My mother once told me she didn’t regret being shot or dying to save them, because she believed they would treat me well for the rest of their lives.
Right now, I was trying my best to stop my voice from shaking.
“Okay, I promise you,” I said quietly.
After that, Adrian hung up the phone, sounding very happy. I wiped my tears away and sent a message.
[Hannah Jameson: Professor Adkins, I’ll go on the mission assigned by the institute. I’ll join you on Saturday.]
While I was packing my things in the room, Marcel and Nancy came back.
When Marcel saw me packing, he laughed coldly.
He then said, “I really thought you had the courage to leave our house. But it looks like you’re just shameless enough to turn down the job at the institute and stay here.”
It seemed that Marcel thought I was putting the clothes back into the drawers instead of preparing to leave. Nancy smiled and wrapped her arm around his.
“Oh, Marcel, don’t say that. Hannah has always admired you since we were kids. She just wants to stay close to you.”
Marcel looked at her with a sneer as he said mockingly, “Being admired by a desperate girl in heat, what’s there to be proud of?”
I couldn’t understand why Marcel had become so cruel.
“Did I do something to hurt you?” I asked.
Marcel was stunned for a moment. He didn’t know how to answer. He knew it was just a plan he made with Adrian, a game they were playing. But the fact that I had asked Adrian for help made him feel irritated.
“Did I say anything wrong? You’ve been eating my dishes and wearing my old clothes since you were little. Now that you’ve grown up, you want to leave my house just to go fool around? Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
He got angrier and angrier as he talked. After that, he kicked over the box I had placed at the end of the bed. Everything inside spilled to the floor. Dolls, ornaments and small things I had kept. Most were gifts from Marcel and Adrian.
“Fuck, I thought you were tough. But look at you, trying to take these with you when you leave.”
He only wanted to humiliate me. He didn’t notice the sign I had already placed on the box. It said ‘trash’.
Nancy gave me a long look, then leaned into Marcel and acted cute.
“Anyway, Adrian already booked us a table. Let’s change clothes and go. Don’t let him wait too long.”
Marcel smiled at her and gently touched her head.
It caused Nancy to blush, but she then turned to me.
“Hannah, please don’t take it the wrong way. They just want to celebrate with me because I got the job at the institute. There’s nothing more to it.”
When Marcel heard that, he looked at me and saw that I was being silent.
He said, sounding annoyed, “Why are you even talking to her? She’s jobless and useless. She’ll have to rely on my family to survive anyway.”
After that, they ignored me, changed their clothes and left the house together.
The next day, when I went out to finish the paperwork, I ran into Kenneth Jackson, a colleague from the institute. He looked a little surprised when he saw the things I was carrying.
“I thought you weren’t going to join,” he said.
Not long after that, he continued, “I didn’t expect you to agree.”
The mission from the institute was hard. Before, I had refused to go because I still cared too much about my childhood friendships. But now, I knew I had to put myself first.
Since I wished to discuss some of the research plans with Professor Priscilla Adkins ahead of time, I went to the institute with Kenneth after we finished the paperwork. When we reached the entrance, I saw Nancy and the others there. Adrian looked shocked when he saw me.
“Hannah, didn’t you promise me that you wouldn’t come here?”
I didn’t want to start a fight, so I answered calmly, “Professor Adkins has always been kind to me. I just want to apologize to her in person.”
But Nancy didn’t want to back down.
“The institute is only recruiting one person this year. Not just anyone can get in. I’ve already talked to Professor Adkins myself.”
