TWO
Record
“I wishthat you had told us that you were coming up this way,” Madelyn says as she lets us into her house. “Flynn and I rented a cabin up in Honey Peak for this weekend, so we won’t be around much.”
“Sorry, it was kind of a last-minute decision,” I tell her as I look around the place.
She lives in a nice two-story house just a block over from the water. The whole house is bright and welcoming, just like Flynn and Madelyn. It makes me feel at home as soon as I step inside.
“Well, you’re more than welcome to stay here while we’re gone. All of the cabins over by the Mystery Cabin have been rented and the hotel in town isn’t really that great,” she says with a scrunch of her nose.
“Thanks, that would be perfect.”
She shows me around the house and where my guest room is, and it’s only then that I realize that I never grabbed my suitcases out of the back of my car.
“Crap,” I mumble and I look over to see Madelyn smiling at me.
I’m guessing that she just figured out that I forgot it too.
“You can borrow my car while you’re here. Gavin’s mechanic shop is only a few blocks from here. I’ll text you the address,” she says, and I give her a grateful smile.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I tell her, wrapping my arms around her.
She just laughs and shrugs me off.
“Are you hungry? I have girls’ night tonight, but I can always eat twice,” she says. “I think that I have time for something quick.”
Madelyn already told me about girls’ night and invited me along but I’m too tired to stay up late tonight. Not after I’ve been driving for most of the day. She had offered to stay home with me, but I know that I won’t be much company. She’s already letting me crash at her place for a few days and use her car. I’m determined not to take away her time with her friends as well.
“No, I’m tired after driving all day. I’ll just grab my luggage and a sandwich or something on the way back here.”
“Sounds good. You can text me if you need anything.”
I nod and she gives me a quick hug before she heads back downstairs. My phone dings a second later and I tense.
My parents and sister have been texting and calling me all day. I haven’t been answering but that doesn’t seem to be deterring them.
I know what they want. They want me to come back. They want me to be their maid and ATM and I can’t do it anymore. I can’t pay for the mistakes that I didn’t intentionally cause. I know that they’ll say that I owe it to them because it’s my curse, my existence, that caused it, and I can’t hear that anymore.
I figured that everyone would be better off if I wasn’t around. That’s why I’m going to try to stick to myself while I’m in town. It will be nice to see Madelyn and Flynn again, but I’m better by myself.
I need to be on my own so that I can’t hurt anyone else.
That was the thought that I kept having every day for the last six months. Then one day it hit me.
If I wanted my family to be safe and better off, then I needed to leave them. Sure, I might be lonely and they might struggle without my money but I could try to send some back, once I get my new place and save up a bit. Besides, without all of my bad luck there, I’m sure that my mom and dad will be able to find full-time work soon.
I know that I’m hoping that without me there, they’ll miss me and that either their luck will stay bad and it won’t matter that I’m cursed or that they’ll say they miss me too much and don’t care about me ruining everything. I have a feeling that it’s a long shot, but I still can’t stop hoping that it happens.
I take a deep breath and steel myself before I pull my phone out. That breath comes out in a relieved rush when I see that it’s a message from Madelyn instead.
She sent me the address for the mechanic shop and I glance out the window. The sun is just starting to set and I really am tired. If I go right now, I could grab my bags, come back here for a shower, and then pass out for the night.
My fingers clench tight around my phone when it starts to ring and I see my sister’s name on the screen. I hit ignore and grab the keys that Madelyn left for me off of the dresser before I jog downstairs.
It doesn’t take me long to reach Gavin’s Mechanic Shop, and I smile as I park right out front. I grew up in Grand Rapids and went to college in Lansing, so I’m used to traffic and loud sounds.
I kind of like it here in this sleepy little town though. There’s no traffic, three people waved at me on the way here and I feel relaxed after staring at the water for half of my drive here.