“Okay, Dad. I understand. But before I go, there’s one thing I want to ask you.”
My voice was steady and composed. “When Leroy graduates, will you treat him the same way you’re treating me now?” I paused. “Will you kick him out too, hand him two hundred dollars and tell him to make it on his own?”
For a moment, the living room fell into the deathly silence.
My father froze, then his face darkened with rage.
Leroy’s smile stiffened; he instinctively straightened his back.
Then Linda’s sharp voice cut through the air.
“Leo Crowe! How could you say something like that? What does this have to do with your brother?”
Like a provoked lion, my father lunged forward.
“You ungrateful brat!”
He didn’t slap me this time. Instead, he snatched my suitcase from my hand with a violent tug. Then, as if tossing out the trash, he hurled it with all his strength through the open manor door. The suitcase hit the cement ground outside with a dull thud.
The latch popped open, and a few of my old, worn clothes fell down the steps.
“Get out! Get out of my sight right now!” He was panting heavily, his chest heaving as he pointed toward the gate.
“I don’t have a son like you!”
Leroy raised his phone to take pictures, his face glowing with amusement, like he was watching the best show of his life.
Linda gently rubbed my father’s back, pretending to comfort him.
“Calm down, Wayne, don’t let anger gets you. It’s bad for your health and it’s not worth it,” she said in sugary tone. “He’s young and impulsive—doesn’t know the world better. We can always make him learn later…”
But I noticed the smug look in her eyes.
Silently, I gathered my scattered clothes and picked up my college diploma. I brushed off the dust clinging to its cover, then gripped the two crumpled hundred-dollar bills tightly in my hand. With my back straight and head held high, I walked away from that grand, luxurious house that had never had warm in it.
Behind me, my father’s furious shouts still echoed, mixed with Linda’s fake words of comfort—
and muffled laughter from Leroy that he could no longer hold back.
The iron gate of the manor slowly swung shut behind me with a heavy clang, sealing off that different world from mine.
The sunlight was little harsh; I squinted, looking toward the city skyline in the distance, watching the endless flow of cars and people.
This time, I wouldn’t live like I did in my previous life—wandering aimlessly through the lowest depths of society, trading my life away for scraps with cheap labor.
Two hundred dollars. It was enough—enough to buy a train ticket back to my grandfather’s home.
If they didn’t want me living off the family, then for God’s sake, I wouldn’t.
***
After several hours of jolting travel, I finally arrived at the small village from my memories—a place filled with the scent of earth and the warmth of home.
Grandpa was sitting on a small wooden stool in the yard, rolling tobacco in his hands, while Grandma was busy in the kitchen.
Thin wisps of smoke rose from the stove, bringing the warm smell of home-cooked food.
“Leonard? Why are you here, child?” Grandpa looked up, surprise flashing in his wrinkled face, followed quickly by a look of concern.
Hearing his voice, Grandma came rushing out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist. Her face lit up the moment she saw me.
“Oh my, my grandson is here!” she exclaimed, her voice trembling with joy. “You must be starving. Come in, come in! I’ll make you your favorite scrambled eggs!”
Seeing the genuine happiness on their faces, a warmth spread through my chest and my nose stung with the urge to cry.
As they kept piling food onto my plate, Grandpa and Grandma asked gently, their eyes full of curiosity about the real reason behind my homecoming.
I told them everything—exactly as it happened, without adding or leaving anything out.
Grandma’s eyes reddened immediately.
“You poor thing…”she said, clutching my hand tightly. “You dad has lost his mind!”
Grandpa had been silent the whole time; but his expression grew darker and darker, the veins on the back of his hands bulging beneath his thin skin.
