The year my parents divorced, they both hugged me.
“Sabine, it’s okay,” they said. “Mommy and Daddy still love you.”
“Most people only get one home. Now you’ll have two.”
In my first life, I chose my mother, since she was better off.
After she remarried, she had Penelope.
Then she started forgetting to pick me up from school.
She forgot my birthday.
She didn’t even remember I had asthma.
That life ended when I died in a practice room at the community music center.
It took a janitor three days to find me.
The police asked my mother where I kept my rescue inhaler.
She stared at them for a long time.
“She has asthma?”
The second time around, I chose my father. He didn’t have much money, but he’d always loved me.
He drove long-haul trucks, but he never missed a single parent-teacher conference.
Every day, he picked me up in that old Honda. In the winter, he’d warm up the car first so my seat wouldn’t be cold.
I thought this time would be different.
On the first day, Dad told me to take the bus home because his new stepdaughter, Chloe, had just moved in and wasn’t adjusting well.
The second day was the same.
A week passed. Then a month.
I stood at the school gates, watching that old car drive past me, again and again.
Chloe was always in the passenger seat.
That day, I stopped waiting.
I got on the bus by myself and watched the streetlights flicker on, one by one.
Mom had a new life.
Dad did, too.
I had chosen twice, and neither of them had saved a place for me.
You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 08 My mother, Caroline, swept in on a pair of high heels. She had clearly rushed over; a button on her trench coat was done wrong. “Sabine, that’s enough of this drama.” Her tone was exactly as I remembered it. “If your
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You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 07 The next morning, I was called to the principal’s office. Ronan Burke was sitting inside. He clearly hadn’t slept. His eyes were bloodshot, and his jacket was spattered with mud from the road. The moment he saw me, he stood up.
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You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 06 Megan faltered, unable to answer. Just then, his phone rang. It was Ms. Ward. “Mr. Burke, your daughter has arrived safely in Boston.” Ronan’s legs nearly gave out. He grabbed the edge of the table to keep himself upright. “What
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You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 05 It was dark by the time the bus pulled into Boston. Ms. Ward was waiting for me at the station exit. When she saw me with nothing but an old backpack, she froze for a second. “Where’s your luggage?” “This is
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You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 04 The awards ceremony started at nine a.m. The seat in the middle of the front row remained empty. At 9:20, Dad sent a text. *Chloe got into a fight at school. I’ll come over as soon as I’m done here.* At
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You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 03 On the day of the math competition, Dad didn’t come. He called to say his truck had broken down on the highway and he couldn’t make it back in time. But when I walked out of the exam hall, I saw his car
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You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 02 The next morning, my asthma inhaler was gone. I searched my backpack twice. All I found was its cracked plastic casing in the trash can. Chloe sat at the dining table, drinking milk. The red gloves were on the floor by her
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You Thought My Turn Could Always Come Later Chapter 01 The year my parents divorced, they both hugged me. “Sabine, it’s okay,” they said. “Mommy and Daddy still love you.” “Most people only get one home. Now you’ll have two.” In my first life, I chose my mother, since she was better
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