last minute.”

I couldn’t see her face clearly enough to read her expression, but I could see her shoulders stiffen. “All that money, and you couldn’t find a treatment to fix you.”

I don’t know why that hurt. If there was a treatment to reverse it or stop it, I would have taken it. I wasn’t going to lie about that. But the way she said it made it sound like I was fucking terminal.

Like I hadn’t been living my best life. Like there wasn’t more of my best life to live, even if I couldn’t fucking see it.

“Being blind is the reason I have that kind of money,” I said, pushing past the door and dropping my bag on the empty bed. “Not sure I’d trade that.”

Oliver snorted and muttered something like, “Yeah fucking right,” before rolling away from me.

Anne sighed. “We’re going to be watching a movie if you want to join us.”

“I think I’m okay.” I could be obnoxious and join them where I clearly wasn’t wanted, but I wasn’t in the mood. It was bad enough knowing most of my family didn’t want me here at all.

I wasn’t really up for having my nose rubbed in it.

Tomorrow, I’d do my best to figure out why the fuck Thierry had insisted I come. Why he made it sound like my parents were desperate to have me here when it was clear I was still the family pariah.

Leaning forward, I pressed my hands over my face and fought the urge to scream into my palms. “If you want the lights off⁠—”