Jack called me, asking where I was and why I hadn't come back yet.

I said I'd gone downstairs to take out the trash and would be up soon.

He just grunted and said, "I'll go to sleep then."



When I got upstairs, Jack was fast asleep, facing the left side of the bed, leaving most of the space for me.

 I didn't get into bed. Instead, I sat on the edge and stared at his back all night.



I met him when he was eighteen and had just been admitted to a university in this city. He was a rebellious teenager who filled out the college application against his parents' wishes. 

After getting the acceptance letter, he ran away with just a backpack, not even taking his luggage.



His older brother was worried about him and asked me to pick him up at the station. 

"He doesn't have any money on him, and the school isn't open yet. Let him stay with you for a while. That stubborn kid, if he says or does something to upset you, just give him a piece of your mind!"



I thought his brother was crazy. Even though he was just a young man, I couldn't just let him live with me. I was prepared to rent an apartment for him.



But he was so pitiful and so well - behaved. When I went to the station to pick him up, he was squatting under a big tree, hugging his bag, looking like an abandoned puppy.



He obediently followed me home. Before I could even suggest he find his own place, he was already tugging at my sleeve, playing the victim. 

"Sis, I'll be really good. I'll cook for you and clean the house. Please don't send me away!"



I was both amused and exasperated, thinking he was just spouting nonsense. 

But he really did cook for me every day and even picked me up from work on his electric scooter.



Thanks to him, my lonely rental apartment became a lively place. My daily commute didn't seem so rushed anymore. We lived under the same roof for a month.



Later, I helped him buy his school supplies and sent him off to school. 

At first, I thought it was just a short - term arrangement. But then he told me he'd applied to that university because of me. 

He said he'd seen me once when he was sixteen, and from then on, all his hopes were centered around me.



This man, when he was just a boy, came to me with all his sincerity. I was smitten. But now he was taking it all back, and I had to pull myself out of this mess quickly.