The Summer I Left novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: The Lobby

I took the elevator down in yesterday's clothes with Eddie right behind me.

"I'm not leaving," he said. "I'll stand there and eat a banana."

The lobby was full of students waiting for the morning shuttle.

In the middle of the floor stood my father in his company jacket, my mother in her cardigan, and Brynn with her phone already up.

She was smiling.

It was a gentle smile, the one she used on the whole neighborhood.

"Drew!" she said. "Thank goodness. We were so worried."

Mom took a step toward me.

"Drew, honey, you look so tired."

She was staring at my face, my bare face, in the daylight.

I realized she had not looked at it straight in two months.

Dad cut her off.

"Enough. We flew across the country for you. Let's finish this properly."

"Finish what?" I said.

Brynn lifted her phone a little higher.

"We have a short video for you to say, Drew. Just a few lines. That this was a misunderstanding, that you were upset, and that you never meant to hurt Nate."

"Say it into the camera?"

"It'll take two minutes." Her voice was warm and reasonable. "Then we'll ask them to unfreeze the page, and nobody has to take this any further. Your parents will even let you stay with them at Christmas."

Students were starting to turn and watch.

Eddie peeled his banana, slowly, with a loud crackling sound.

"Okay," I said.

Brynn's eyes lit up.

"Keep recording," I said.

I stepped in front of her phone.

"Hello. My name is Drew Bradfield. A week ago, my parents and my friend used my debit card and my bank password to take six thousand five hundred and eighty-six dollars from the account I saved for college."

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