She Got Five Suitcase, I Got A Broken Backpack Chapter 10
From that day forward, the Brooks family tried every trick in the book to reach me.
My blocked–message folder overflowed with Mom’s hysterical,
tear–soaked essays. Simon even transferred several large sums
of money into my old bank account–the notes all some
variation of “Come home,” “Mom and Dad know they were
wrong,” “Your brother will protect you from now on, I swear.”
I coldly reversed every transfer. I closed the old account. I
changed every single one of my contact details.
The Brooks family–along with that broken–strap, worn–out
old backpack–I threw them all into the trash bin of my
memory, forever.
Four years of college passed in the blink of an eye.
Once I’d completely cut off that cage they called “home,” I
poured every ounce of my energy into my studies and my life.
Junior year, I won the National Scholarship and spent a
semester abroad as an exchange student.
Surrounded no longer by endless demands and emotional
abuse, I made a close group of friends who shared my
ambitions. We pulled all–nighters in the library grinding on
papers. We drank beer and laughed on street corners on weekends.
I slowly discovered something I’d never believed before: I
didn’t need to grovel for anyone’s approval. I was worthy of
love. I was worthy of respect.
On the eve of graduation, my academic record and resume
landed me an offer from a top multinational firm. I put down
permanent roots in this bustling, first–tier city.
In idle moments, my high school classmates would
occasionally drop gossip from back home into the group chat.
I heard Mia was eventually expelled. After coming home, she
got addicted to online gambling and burned through most of
Dad’s life savings.
I heard Mom spent her days in bingo halls, sobbing to anyone
who’d listen about her unfilial younger daughter.
heard Simon, with that bottomless pit of a family behind
him, struck out on every arranged date he went on. Now he
refused to even go home. The whole family did nothing but
blame each other, day in and day out, their lives a ceaseless, grinding chaos.
Sometimes they still asked around about me–trying to track
down their successful eldest daughter, hoping she’d come
back and bail out their shattered, sinking home.
But I was long gone from any world they could reach.
Today is my first day at the new job.
I walk down the sun–drenched streets of the financial district.
in a sharply tailored suit and heels. A fresh coffee in my
hand. The vibrant hum of the city fills my ears.
A light breeze sweeps past, brushing a fallen leaf from my
shoulder. I step into the morning sunlight and keep walking.
I don’t look back.
The old Tessa Brooks died that summer of humiliation, at eighteen.
The woman I am now has a vast world ahead of her, and a brilliant new life.
From now on, everything about them has nothing to do with me.
END