“And whether we bought it for you,” I said.
Dad nodded.
I looked away.
Mom spoke softly.
“She asked about the house in your vacation photos.”
“It’s Uncle Mike’s place.”
“Right.”
Dad nodded.
“And after you told her that, she asked whether our family owned other property.”
I remembered that conversation too.
At the time, I’d laughed.
Chloe was curious.
That was all I’d thought.
Dad continued.
“She asked what I did.”
“So?”
“Then she looked up the business.”
My head snapped toward him.
“What?”
“You told me she knew the store name.”
I had.
I’d completely forgotten.
Mom added, “Then she asked whether your tuition was covered.”
I crossed my arms.
“She wasn’t demanding my bank statements.”
“No,” Dad said. “And I’m not saying she’s a bad person.”
“Then why did you do all this?”
He looked toward my dorm room.
“Because every time we brought it up, you told us we were imagining things.”
I shook my head.
“So instead of talking to me, you decided to run some weird social experiment?”
“We did talk to you.”
“And I disagreed.”
“Exactly.”
I stared at him.
Dad sighed.
“Emma, when someone tells you what they think about another person, it’s easy to dismiss it. I wanted you to watch for yourself.”
I still wasn’t convinced.
“It feels manipulative.”
“Maybe it is.”
“Then why?”
Dad looked toward the floor.
“Because I had a friend like that once.”
I stopped.
“When?”
“College.”
He rubbed his jaw.
“His name was Darren.”
I’d heard that name once or twice before.
Dad rarely talked about him.
“We were roommates sophomore year,” he continued. “Best friends, I thought.”
He gave a quiet, humorless laugh.
“My dad had just sold part of his business. Darren found out my family had money.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing dramatic at first.”
He shook his head.
“That’s why I didn’t notice.”
Darren started by asking Dad to cover dinner.
Then rent.
Then trips.
Then loans.
Then money for a business idea.
Every request was presented as something friends did for each other.
“How much did you give him?”
Dad didn’t answer.
Mom did.
“Almost $20,000.”
My eyes widened.
“What?”
“And that was decades ago,” she added.
I stared at my father.
“What happened?”
“He disappeared after graduation owing me most of it.”
“He never paid you back?”
“No.”
Dad’s face tightened.
“I later found out he’d been telling people I was useful because my family had money.”
That shut me up.
Dad looked toward my dorm room.
“So when you kept mentioning a roommate asking what we owned, I noticed.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Chloe is not Darren.”
“I know.”
“You’ve known her for ten minutes.”
“I know.”
“Then this is unfair.”
“Maybe.”
That surprised me.
Dad shrugged.
“I’m not asking you to hate her.”
“Then what are you asking?”
He looked directly at me.
“Pay attention.”
That was it.
Not, “Dump her.”
Not, “I told you so.”
Just:
Pay attention.
Mom added quietly, “People sometimes reveal themselves when they think there’s nothing to gain from impressing someone.”
I looked through the little window in the dorm-room door.
Chloe was talking to two girls.
All three of them glanced toward the hallway.
Then quickly looked away.
My stomach tightened.
“Did anything happen while I was getting my key?”
Mom hesitated.
“She asked whether you were on financial aid.”
I stared at her.
“She asked you that?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“That your finances were your business.”
“And then?”
“She asked if you had enough money for the meal plan.”
I closed my eyes.
Dad added, “Her dad mentioned there were campus jobs if you needed extra money.”
I looked at him.
“Maybe he was trying to help.”
“He probably was.”
I frowned.
“You’re defending him now?”
“I’m trying not to become the thing I’m warning you about.”
That shut me up again.
We went back inside.
And this time, I watched.
Really watched.
Chloe asked whether I’d brought a mini fridge.
I said no.
She glanced at hers.
“Maybe we should each keep our own food separate.”
I stared at her.
Two weeks earlier, she’d texted me:
We can share EVERYTHING. It’ll be like having a sister.
I said nothing.
Later, one of the girls from our floor asked if we were all going out to eat.
Before I could answer, Chloe spoke.
“I think Emma’s eating with her parents.”
The girl shrugged.
“She can still come.”
Chloe looked at me.
“Oh. I just assumed.”
Assumed what?
That I couldn’t afford dinner?
That my parents wouldn’t let me go?
That I’d embarrass her?
For the first time, my dad’s ridiculous plan stopped feeling completely ridiculous.
An hour later, my parents were ready to leave.
Mom hugged me.
Dad squeezed my shoulder.
“I’ll call tonight.”
I leaned toward him.
“Please tell me you brought normal clothes.”
He smiled.
“In the van.”
I rolled my eyes.
Mom hugged me again.
Then she turned toward Chloe.
“It was lovely meeting you.”
Chloe gave her a stiff half-hug.
“Yeah. You too.”
Dad shook Greg’s hand.
This time, Greg didn’t hesitate.
That mattered too.
Then my parents left.
I watched them disappear through the dorm entrance.
A few seconds later, Chloe shut the door.
She turned toward me.
“You didn’t tell me.”
My stomach tightened.
“Tell you what?”
She gestured toward the hallway.
“About your parents.”
“What about them?”
She looked uncomfortable.
“Nothing.”
“No.”
I stared at her.
“You said I didn’t tell you something.”
She sat down on the edge of her bed.
“I just thought…”
“What?”
“From your pictures, I thought your family was kind of…”
She stopped.
“Kind of what?”
She looked away.
“Well-off.”
There it was.
I took a breath.
“Why does that matter?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Then why have you acted weird all day?”
“I haven’t.”
“You have.”
She crossed her arms.
“So have you.”
“My parents showed up looking like extras from a disaster movie. I have a reason.”
She almost smiled.
Then she said something that made my stomach drop.
“I just don’t like feeling misled.”
That made me laugh.
“Who misled you?”
