Chapter Four

Audrey's POV

I didn't even think. I pushed through the crowd and charged straight at her.

The whole banquet room went quiet. Every head turned toward me.

"Take it off." I stared at Raegan and held out my hand. "Grandma gave that to me."

Raegan almost dropped her phone. She looked away for a second, then ducked behind Mom so only half her face showed.

Dad came over frowning and snapped at me under his breath. "What are you doing? Everyone's watching."

I didn't look at him. I kept staring at those pearls, my eyes burning so badly they hurt.

"I'm not asking again. Give it back!"

I practically screamed it. Raegan flinched, and then her face went hard.

She covered the necklace with her hand and lifted her chin.

"Why does Grandma only give stuff to you? Brody and I got nothing. That's not fair."

"All I want is what's fair."

I was so angry I was shaking, and I actually laughed.

"Fair?"

"Every birthday, every Christmas, every card and gift the relatives send. Every single time, it's one with your name on it and one with Brody's."

"I spent three months taking photos to win that award, and now it's got your name stuck on the base."

"In twenty-one years, this necklace is the only thing anyone's ever given me, and you want to talk to me about fair?"

Raegan opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her face turned bright red, and her eyes filled up with tears.

That was when Brody shoved his chair back and walked over.

He didn't even glance at me. He hooked his fingers under the necklace around Raegan's neck and yanked.

The string snapped.

Dozens of pearls hit the floor and scattered everywhere, rolling under tables and between people's feet.

I stood frozen, watching them roll farther and farther away.

"There." Brody gave me a cold look. "Now nobody has it. Happy?"

Before I could say a word, something slammed into my face.

"Are you done yet?"

Mom had slapped me as hard as she could. I stumbled to the side and hit the corner of a table.

I held my cheek and slowly turned my head. Half my face was on fire.

Mom stood in front of me, her face dark with anger. I saw disappointment in her eyes, and annoyance, but not one bit of concern for me.

All the whispering around us only made her more embarrassed. She spun around and raised her voice at Grandma, who was standing at the back of the crowd.

"Mom, I've told you a hundred times. Stay out of how I raise my kids!"

Grandma went pale.

Her hand trembled on her cane. Her lips moved, but in the end she didn't say anything. She looked like a little kid who'd just been scolded in front of the whole class.

Watching her, I felt all the anger drain out of me. All that was left was cold.

"This isn't Grandma's fault," I said, my voice rough.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have fought Raegan over it."

"I won't ask for anything ever again. I don't want anything anymore."

I gave Mom and Dad a small smile, but the tears kept falling one after another. They ran down over the spot where she'd slapped me, and it stung like crazy.

I asked one of the servers for a small brush and a dustpan, then crouched down and crawled under the tables to pick up the pearls one by one.

A few had rolled up against people's shoes. I kept my head down, said sorry, picked them up, and dropped them into the velvet pouch.

When I got to thirty-one, I couldn't find any more.

Behind me, Dad cleared his throat and called everyone over for a family photo. He said they had to have something to remember the party by.

The photographer asked, "Is everyone here? Aren't we missing someone?"

Mom didn't even turn around.

"Don't bother waiting for her. She can go home."

"She ruined a perfectly good party. And she's got the nerve to still be standing here?"

Once again, every eye in the room was on me, and every look stung.

But this time, I didn't cry.

I stood up with the velvet pouch clutched in my hand, walked through the crowd without a word, and pushed open the banquet room doors.

I got a ride home and went straight to the storage room.

I threw my camera, a few changes of clothes, and the signed sponsorship form into a suitcase. The whole thing took less than twenty minutes.

Then I called the study abroad advisor. She told me the emergency grant had just been approved that afternoon, and she'd even found me the earliest flight to Melbourne that night.

I was dragging my suitcase into the airport when she texted me again.

"Audrey, are you okay? Did something happen at home? Do you want me to reach out to your parents for you?"

I smiled a little and typed back.

"No, but thank you. I don't have a home anymore."

Over the speakers, they started calling for my flight to board.

I pressed the velvet pouch with the pearls against my chest and walked toward the gate.