Page 64 of Fight Or Flight

“Ben’s starting school?”

Chelsea nodded. “In September. I’m supposed to move at the end of next week, but I can’t afford it without selling the house.” She sat for a moment, staring down. Her eyes welled up again. “I can’t stay where I am. My apartment is falling apart. It’s in the worst neighbourhood in Toronto. I’m afraid to walk around at night. I hate that Ben is growing up there.”

Natalie put her arm around her sister and held her. She didn’t enjoy seeing anyone struggle like that, but especially not her sister. The inheritance had built up so much hope in Chelsea, only to have it all ripped away. But what could they really do? They were at Anne’s and the Monroes’ mercy.

Chelsea sat up, wiped her wet cheeks. “Natalie, I don’t want to sell the Manor. I can’t stand the thought of it being destroyed.Mapleton is perfect for me and Ben. Have you seen the elementary school here? It’s adorable. And safe. And the beach is right there. And the property has so much space for Ben to run and play.”

“I hear there are snakes.”

Chelsea waved a dismissive hand, set her stubborn jaw. “I want to live here.”

“Maintaining a property that size is a lot of work and a lot of money. It’s not exactly in pristine condition. You really want to do all that?”

“To give Ben a nice place to live? I’d do almost anything.”

“But the people here, Chels . . . They don’t like us.”

She shrugged. “If I worried about what people thought of me, I would never have got as far as I have. I’m fine with being hated by people I don’t know.”

Natalie looked away. It was easy for Chelsea to say that. Her mother had left Robert immediately when she found out what a slimy bastard he was. Unlike Natalie’s mom, who’d stuck around for decades, destroying lives. A mental image of Anne’s disappointed face during her concession speech popped into Natalie’s head, and she had to make an effort to clear it. She couldn’t flippantly dismiss them like that when she was the one in the wrong.

But she could understand Chelsea’s perspective.

Mapleton would be a good place for Ben to grow up. Ethan had grown up here, and he turned out to be one of the best people she’d ever met. He loved it so much he moved back and started improving it.

She reached for her temples and dug her fingertips in. “Okay. Move in. If it means that much to you, we won’t sell it. I didn’t even want the damn place, and I’m leaving. I don’t really care what you do with it.”

Chelsea smiled, then it faltered. “I want you to stay with us.”

“Chels—”

“Mapleton isn’t like it was before. You’re an adult now, not a grief-stricken teen. I want you to be a part of Ben’s life. I want him to know his aunt. I want . . . to spend time with my sister.”

Natalie blinked several times. “I want to be a part of your lives, too. It won’t be like it was before. We can video chat whenever you want, and I’ll come back and visit. Every year.”

“If you stay, we can be a little family. We can celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas together. I want you to be at Ben’s birthday parties.”

She thought of how she currently celebrated holidays, alone in a hostel with nowhere to go, no traditions to take part in, not even a single ornament to hang on a stupid tree. She usually requested to work those days, but more often than not, she was just alone. But she was hardly the only one alone. Plenty of people were alone on the holidays.

“Families live apart all the time,” she said.

Chelsea sighed. “But it sucks, though. And what about Ethan?”

Natalie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. If she was being completely honest, she felt a little queasy about getting on that plane and never seeing him again. Or worse, seeing him around Mapleton when she would come to visit. Planting gardens, waving to people on the sidewalk, holding hands with the love of his life and making her laugh.

Bile rose in her throat, and she nearly gagged on it.

He deserved to find someone like that. Someone who would treat him better than she did. She wanted that for him. After a couple weeks of training and touring in Australia, she’d get over the sadness and look back at this summer spent with Ethan and be flooded with happy memories. And so would he. Maybe one day, when she was done with travelling and ready to settle down, she could find someone just like him.

Hopefully.

Chelsea cleared her throat and put on a smug expression. “That look says it all. It’s easy to leave sisters and nephews behind, but love is a whole other thing.”

“Love is a very strong word.”

“Yet completely appropriate.”

Natalie was about to protest when Chelsea sprang up from her seat. “I gotta go. I have a class at ten thirty, and I have to pick up Ben from my friend’s place and drop him off at daycare.”

---