08
Crystal got five abortions for Nick in the blink
of an eye, and the cute little flower from
before had disappeared.
Now she was smoking, getting tattoos, and
wearing skirts that barely covered her butt.
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Total white trash.
Alex and I kept getting better grades, and we
were always at the top of our class.
Every year, I’d invite the whole class to my
birthday party to build friendships and give
our parents a chance to make business
connections.
Everyone in school saw it as an honor to go
to my party.
And my eighteenth birthday was insane.
Everyone in the business world came out for
- me.
I had a present for my parents too.
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“Mom! Dad! I’ve been looking for you guys
everywhere!”
My parents were talking to business partners,
and the doors flew open.
Then, a loud, pathetic voice echoed through
the hall.
“I’m finally home!”
He sat down on the ground and started
bawling.
He was skinny, with a buzz cut, wearing rags,
and had a nasty scar across his face.
He just looked like trouble.
Everyone took a step back.
Mom asked, “Who are you?”
My brother looked up, his face covered in
tears and snot.
“Mom, Dad, it’s Billy! Don’t you remember
your own son?”
He reached out to hug her, but she stepped
back.
The smell coming off him was so gross that
she had to cover her nose.
I scowled at him. “Who is this bum? He
smells. He probably has something
contagious.”
I threw her words right back at her.
Billy’s eyes went red when he saw me.
He went to hit me. “This is all your fault! If it
wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be like this!”
Alex stepped in front of me. “Don’t touch my
sister.”
I peeked out from behind Alex and said in my
sweetest voice, “Stay away from him, Alex.
He looks like he just got out of prison.”
Everyone backed away.
Billy finally snapped, flipped over a table, and
started screaming.
“I was only gone for a few years! You
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replaced me! How could you do this to me? I
hate you!”
The security guards showed up and wrestled
him to the ground.
The party was ruined, and as people left, they
all looked shocked.
The scandal would be all over town by
morning.
The business deal that my parents had been
working on also fell through.
Dad was furious.
“Why did he have to come back now? He
made us look like fools!”
