Chapter 6: Shameless Demands and Small Victories

Derek just couldn’t stand the thought of me doing better than him. Even broke, he tried to play the moral high ground.

I decided to throw his own tricks back at him. “Derek, I’ve always had your back. Why are you treating me like this? You gotta help me out—if my dad finds out I lost so much, I’m dead.” I put on my best sad face, milking it for all it was worth.

Derek scoffed. “When there was steak, you gave me salad. Now you want a handout? Get on your knees and beg—maybe then I’ll hook you up with a rich chick.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his audacity. He strutted out, looking far too pleased with himself.

This time around, I’d invested in gold at just the right moment. I made more in a week than my dad did in a year at the plant. Meanwhile, Derek was taking sketchy payday loans, even sending desperate pics to apps hoping for a few hundred bucks. I caught him one night, posing awkwardly in front of his webcam—anything for cash.

Word around the apartment was Derek was maxing out his credit cards and begging anyone who’d listen. Nobody was biting.

On surgery day, he asked me to come with him, claiming he needed backup. I said I had an internship and couldn’t risk missing work.

He tried to guilt-trip me: “The richer you get, the stingier you become.”

I just shrugged. I was done playing his game.

So Derek went to the clinic alone.