Chapter 8 - The Arrival
On January 2nd, the reckoning arrived.
A commercial taxi pulled up to the snow-covered driveway, followed closely by a local sheriff’s department vehicle.
My parents and Caleb dragged their heavy luggage through the deep snow. Mom was dressed in a dark green winter jacket over a navy skirt and brown boots, her face pale with fury. Dad looked exhausted and disheveled in his tan trench coat. Caleb lagged behind in his yellow hoodie and red vest, looking confused and terrified.
I walked out onto the front porch, holding the thick red binder containing all the new legal orders, property deeds, and court injunctions in my arms.
Grandpa Theodore followed behind me. He didn't stay inside. He walked out on his own two feet, sitting down comfortably on an outdoor wheelchair on the porch just to watch the spectacle unfold.
"Avery!" Mom screamed, charging up the snowy driveway, holding a stack of papers in her hand—notices her bank had emailed her. "What is the meaning of this?! Look at me! We were stranded at Heathrow for twenty-four hours! We had to sell your father's watch just to buy economy tickets back!"
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Dad threw his hands up in despair, shouting at me, while Mom burst into frantic tears right on the driveway.
"You ruined our family!" Mom sobbed, dropping to her knees in the cold snow beside her expensive designer luggage, covering her face in humiliation.
