Gate to Goodbye — A Gift For Chloe

seas. Lucas picked the brooch out just for me. He said the style suits my whole vibe. He bought this ring too. Picked it out the second he saw it. Said it matched my skin tone perfectly. Oh, and the winner's autograph! Lucas went through so much trouble to get me that photo Thank God for him. I'd never have gotten to meet my idol otherwise. I looked at the autographed

photo in her hand. I suddenly remembered last year. I'd asked Lucas to get me a ticket to an an art exhibition his company was sponsoring. He told me tickets were sold out, too popular, no way to get one.

Turns out, it wasn't that he couldn't. He just didn't want to bother for me. Mom's voice cut through my thoughts. Oh, why didn't you bring anything for Evelyn?

Evelyn's never been into that kind of stuff. She wouldn't like it even if I bought it. No point wasting the money. I laughed at myself.

So buying me a gift would be a waste of money. That's true. It's true, Evelyn's always been so mature about these things. Chloe on the other hand, has loved little trinkets since she was small.

Mature. The word branded itself into my chest like a hot iron. He made me a necklace with his own hands. He even gave me the puppy he'd raised for three years.

He used to say, everyone deserves to be treasured. So he treasured me, carefully, for years. But somewhere along the way, his heart started leaning toward Chloe instead.