Selena walked back to her
parents' house hurriedly knowing she was already late for dinner, something
about the dinner felt off though, her mother's voice sounded too pleasing and
her words so sweet, the pauses so long.
Selena knew something was
up, but she couldn't guess what.
On reaching the door, she
heaved a huge sigh and knocked even though she had a key.
The door opened suddenly.
Mrs. Miller stood at the other side of the door, wearing her designer blouse.
Selena felt that the occasion might be a bit grand as Mrs. Miller only wore
that blouse out on fancy dinners. She gave Selena a tight smile, not being able
to hide her displeasure.
"You're late", she said
instead of a hello or welcome.
Selena stepped inside the
house. A familiar scent hit her nostrils, she couldn't quite explain the scent
but it did bring back the memories she never asked for. She hung her slightly
damp coat on the coat hanger by the door.
"Hello Mom, hello Dad,
sorry I'm late, I had an emergency at work". She apologized softly.
"Dinner was seven, it's
almost eight. Your father and Zane have been waiting".
Selena's expression didn't
shift. She followed her mother into the dining room.
Inside the dining room,
the table was half cleared, two plates were already used with one barely
touched, hers. Zane slouched in his chair, wearing an oversized hoodie,
scrolling through his phone, and her father Mr. Miller sat by the head side of
the dining table. His gaze fixated on the TV but the sound was muted, and he
didn't even glance up when she walked in.
"Yo", Zane nodded at her
without looking away from his screen.
Selena sat by the clean
plate, and her mother hovered around her.
"So how's your… job?" She
asked in her voice sugary-sour.
"Still doing it", Selena
answered as she poured herself some water.
"Must be nice", Mrs.
Miller responded too quickly. "Having your apartment and not worrying about
rent, bills, or family."
"I do worry about bills",
Selena replied coolly. "I just pay mine". She shrugged her shoulders.
Mr. Miller finally grunted
from his seat, "We called you here for a reason Selena, not to sass your
mother".
Selena turned her gaze to
him, but he still hadn't looked up.
"Then say it", she
replied, her tone a bit sharp.
Zane sat upright and
sighed, suddenly nervous. "I messed up Sel", he always called her Sel right
from when they were younger, she used to love it but now it sounded a bit
cringey to her.
"I borrowed some money, I
messed up".
Mrs. Miller jumped in
immediately, "from the wrong people. A man came by yesterday with a group of
burly men. He said his name was Silas Vane and that if we didn't pay back the
full amount plus interest by Friday, he'd take Zane's arm".
Selena blinked once,
dropping the glass of water in her hands she asked, "How much?"
"Fifty thousand", Zane
replied almost instantly.
The room fell silent, no
one moved, only the sound of the clock was heard, the sound a bit too loud at
that moment.
Selena leaned back in her
chair looking at Zane seriously, "You borrowed ten didn't you?"
Zane avoided her eyes, "It
got outta control, I…"
"It always does", Selena
cut him short.
"Don't start!" Mrs. Miller
snapped fearing Selena might scold Zane.
"Why not?" Selena replied
calmly. "He messes up every time, you panic and then you call me to clean it
up. It's a cycle that never ends".
Mr. Miller finally looked
over, eyes tired. "He's your brother. You're doing well. You can afford it."
Selena's jaw tightened.
"I'm not an ATM, Dad. And I'm not responsible for his messes."
"It's not just about the
money," her mother said, voice rising. "This family is drowning, and you're out
there living like… like…"
"Like someone who wanted
better?" Selena's voice was quiet. "Like someone who worked for it?"
Mrs. Miller's face went
red. "You abandoned us. You left for college when we told you to stay. Never
told us where you were, never let us in…"
"Because you never wanted
in," Selena snapped her voice finally sharp. "You wanted control. You wanted me
here, working, serving, cleaning up his messes…"
She gestured at Zane, who
had his head bowed down in shame or just to avoid the bullets flying.
Her mother took a sharp
step forward, "We took you in and raised you. We gave you food, a roof…"
"You didn't raise me. You
kept me." Selena stood up abruptly, and the chair screeched as it scraped the
floor. "You gave me chores, silence, resentment". Her voice, quiet but firm.
"You gave Zane praises and
toys, you gave me a mop, you bought him nice clothes and you bought me an
apron. Don't twist that into love".
Mr. Miller stood up
slowly, his eyes bloodshot with anger, "Don't talk to your mother like that,
you think you're better than us because you went off to that school? Who knows
what you do for a living".
Selena looked at him, her
eyes betraying no emotions as she looked at the man who let it all happen, who
sat in that chair pretending not to hear or see anything.
"No", she said softly, a
smile on her lips. "I think I finally became what you never expected; Free!".
The words hung in the
room, jagged and final.
Zane stood up abruptly,
agitated. "So you're not going to help? You'd let me get my arm chopped off?"
"You've never used it to
do anything meaningful anyway."
Her mother's voice dropped
to a venomous whisper.
"So you're not going to
help your brother? After everything we did for you?"
"You didn't call me here
for dinner. You called me to hand over my spine, again."
She walked to the door. "I
don't owe you fifty thousand dollars. And I sure as hell don't owe you
loyalty."
Her mother stood too,
shaking. She stepped in front of the door.
"You walk out now, don't
you dare come back."
Selena didn't flinch.
She was done with them and
would never turn back. Taking one last gaze at the house she once called home,
she brushed past Mrs. Miller and left shutting the door behind her.
The cold breeze hit her so
hard and she shivered a little, leaving hurriedly, she had forgotten her coat
on the hanger.
She could never go back
in. She walked ahead, not minding the cold wind as it hit her face. For a
minute she enjoyed it, she felt like the wind, finally free.