Chapter 1: The Empty Space Under My Desk
The first sign that my life was about to change was the empty space beneath my desk.
I stood in my bedroom doorway, frozen, staring at the spot where my custom-built gaming PC had sat for almost two years.
The desk looked wrong.
Almost like someone had erased a piece of me.
My monitor was still there.
My keyboard was still there.
My carefully arranged collection of game posters and headphones were untouched.
But the machine I had built with my own hands was gone.
“Mom?”” I shouted.
My voice echoed through the hallway.
No answer.
I stepped farther into my room, hoping there was some explanation that didn’t make my chest tighten.
Maybe my dad moved it.
Maybe something broke.
Maybe someone was cleaning.
But deep down, I already knew.
Someone had taken it.
I ran downstairs.
That was when I heard the music.
Loud, obnoxious music shaking through the living room speakers.
I turned the corner and saw Devon sitting on the couch like he owned the entire house.
My stepbrother was seventeen, and he had always been the kind of person who walked into a room expecting everyone else to move.
He was wearing new sneakers I knew cost hundreds of dollars.
His phone was in his hand.
And he was smiling.
A smile that made my stomach drop.
“Where’s my computer?”” I asked.
Devon didn’t even look surprised.
He just tapped something on his phone and shrugged.
“Oh.””
I waited.
That was all he had.
“Oh.””
Then he looked up.
“I sold it.””
For a second, my brain refused to process the words.
“What?””
He leaned back against the couch.
“I sold your computer.””
I stared at him.
“You sold my PC?””
“Yeah.””
The casual way he said it made my hands shake.
“That was mine.””
Devon laughed softly.
“You’re acting like I stole a kidney.””
“You took something that belonged to me.””
He held up two concert tickets.
“These were expensive. I needed money.””
My eyes moved from the tickets to his face.
“You sold a computer worth two thousand dollars for concert tickets?””
He smiled.
“VIP tickets.””
I felt something inside me break.
That computer wasn’t just a machine.
I had spent two years building it.
Two years of waking up early before school.
Two years of working weekends at a grocery store.
Two years of skipping movies, restaurants, and things my friends bought because I was saving every dollar.
I remembered sitting on the floor of my room with tiny screws in my hand, terrified I would damage something.
I remembered the first time it powered on.
The blue light filling my room.
The feeling that I had created something with my own effort.
And Devon had turned it into a concert memory in less than a day.
“Give me the money,” I said.
His smile faded slightly.
“There isn’t any.””
My heart sank.
“What do you mean there isn’t any?””
He waved the tickets.
“I bought these.””
“You spent all of it?””
He shrugged.
“Pretty much.””
I stepped closer.
“Devon, you need to fix this.””
He rolled his eyes.
“You’re being dramatic.””
“Dramatic?””
“Yeah. It’s a computer.””
I laughed once because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“A computer I paid for.””
He stood up.
“You have to relax.””
Then he said the words I would remember for years.
“We’re family, Tasha. Share the wealth.””
I stared at him.
That sentence hurt more than I expected.
Because I had heard it before.
Every time Devon wanted something.
Every time he borrowed my things.
Every time my mom told me to “be understanding.””
Family always seemed to mean I had to give.
But nobody ever asked Devon to share.
I reached for the tickets.
“If you can spend my money, then I’m taking these.””
Before I could grab them, my stepmother Karen walked into the room.
“Stop.””
I looked at her.
“He stole from me.””
Her expression hardened.
“Don’t use that word.””
“What word? Stole?””
She sighed.
“You’re making this bigger than it needs to be.””
I felt my throat tighten.
“He sold something I built.””
“He made a mistake.””
“A mistake worth two thousand dollars?””
Karen crossed her arms.
“Do you want to destroy this family over a computer?””
That sentence hit harder than anything Devon said.
Because suddenly I wasn’t the person who had been hurt.
I was the problem.
I looked at her.
Then at Devon.
Neither of them looked guilty.
They looked annoyed.
Like my pain was an inconvenience.
I was about to say something when the front door opened.
Everyone went quiet.
My dad, James, walked inside carrying his work bag.
He stopped immediately.
He looked at my face.
Then he looked at Devon.
“What happened?””
Devon moved first.
“Dad, it’s not a big deal.””
My dad didn’t look at him.
He looked at me.
“Tasha?””
I took a shaky breath.
“He sold my computer.””
The room went silent.
My dad slowly placed his bag down.
“He sold what?””
“My gaming PC.””
Devon stepped forward.
“Dad, she’s exaggerating.””
My dad turned toward him.
“Did you sell it?””
Devon opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Finally, he muttered:
“Yes.””
Dad nodded once.
No yelling.
No anger.
That somehow scared me more.
He simply asked:
“Where did you sell it?””
Devon’s confident expression disappeared.
“I don’t know.””
My dad stared at him.
“Try again.””
The room became completely silent.
And for the first time that day, Devon looked nervous.
May you like
Because he realized my dad wasn’t going to tell me to forgive him.
He was going to make him answer.
