The Four Dolls Who Replaced My Family Chapter 04

The Four Dolls Who Replaced My Family Chapter 04

For a second, I thought he was trying to scam me.

But the cashier slapped the bills onto the counter, and a crowd gathered fast.

People held them up to the light. Rubbed the paper between their fingers.

One by one, they all shook their heads.

“These are fake.”

That night, I sat on the curb outside the mall with a stack of fake bills in my lap. I didn’t move until morning.

The second the mall management office opened the next morning, I was already through the door. I slapped the bills onto the front desk.

“You cheated me.”

“This is illegal. I’m calling the cops.”

The manager didn’t even blink.

“I didn’t do this.”

“Your mom came by yesterday. She handed me these fake bills and told me to put them in your pay envelope.”

“Said she wanted to teach you a lesson. Show you that money doesn’t come easy.”

The room seemed to tilt sideways.

I didn’t remember getting on the bus. I could barely feel my hands. The second I walked through the front door of the penthouse, I was already shouting.

“Did you take my pay?”

My mom didn’t even look guilty. If anything, she looked pleased with herself.

“See? Now you know money doesn’t grow on trees.”

“No one in this world will ever look out for you the way your family does. When things get hard, you come home first.”

“Or go to Julian. That’s what he’s there for.”

I was shaking. The tears wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard I bit the inside of my cheek.

As if I hadn’t tried.

Some guys followed me home one night. I hid in a convenience store and called my dad.

All he said was,

“What did you do to make them follow you?”

The AC only pushed out hot air. I couldn’t sleep for days. I begged my mom to let me replace it.

But my mom said,

“You’re so dramatic.”

“If you can’t handle a little discomfort, how are you going to survive on your own?”

The night before the SAT, my fever hit 102. I called Tristan, half-delirious.

All he said was,

“Bella’s having a rough day. Take some Tylenol, you’ll be fine. Stop being so dramatic.”

One night, the power went out in my apartment.

I pressed myself into the corner of my room and texted Julian over and over.

He took forever to answer.

“Just lock the door. I’m helping Bella study tonight. Stop texting me.”

Not once did any of them show up.

Something inside me snapped.

“Give me my money back! I earned that! Every cent was mine!”

My dad’s face darkened.

He crossed the room in two steps, grabbed my arm, and shoved me toward the door.

“Money, money, money. That’s all you care about!”

“Do you have any idea how much it cost to raise you? Three hundred? Try three million!”

“You’re not smart. You’re cold. Every thought in your head comes with a price tag.”

The door slammed in my face.

I stood there, tears running down my face.

The elevator doors opened behind me. Tristan, Julian, and Bella stepped out.

Bella was holding a tiny hair clip, wrinkling her nose.

“Three hundred bucks for something this small? Seriously?”

Tristan laughed.

“If you like it, it’s worth it. I’d pay ten times that.”

Julian smiled.

“Didn’t your mom just give you five thousand? That’s what it’s for. Treat yourself.”

I pressed myself into the shadows, and the tears came harder.

I’d dragged myself out of bed before dawn every day for a month.

Eight hours in a mascot suit under the sun.

Three hundred dollars.

That was all it took for Bella to buy a hair clip she didn’t even want.

I couldn’t let them see me like this. I ducked into the stairwell before anyone looked up.

By the time I reached the ground floor, I had no tears left.

A few days after my SAT scores came out, a parent reached out to me. They wanted me to tutor their kid.

I said yes. I had one condition.

“Can you pay me through Venmo?”

They were a little surprised, but they agreed.

After the blowup, none of them reached out. Not my mom, not my dad, not Tristan. Not even Julian.

And I stopped waiting for them to try.

I kept my head down. Prepped my lessons, taught my classes, saved every dollar I could.

The day my acceptance letter arrived, I ordered my favorite takeout.

For the first time in weeks, I brought out the four plushies and set them across from me at the table.

“This is my send-off dinner.”

“And the last meal we’ll have together.”

I looked into their round little eyes and smiled.

“You don’t have to come with me to where I’m going.”

“I’ll be okay on my own.”

After dinner, I cleaned the apartment until every surface was spotless.

I pulled my suitcase to the door and walked out. A whole year in that apartment, and I didn’t look back.

I didn’t go to Kingsport.

I didn’t go to Oakhaven, either, the school they’d picked for me.

I went south. To the University of Southridge.

Right before the train pulled out, the family group chat lit up for the first time in weeks.

My mom sent a picture of Bella’s admission letter.

[Bella got into Kingsport! Eleanor, you got your Oakhaven letter too, right? Let’s plan a send-off dinner for both of you.]

Tristan followed up right away.

[Stop sulking. The whole family should be there for this.]

Julian sent one line.

[I’ll come get you when it’s time.]

I stared at the screen for a long time. I didn’t reply.

I opened the group settings and tapped Leave Group.

Outside the window, the platform slid away.

I turned off my phone and leaned back in my seat.

Nothing ahead of me now but open track. And no reason to come back.