“Eleanor, look at you, working so long your eyes are red.”
“Mom feels bad, come, drink some hot milk and rest,” she added, reaching for the power switch without asking.
I quickly hit Save and snapped the laptop shut.
“No, there’s a mistake in the report. The boss told us to work overtime.”
“I probably won’t be back tonight. I’ll have to stay at the office all night.”
I couldn’t stand being in that house another second; I had to get out fast. But just as I reached for my coat, Mom blocked me with a quick, firm move.
“You’re my everything. After working late for half a month, do you still want to go? How could I let you?” she said, her eyes full of fake concern.
“Give me your phone. I’ll tell your boss you’re not coming in, let’s just rest at home!” She reached for my phone.
Ever since I started working, whenever Mom wasn’t happy with my hours or tasks, she would grab my phone and complain to my boss. Because of that, I had been scolded again and again, forced to change jobs over and over.
I valued this job, especially this proposal. If it went well, I could get promoted, earn more, maybe even transfer to the Palmer headquarters, finally breaking free from this family.
Thinking of that, I held my phone tight and pushed Mom away.
“Enough! I’m an adult, not a kid!”
“I work for what I earn. Stop bothering my boss!”
The push I gave wasn’t hard, yet Mom collapsed to the ground as if she had no bones, her body soft and fragile. When Dad and my older brother Martin stepped out of the bedroom, she was already crying, dabbing at her tears.
“Eleanor, I’m your real mother. How could I ever mean you harm? How could you treat me like this!”
I didn’t get a chance to speak before Dad’s hand slapped across my face.
“You heartless thing! Your mom loves you more than her own eyes, and this is how you repay her?”
Martin kicked me, glaring and shouting, “ungrateful wretch,” before rushing to help Mom to her feet.
“Don’t scold Eleanor anymore, it’s my fault. I just love her too much,” Mom said, still wiping at her tears, sighing endlessly.
“I know, Eleanor just thinks I’m old and useless, so she doesn’t take my words seriously. She even thinks I want to harm her deliberately!”
Watching her pitiful display, I couldn’t help but feel it was laughable. I had worked tirelessly since childhood, yet every major moment of my life had been sabotaged by Mom’s so-called kindness.