Late–Coming Family Affection
Chapter 1
It was like my whole family had been born
again.
They acted like they knew the truth, like they
understood that the fake daughter, the one
they’d coddled, would eventually run the
family fortune into the ground with her loser
boyfriend.
They’d end up trapped in their own mansion
by that lowlife, tortured until they died.
And it would be me, the real daughter they’d
thrown out years ago, who’d have to bury
them.
L
Right now, Chrissy Cunningham was acting all
innocent after bullying me, tears welling up as she clutched Mom’s hand.
“I know Ashley hates me,” she choked out,
“and I can take whatever she throws at me,
just please don’t make me leave you, Mom.”
She was so busy putting on her act that she
didn’t notice Mom’s face turning colder.
She had no idea her gravy train was about to
derail.
- 1.
Chrissy Cunningham had been making my life
hell for almost a month.
<
On the surface, she played the scared little
victim, always saying stuff like, “Please don’t
kick me out” and “I’d never try to take your
parents away from you, Ashley.”
But behind my back, she was the one
cornering me, slapping me around, and
forcing me to kneel.
She’d grab my hair and make me drink dirty
water from the street.
She and her deadbeat boyfriend even tore my
clothes and dumped a can of moldy fruit
cocktail on my head.
I tried going to the cops, but my brother,
Jake, showed up instantly, telling me I was
blowing things out of proportion.
<
“Chrissy’s just messing around,” he said.
“You’re acting like it’s the end of the world. I
regret even bringing you home.”
I told my teacher, Mrs. Davison, who called a
class meeting to get to the bottom of it.
But the kids in class were all terrified of
Chrissy’s boyfriend, so they twisted the truth,
saying:
“Mrs. Davison, I never saw Chrissy bully
Ashley. It’s Ashley who’s been bullying
Chrissy.”
“Yeah, she’s super mean. I’ve seen Ashley
make Chrissy cry a bunch of times.”
“Ashley’s always been a real jerk, looking
く
“She even hit Chrissy, but Chrissy didn’t want
us to say anything, because Ashley’s her
sister.”
Facing all those lying faces, I repeated the
truth over and over.
But my explanations sounded weak and
pathetic.
Finally, Mrs. Davison called my parents, telling
them to take me home and straighten me out.
Soon, Mom showed up with a couple of
people.
Chrissy immediately burst into tears and
threw herself into Mom’s arms, trembling.
“I know Ashley hates me,” she said. “I can
take whatever she throws at me, just please
don’t make me leave you.”
watched her in silence, feeling a mix of
esentment and, yeah, envy.
When someone gets that kind of blind love,
the truth just doesn’t matter.
