When I was gone, Greg and Tyler’s schedules
were messed up.
I messaged them, but they didn’t respond.
Greg looked a little upset. “I was busy.”
“You should rest.”
He’s never cared about me, and he only said
that for Ashley.
Tyler said, “Get lost! My mom’s back.”
“You’re uglier than my mom.”
Ashley had makeup, and she had her hair and
nails done.
Of course, she looked better than me, but she
only looks better when she abandoned her
own family.
“It’s okay, I’m leaving.”
The professor called and asked about my
plans.
“Amy, are you sure? You raised that kid for 10
く
“Plus, Greg, you two have been together for
so long.”
When Ashley shows up, I won’t be here.
“Professor Davis, I thought about it, and I
don’t belong here.”
I hung up and turned to see Greg.
He scoffed. “Overreacting again.”
“Stop trying to show off.”
“You saw Ashley and you’re running away.”
Greg wasn’t always like this.
He used to trust me.
Even when my parents sent me to boarding
school, Greg wanted to go with me.
I thought we were going to be happy.
When I escaped from my parent’s basement, I
saw him give Ashley a ring.
My parents told me I wasn’t as good as
Ashley.
Greg laughed with Ashley, so it was true.
When my parents asked me to marry Grea I
<
when my parome aoned me to many vivy,
agreed.
I thought Greg and I could go back to the old
days.
10 years made me realize that Greg only has
Ashley in his eyes.
“Dad, why are you taking so long to get the
ugly woman to cook?”
“Mom’s hungry.
Greg looked at me.
“Stop messing around.”
“Cook for Ashley. She wants you to cook for
her.”
“If you do a good job, I’ll let you stay here.” I tightened my grip, and said, “I’m in a wheelchair. How am I supposed to cook?” Tyler yelled, “You’re not hurt that badly!”
That injury would cause me to be crippled.
Tyler hated me.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
and Ashley
<
Greg brought me to the kitchen, and Ashley
came to order.
“Thank you for taking care of my house.”
“When you leave, I’ll tell Greg to give you
money.”
“Today’s meal doesn’t have to be
complicated.”
The maid said, “But these dishes are
complex.”
Ashley raised her eyebrows. “Are you saying I
can’t eat these?”
I said, “I’m leaving, so stop torturing me.”
Ashley looked happy. “You said it.”
“Okay, the maids will help you.”
I started cooking.
I spent so long cooking.
I finished and the house was quiet.
The housekeeper said, “Ashley wanted to go
out to eat.”
“They all left.”
<
I knew that was going to happen.
I let the maids push me upstairs to pack.
The car was here, and the driver yelled.
“A kid!”
Tyler was in front of the car.
Chapter 2
That little dude stood there like he was
carved from ice.
Still wearing yesterday’s wrinkled clothes.
Morning air was chilly, and he was shivering.
My heart went out to him for a second, but he
cut me off.
“Dad’s right, you love playing games!”
“You had someone watching me, didn’t you?
Knew I was sneaking back to surprise Mom,
so you pulled this ‘leaving‘ act.”
“Well, guess what? I’m not begging you to
stay!”
Seeing that knowing look on his face, any last
く
Slay:
Seeing that knowing look on his face, any last
bit of warmth just died inside me.
Ten years… just a waste.
I told the driver, “Let’s go.”
As the car pulled away, I heard a commotion
behind us.
Tyler was ordering the housekeeper to throw
out all my stuff.
He was even smashing everything with a
baseball bat.
The car rolled on, and Greg’s house got
smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.
I whispered goodbye.
Not to them.
But to the obsession I’d held onto for ten
years.
Before boarding, I finally checked my phone.
My phone had been muted, so I saw a ton of
missed calls from Grog and my poronto
missed calls from Greg and my parents.
My parents had left a whole string of
messages.
“Amy, now that Ashley’s back, just leave. The
farther, the better. This is her house. Helping
was okay, but you’re out of place here.”
I just blocked them.
As for Greg, after a bit of thinking, I called
him back.
“Amy, stop being dramatic. I’ll replace what
Tyler broke. So what?”
“Sitting in a wheelchair, no skills, where are
you going to live?”
“Come back. We can afford to take care of
you.”
