CLAUDE

As we were walking up the carpeted staircase, he initiated a conversation.

"You've been quiet."

"I've always been quiet."

"Not with me."

I just answered him with silence and didn't even look at him. I missed him so much, and the first thing I wanted to do was hug him, but now I feel like everyone has turned their backs on me tonight, including him.

"I heard you got fired from your movie. Why did you try to get back? That was your chance to—"

"Why do you care?" I cut him off.

"Because you're my sister and I love you."

"Then why didn't you tell me that you had a girlfriend and she's the sole reason why you moved away?" I tried to hide the pain from the words, but my voice cracked before I even finished my sentence. And I felt like crying. My cheeks were hotter than earlier. God, please don't let me cry.

Ken was stunned for a moment. He bowed down his head for a second, as if trying to gather words that would hurt me the least. He held out a long, deep sigh.

"Look, Sam and I have been together for just a month before I moved out. I planned to change address because paparazzis are everywhere and I want our relationship to be private. But the things I've said to you in the car, I meant all of it." He sounded a little frustrated rather than a man explaining things to her little sister. I felt twinges in my heart as he spoke. He just moved out for a week, but he'd returned as a changed person now.

I still couldn't find the words to respond to him so I still stood there in silence, just watching him. My silence just made him more frustrated.

"Not everything is about you, Claude. Not everyone's lives revolve around you." He said the words with more emphasis that almost made me cry. He'd never talked to me like that, nor said anything close to that. He was my sweet, sweet brother who had always defended me and protected me. I was hurt this time not just because I realized I've lost him too, but because him, of all people, should've known that what he said wasn't true.

"Yes, you're right. Nothing has ever been about me. And no one has ever even cared for me, except you. So thank you for reminding me of something I've known my whole life." With that, I turned around and walked quickly to my room. He seemed to have regretted his words as soon as I left, but it was too late.

I couldn't believe that he was the one who told me that. My whole life, I believed that nothing in this house was ever about me. It was always about my brothers who were always at the top of their games. My friend from middle school who turned out not to be my friend at all, told me that I had low self-esteem. I said I was a Coleman, but she said a name doesn't give you confidence. And I think that was true. Because all that this Coleman name gave me was comparison, abandonment, and other people controlling my life. How could I ever think that the world revolves around me?

I slammed the door to my room and I collapsed on my bed. Silk sheets, strawberry scented candles, golden chandeliers. They say money doesn't buy you happiness but it's better to cry in a Ferrari. But is it really, though? When people could buy all the things they've ever wanted, you'd think they couldn't ask for more. But I don't think they really couldn't. As for me, I was crying on my soft linens, wearing a Dolce & Gabbana nightgown, but all I could think about was how the pumpkin soup tasted for the poor people eating outside our home.