The Call From Maya

I stared at Ethan. He knew how I felt about my family. He knew I had spent most of my life wondering whether anyone truly needed me. And he used that against me because he was losing the argument. “I need space,” I said. “Claire—” “No.” I grabbed my keys and left before he could say anything else. By the time I reached my sister’s house, Maya had called me three times. I let the first two calls ring. On the third, I answered. “Claire?” Maya’s voice was shaking. I sat on the edge of my sister’s couch. “What did Ethan tell you?” Maya started crying. “He said you both agreed.” I closed my eyes. “He told you that?” “Yes.” Her voice broke. “I thought the money came from something he had saved. I didn’t know it was your house fund.” For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Maya continued quickly, like she was afraid I would hang up. “I can drop out. I can ask the school for a refund. I’ll give everything back.” “Maya, stop.” “I don’t want to ruin your marriage.” “You didn’t.” That was the truth. Maya had accepted help from her brother. Ethan was the one who lied. But hearing her cry made everything more complicated. If I demanded the money back, Maya might lose school again. If I let it go, Ethan might believe the reason made the betrayal acceptable. “I’ll sign something,” Maya said. “A repayment agreement. Anything.” I looked across the room at my sister, who was pretending not to listen. “Maya, I’m not angry at you.” “But you should be.” “No. I should be angry at the person who made the decision.” She went quiet. Then Maya whispered, “Rachel said you would understand eventually.” I sat up. “What?” Maya hesitated. “Rachel said Ethan was scared you’d say no.” My grip tightened around the phone. “So they talked about me?” “I don’t know everything.” “Maya.” She started crying again. Then she said something that made my stomach drop. “Claire, I think Rachel knew about the money before Ethan even took it.”