Chapter 1 - The Foyer Where She Called It Her House
The chandelier was still swaying a little when Carol pointed at the front doors. I remember that because the crystals threw thin lines of light across the wood floor and up the grand staircase, and my hand was tight around the strap of my bag. Daylight came hard through the double glass entry doors behind me and made the foyer too warm. My lace sleeves itched at the wrists. Everyone was dressed like we had somewhere else to be.
That was the contradiction I couldn't get past. I was standing in my own foyer being told to leave it. Carol stood square in front of Ryan, her mustard-yellow dress catching every bit of that light, her earrings flashing when she moved her head. My gold clasp dug into my palm. She looked like she'd already won.
My name is Lauren Hayes. That afternoon I had come down the stairs thinking it was just another family visit.
It was just after three. I could hear the clock in the hallway and somebody's shoes shifting on the marble. Carol didn't look at anyone else. She looked straight at me and said it plain.
"Get out of my house."
Ryan was to her right in his dark navy shirt, his light-colored phone loose in his hand. He didn't look at me at first. Two of his cousins stood farther back near the staircase, dressed up, quiet, watching. Carol took a step closer. Her voice got louder in that high space.
"Leave the jewelry, leave the car, everything here belongs to my son."
I didn't move. The air smelled like floor polish and the flowers someone had put on the entry table that morning. My bag felt heavier than it should have. I kept my eyes on her because if I looked at Ryan I thought my face would change.
Then Ryan glanced down. It was a small movement. A light crossed his screen. I saw Carol's black phone in her left hand, screen dark. Then it lit too. One of the cousins lifted his phone. I heard a soft buzz, then another. Carol heard it and frowned, but she didn't check. She was still locked on me.
"Why are you still standing here?"
I breathed in once through my nose. My fingers found the checkered pattern on my bag and pressed. I thought about the staircase behind me, the chandelier above us, the doors at my back letting in all that daylight. I hadn't planned to say it with everyone listening. I hadn't planned to say it at all today.
I looked at Carol, then at Ryan. His face had gone pale. His mouth was half open like he'd started to speak and forgot how. Carol's lipstick had bled a little at the corner. Her chest rose and fell fast.
May you like
"Because none of this belongs to you and your $10,000 allowance ends tonight."
Nobody moved. The phones kept buzzing. Ryan stared down at his screen and his hand started to shake. Carol's eyes cut to her own phone as the light hit her face. My hand was on the air just short of the door handle, and the glass was warm from the sun.
