Chapter 15: Only One Name
1119 Words
Riley stared at the screen.
For a moment, she couldn’t make herself open the email.
Her heart was beating too quickly.
She looked at the clock.
11:47 p.m.
Everyone was asleep.
She was alone with the decision.
Finally, she clicked.
Her eyes moved across the screen.
Then stopped.
She read the first paragraph again.
And again.
Congratulations.
Riley covered her mouth.
She had been accepted.
The scholarship covered her tuition and accommodation for a two-year degree programme in the United States.
Her first reaction was happiness.
Her second was fear.
She looked at the names listed beneath the acceptance details.
There was only one.
Riley Parker.
Only one name.
She had filled out the application with Ethan and Owen beside her months earlier.
They had joked about all three of them leaving together.
They had even argued over which city would be best.
But the scholarship wasn’t for three people.
It wasn’t even for two.
It was hers.
Riley sat back in her chair.
She should have been celebrating.
Instead, she stared at those two words.
Riley Parker.
Only one name.
The next morning, she carried the news downstairs.
Ethan was already eating breakfast.
Owen was pouring himself juice.
Riley stood at the entrance.
“I got it.”
Ethan looked up.
“Got what?”
“The scholarship.”
For half a second, nobody moved.
Then Ethan jumped up.
“You got it?”
Riley nodded.
He hugged her immediately.
“I knew you would!”
Owen smiled and hugged her too.
“Congratulations.”
Riley laughed.
“Thank you.”
Mrs. Parker came rushing in after hearing the noise.
“What happened?”
Riley turned toward her.
“I got accepted.”
Her mother pulled her into a hug.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
The kitchen filled with excitement.
Questions followed.
“When do you leave?”
“What school?”
“Where will you stay?”
“Who is going with you?”
That last question made Riley’s smile fade.
“No one.”
Ethan stopped.
“What?”
Riley swallowed.
“The scholarship is only for me.”
Owen’s expression changed.
“So you’re going alone?”
“Yeah.”
Silence settled over the kitchen.
Their mother sat down slowly.
“How long?”
“Two years.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Two years?”
Riley nodded.
He looked away.
Owen said nothing.
For the first time since the acceptance arrived, Riley understood what it meant.
She was leaving.
Not for a weekend.
Not for a holiday.
Two years.
The three of them had never been apart for more than a few days.
Now one of them would be on another continent.
Ethan finally looked at her.
“Are you still going?”
Riley knew what he was really asking.
Are you really leaving us?
She nodded.
“Yes.”
Ethan looked down.
Then he smiled.
“Then we’ll make sure you’re ready.”
Owen nodded.
“Yeah.”
Riley looked at both of them.
Her excitement returned, but it was different now.
She had wanted independence.
She had wanted something that belonged to her.
Now she had it.
And suddenly, she wished she could share it with the two people who had always shared everything with her.
Only one name had appeared on the acceptance letter.
Riley Parker.
And for the first time in her life, being the only one didn’t feel like freedom.
It felt like leaving something behind.
The celebration lasted until lunch.
Mrs. Parker wanted to make Riley’s favorite meal. Ethan insisted they needed dessert. Owen disappeared for ten minutes and returned with a small box of chocolates he had bought with his own money.
Riley looked at him.
“You bought these?”
“Congratulations gift.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I know.”
She smiled and hugged him.
“Thank you.”
Ethan watched them.
“Where’s mine?”
“You didn’t buy me anything.”
“I’m her brother. I deserve something.”
Riley laughed.
“You deserve nothing.”
“Rude.”
For a while, everything felt normal.
Then Mrs. Parker began discussing the practical details.
“Have you checked the travel date?”
“Not yet.”
“You’ll need your passport, documents, clothes, and everything for school.”
“I know.”
Ethan pulled out his phone.
“We’ll make a list.”
Riley stared at him.
“We?”
“Yes. We.”
Owen nodded.
“I’ll help with the things you forget.”
“I don’t forget things.”
Ethan and Owen looked at each other.
Riley frowned.
“Okay, sometimes.”
They laughed.
That evening, the three of them sat on the floor in Riley’s bedroom surrounded by papers.
Ethan wrote down everything she would need.
Owen checked the university information on his phone.
Riley watched them.
“You’re taking this very seriously.”
Ethan didn’t look up.
“Someone has to.”
Owen pointed at the screen.
“There’s a student orientation before classes start.”
“When?”
“Three days before.”
Riley nodded.
Ethan wrote it down.
Then he stopped.
“How long before you leave?”
Riley checked her email.
“About six weeks.”
The room went quiet.
Six weeks.
It suddenly sounded much shorter than two years.
Owen leaned back against the bed.
“That’s not long.”
“No.”
Ethan closed the notebook.
“We’ll make the most of it.”
Riley smiled.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Owen nodded.
“Promise.”
She looked at both of them.
“Then no sad faces.”
Ethan smiled.
“Deal.”
They spent the rest of the evening making plans.
A final birthday dinner before she left.
A day at the beach.
A trip somewhere together.
A ridiculous number of photographs.
Riley laughed until her stomach hurt.
But later, after Ethan and Owen had left her room, she sat alone on her bed.
The acceptance email was still open on her laptop.
She looked at it again.
Riley Parker — Selected Recipient.
Only one name.
She had dreamed of getting out.
Now the dream had a departure date.
Riley closed the laptop.
Six weeks.
She had six weeks left with Ethan and Owen before the three of them would no longer wake up under the same roof.
For the first time, she wondered what two years could do to people.
Whether they would remain exactly the same.
Whether Ethan would still call her every morning.
Whether Owen would still know when something was wrong without her saying a word.
She pushed the thoughts away.
Six weeks was still six weeks.
She had time.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
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