She bought my brother thousand-dollar sneakers while I had to take out loans just to stay in school. I would hate her for that until the day I died.
Every time I looked at her, I lost control.
"Crying, crying, crying. Is that all you know how to do?"
"Pathetic."
"Making twenty-five hundred a month and thinking you could raise two kids. See if my brother even gives you the time of day."
"Take your so-called fairness and get out!"
I wasn't always like this.
I thought I'd lost my mind. Turns out, as long as I stayed away from my mother, I was perfectly normal.
So the problem was her. It had always been her.
And finally, my chance came.
My brother's birthday fell in mid-August. Dad took vacation days to bring him on a trip.
As for me deciding to skip college and work at a café instead, neither of them had any reaction whatsoever.
They treated me like I was invisible, same as always, chattering excitedly about where they'd go, what they'd buy.
I was like a rat lurking in the shadows, peering at a happiness that would never belong to me.
Before they left, my brother clapped me on the shoulder.
"Sis, don't be jealous. Not my fault my last name's Sawyer and yours isn't."
After they were gone, I stood in the living room and looked around at all the expensive, custom-furnished décor.
I smiled.
