“What does that mean?”
Then annoyed.
“You’re seriously canceling because of this?”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“We already packed.”
Jordan wrote:
“Dude, you can’t do this to everyone.”
Paige insisted she had only been trying to keep the trip simple.
Then Mom sent the message that bothered me most.
“Caleb, you’ve always been level-headed. Don’t let Leah create a wedge between you and your family.”
Leah was sitting beside me with coffee.
She saw my expression.
“I’m the problem now?”
I handed her the phone.
She read through the messages without saying anything.
Finally she placed it down.
“I don’t want you to cancel because of me.”
“It’s not because of you.”
She looked at me.
“They don’t get to decide you’re not family and still expect me to finance their vacation.”
The messages became harsher.
I was accused of being manipulative.
Selfish.
Dramatic.
Jordan even wrote:
“Money doesn’t buy family.”
That almost made me laugh.
He still owed me nearly four thousand dollars from a loan he had conveniently stopped mentioning years earlier.
Instead of replying, I called the rental company.
I explained that I wanted to cancel.
The representative told me the deposit was nonrefundable, which I expected, but the remaining balance would not be charged.
Then she asked,
