The room fell so quiet they could hear a pin drop. Chloe wasn’t sure she heard her mother right, but by the paleness of her face and the way her hands rose to cover her mouth, she knew it was right. Tears welled up and fell down Chloe’s cheeks with no attempts to stifle them. Nathaniel said something, but Chloe didn’t hear them.

Yelling. Screaming. Crying. Slamming doors.

But Chloe sat on her bed until there was just stillness and quiet. Until her mother left the house and the tension slowly fluttered away leaving numbing despair in its wake. Slowly, Chloe lay in her bed on her side with her back facing the door. She clutched a pillow to her chest, trying to keep herself from crying. She hated crying.

The bed dipped under Nathaniel’s weight as he sat beside her. He said something else she didn’t pay attention to before laying next to her. He’d never done that before. There had never been a time where that would have been welcome before. It was now. Chloe rolled over and buried her face into his chest, sobbing and babbling until his shirt was soaked and she just couldn’t find strength to keep going.

“Get some sleep, Chloe,” Nathaniel whispered. “I’ll come check on you soon.”

“Okay,” she mumbled.

The next morning came as a shock to Chloe. The sun was too bright. The birds were too damned loud. And her stomach was absolutely empty, but she also didn’t feel hungry. The scent of bacon, spinach, eggs, cheese, and mushroom wafted their way to her room coaxing her out of bed anyway. Maybe she could just gain nutrition through smells?

Nathaniel was cooking when she came in the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Chloe mumbled.

“Good morning,” he mumbled back. “I know you’re not hungry, but you need to eat anyway.” A golden brown mini omelet was plated up and pushed into her hands. “No fussing.”

Chloe sat at the table and slowly ate as Nathaniel served himself and poured orange juice for them, too. He was always like this. Whenever a bad fight broke out between mother and daughter—and Nathaniel on the rare occasions—he would set himself to cooking breakfast. Usually her mother was still present, but today she was nowhere to be found. Nathaniel couldn’t fix their relationship, but he could at least tend to the wounded with the best medicine he had.

“Thank you,” Chloe said when he sat.

“You’re welcome.”

They ate in silence for several moments as Chloe gathered the courage to ask what she didn’t want to ask. “Where’s Mom?”

“With her parents for now; she’s not allowed to come home until you say so.”

“Oh.”

Forks scrapped and clanked against the plates until they were both full. Chloe cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen. “Don’t you work today?”

“I took a personal day to make sure you’re okay.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m okay.” Chloe struggled to smile. “I need to do some things for school today. And…and I think I should move out.”

Nathaniel sighed and nodded. “I thought you would say that.” Before Chloe could protest, Nathaniel had the car keys in one hand and cell phone in the other. “I’ll drive you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know. Let’s go.”

Chloe shuffled along to find her shoes and purse before going out to the car. She wouldn’t fight it; that would be rude.

When they got to the community college, they headed immediately for the administrative building to pay for her classes. It was the one thing she prided herself on: she was putting herself through school without any help from her mother. (Technically, that wasn’t entirely true. Her mother agreed to pay room and board, so long as Chloe paid for the tuition, textbooks, and other supplies she would need in school. It was a good arrangement since her rent would have been outrageous.) Chloe had worked two part-time jobs to make it happen and she had budgeted every aspect the best she could. Having to move out and pay rent was going to take a toll on her savings, but she wasn’t going to school full-time. She could manage another part-time job.

The student currently running the administrative window could have belonged in a library…or on a pinup poster. Shoulder-length chestnut hair was styled in victory rolls, accented with cherry red lips. The girls’ smoky eyes, hidden by the thick vintage frames that sat toward the end of her nose. Her clothes, from what Chloe could seen, were rather plain—just a t-shirt and jeans—but it looked right. It seemed different from the perception Chloe had of herself every time she looked in a mirror.

“What can I help you with?” The girl—apparently named Megan as evidenced by her name-tag—asked.

“I just need to make a payment on my account.” Chloe dug through her wallet for her student ID, sliding it across the counter. Megan picked it up with one hand, typing quickly with the other. Her lips pushed together as her head bobbed side-to-side as she stared at the display.

“Sorry,” she said, “the computer is really slow.”

“It’s okay.” Chloe smiled slightly.

After a moment, Megan slide the card back with a nod. “Alrighty. So, you’re on the three-month plan, right?”

“Right.”

“So, a third of your account right now is…$344.08. It’s the biggest payment. The other two will be a little less.”

Chloe slide her debit card across the counter silently. She had calculated everything down to the penny herself, so she knew what the cost was going to be. That didn’t mean it hurt any less.

“And here’s a copy of your receipt. It even shows you what your next payments will be.”

“Thank you.” Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but shook her head. “Never mind. Thank you, again.”

“Have a good day,” Megan said.

Nathaniel grabbed her arm, bringing her back. “Real quick, before we go: where would we find information on dorms, apartments for rent nearby, that sort of thing.”

“Oh, easy. The school doesn’t have any sort of dorms, but there’s a non-profit that rents apartments to students.” Rummaging through a few drawers, Megan finally produced a brochure. “Fairly inexpensive—considering the rest of Portland—but they’re all Downtown. And,” she produced another brochure, “we do have a free shuttle that runs from Downtown to the different campuses.”

“That was easy,” Nathaniel said softly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She waved with a big smile. “Have a nice day!”

“You, too,” Chloe said as they left.

“Did you have other errands to do, too?”

“No. I thought that was going to take a lot longer.”

Nathaniel laughed the way Chloe always liked. It was genuine and contagious. “Then let’s wander around. We’ve got nothing but time.”

Chloe nodded.

The Sylvania Campus of Portland Community College was expansive and confusing. Chloe knew where the library was since it was right next to the parking lot she liked parking in. And she knew where her yoga class was. That was it. But walking along the different paths to just explore was nice. They wandered into buildings, out of buildings, walked along the parking lots, and chatted about light-hearted things like they always did. The spring air was still chilly this time of year, but it awoke Chloe’s senses in a way only the great outdoors could, putting her in a slightly better frame of mind.

“As far as the apartment goes,” Nathaniel started, “I’ll make sure your mom still honors her commitment. You’ll get a job next term to pay for your school, but everything else will be taken care of, okay?”

“How are you so sure about that?”

Nathaniel chuckled. “Right after you two made that deal, she started talking about going back on it. And I told her that if she ever went back on that deal I would leave her.”

“What?” Chloe stammered. “Why?”

“Because, you are just as important to me as she is. And if she can go back on her word, anyone could. But that’s not how families are supposed to be. They’re supposed to be supportive, and loving. And even when you’re moved out and have your own family, we’re still going to be here as your safety net, you know?”

Chloe nodded but said nothing. She started walking again, more quickly this time, wiping the sleeves of her sweater across her eyes to soak up the tears.