Chapter 1 - The Pounding on the Door
The heavy thud against my apartment door didn't sound like a knock; it sounded like an eviction.
Bang, bang, bang.
'Noah! Open up right now! I know you’re in there!'
It was Matt’s voice, thick with panic and the jagged edge of displaced rage. Through the thin wood of the door, I could hear him huffing, his boots scraping against the cheap hallway linoleum.
Emily froze, a pen still hovering over a grading rubric on our kitchen island. Her eyes darted from the door to me. The silence in our apartment felt heavy, like the air right before a thunderstorm breaks.
'Don't open it,' Emily whispered, her voice tight. 'If you open it, they win the first round of the war.'
'I have to,' I said, rubbing the back of my neck where a dull, familiar migraine was beginning to throb. 'If I don't, they’ll wake the neighbors, call the landlord, or pull some stunt that makes my life harder. Better to end it here.'
I walked down the short hallway and threw the deadbolt. When I pulled the door open, Matt stumbled half an inch forward, having leaned his entire weight against it. He looked terrible—sweat plastered his hair to his forehead, his face was flushed, and his phone was gripped so tightly in his hand his knuckles were bone-white.
'Are you out of your absolute mind?' Matt barked, pushing past me without an invitation. He stepped right into the living room, his chest heaving. 'Mom is standing in the middle of a resort lobby in Gatlinburg with a line of people behind her because your card just got declined! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?'
I didn't step back. I didn't offer him a seat. I just crossed my arms and watched him, feeling a strange, hollow sort of detachment.
'My card,' I repeated slowly. 'Not yours, Matt. Mine.'
'It’s an authorized user card, Noah! You gave it to her!' Matt threw his hands up, his voice cracking. 'You can't just cut people off in the middle of a family trip because you threw a temper tantrum at the barbecue! Unblock it right now. Mom has three grand in excursions booked, and the desk manager is looking at her like she’s a criminal.'
'Then she should pay for them,' I said. My voice didn't shake. That surprised me more than anything. For thirty-two years, my voice had always betrayed me—shaking with fear, softening with guilt, rushing to apologize for existing. Today, it was flat and cold as slate.
Matt stared at me, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He looked around my living room as if seeing me for the first time, searching for the compliant, reliable younger brother who used to hand over his paycheck without a second thought.
'You’re doing this because of a stupid joke?' Matt snarled, stepping into my personal space. 'Dad was just messing around! You’re too sensitive, Noah. You’ve always been a fragile little—'
'Get out of my apartment, Matt.'
'Unblock the card!'
'I said, get out.' I pointed toward the open doorway. My tone had dropped an octave, carrying a weight that made Matt flinch backward just an inch. 'If you don't walk out that door right now, I’m calling the police to report trespassing, and then I’m calling the fraud department to report the unauthorized charges your mother just tried to pull.'
Matt’s face turned from red to a sickly, pale gray. 'You wouldn't.'
'Try me.'
He stood there for three agonizing seconds, his chest rising and falling, his eyes darting between me and Emily, who had stepped into the hallway behind me like a silent guardian. Finally, he spat on my welcome mat—a petty, childish gesture that somehow proved everything I needed to know about my childhood—and turned on his heel.
'You’re dead to us, Noah,' Matt muttered, stomping down the stairs. 'Don't ever expect us to help you again.'
I closed the door, locked the deadbolt, and leaned my forehead against the cool wood.
May you like
'Are you okay?' Emily asked softly, her hand coming to rest warm and steady on my lower back.
I turned around, letting out a long, shuddering breath. 'I think,' I whispered, 'I just survived the first earthquake. But looking at the numbers on my app... I think the foundation of my entire life was built on sand.'
