Chapter 3
<
Sweet and sour fish. That dish was a freaking
nightmare for me.
It was my mom’s 40th birthday, and I’d secretly
learned to make it, thinking I could impress her.
I was twelve back then. I almost sliced my
finger open, and hot oil splattered everywhere.
The dish came out perfect, or so I thought, but
when I served it, Piper was like “Oh, I love
that!“, and my mom never touched it.
She just put the whole plate in front of Piper.
I’ll never forget the smug look on Piper’s face.
She ate every last bit of that fish, then got a
bone stuck in her throat.
My parents freaked out, rushed her to the ER.
Piper, the drama queen, said, all innocent and cute, “Mommy, it’s not Riley’s fault. I just got too greedy.”
Because of that, my mom slapped me hard.
She called me toxic, accused me of trying to
hurt Piper on purpose.
After that, anytime Piper wanted fish, my
<
8:38
parents made me spend hours picking out every
single bone.
I used to slave over those things for the
slightest bit of praise from my parents. Now I just felt like an idiot.
“Maybe the housekeeper can do it, I’m not in the mood,” I said, and turned to leave.
Piper grabbed my arm, all fake and weepy. “Riley, are you still mad at me? I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to tell Mom and Dad about you spending that money. It was an accident,
okay?”
Hearing that, my parents just blew up. Dad’s face got all red, and he hauled off and
slapped me, knocking me to the floor.
“How dare you make Piper feel bad after
you’ve been such a burden! She had to skip
meals to get through the week and now her
stomach is messed up thanks to you!”
Mom was looking at me with this disappointed
expression, but she tried to help me up, “Riley,
<
that car accident thing was just to get money,
and Piper has been covering for you. Making
you sign IOUs, that’s to help you curb those bad
habits!”
I clutched my face; it burned.
But it was nothing compared to the pain in my
chest. I pulled away from my mom’s hand, “I’m
not lying, the accident really happened.”
My mom frowned, “Oh, come on. The doctor at
the private hospital told your father and me,
there are no records of you being admitted
there.”
Piper, of course, had to chime in, “Riley, you
can’t trick Mom and Dad like that! I have some
spending money, maybe you want it? We are
sisters after all!”
Mom sighed, and hugged Piper, “Oh, honey, If only Riley had been as sensible as you. But try not to get yourself into trouble like Riley.”
<
I just started laughing, right there in the middle
of the living room, watching them play happy
family.
“Riley, what’s wrong with you?”
My parents looked freaked out, like they
thought I was about to go crazy or something. I stopped laughing, stared at them, and pulled out my surgical report from the emergency room from my pocket. “I couldn’t go to a private hospital, I don’t have the cash! Are you
surprised I’m not on record there?”
Mom picked up the report, and her face
changed. “Riley, your leg…”
Mom looked like she was going to try to be
caring again, but Piper cut her off.
“Riley, was it really bad? Oh, it’s all my fault, I
should have called when you didn’t come to my
party. You must be in so much pain.”
Piper was putting on a show, she was digging
her nails into my arm.
I knew what she was up to. but I didn’t want to
<
I knew what she was up to, but I didn’t want to
deal with this drama anymore.
I gave a slight shrug and Piper ended up on the
ground.
The guilt on their faces vanished and they
jumped to their feet. “How could you do that to
your sister!”
“It’s just a car accident! You should be fine!
Now, apologize to Piper!”
Chapter 4
