The Family Photo That Had Four People And No Me Chapter 05

The Family Photo That Had Four People And No Me Chapter 05

Mom sent me a hundred dollars and told me to see a doctor.

I accepted it.

Then I saw her message. [Don’t hate your dad. He was just overly anxious. He was afraid you really stole something.)

He was afraid. So he could hit me.

Like a few months ago, I asked Lily why she didn’t call me sister.

Lily stuck her tongue out at me. “You’re not on the legal documents. You’re not my family. You’re not my sister.”

I frowned, hurt.

I saw a piece of paper on Lily’s head.

I just touched it and Dad shoved me hard. I hurt my tailbone.

Back then, Mom also sent me a message. She said Dad was just afraid I would hit Lily.

I cried and sent Mom a lot of voice messages. I wanted Dad to apologize.

Instead, my allowance was cut off.

Mom said Dad got very angry hearing my messages. She told me to apologize to Dad.

I didn’t.

When I had no money for food, I secretly took two pieces of bread from home.

At lunch, I ate them with the free soup from the cafeteria.

Until one day, I fainted on the track field from malnutrition.

When Dad came, there was no concern in his eyes.

Only anger that I embarrassed him.

Now, I didn’t want to reply anymore.

I took the hundred dollars and bought a bus ticket back to Indiana.

Grandma heard I needed my birth certificate. She put it in my bag.

“Take them, sweetheart. Keeping them here with me serves no purpose anyway.”

“It’s okay, Grandma. I’ll copy it and give it back.”

“You keep it. Running back and forth is tiring”

She wiped the sweat off my forehead. She saw the dried blood on the back of my head.

“Did they hit you?”

“No. I fell.”

Grandma took out a clean towel and cleaned my wound.

Then she took out an envelope from her plastic bag. It was heavy.

“Sweetie, study hard. Go to college.”

When I heard that, my tears fell and hit the concrete.

I went to school to apply for housing.

A few days before college applications were due, all the boarding students were picked up by their parents to study at home.

Only me. At this critical time, I wanted to stay in the dorm.

The dorm manager was shocked and asked if something happened at home.

I looked down and was thinking about how to answer.

My desk mate Hailey saw me. She said, “Ma’am, let her sleep in my bed. I already paid for housing

anyway.”

I moved into the school.

Mom and Dad didn’t call me once.

They didn’t send me a single dollar.

After college applications were done, a younger student found me. She wanted to buy my notes. I was ranked first in school.

I was surprised and asked how she knew I was ranked first.

She laughed. “The rankings are posted on the bulletin board.”

pass by every day. First place, Wren.”

Right. So why couldn’t Mom see it?

I sold her my notes.

I was about to look for a job when Mom called.

“Sweetie, have you had enough fun outside? You can come home now.”

“I’m not coming back.”

“You’re still angry.”

Mom’s voice was gentle.

This gentle tone was something I had only ever seen when she interacted with Madeline and Chloe.

I couldn’t help saying, “You called the wrong person. This is Wren.”

“Mom knows it’s Wren.”

“Come home. Mom and Dad are worried.”