They Made My Life A Joke For 18 Years, I Stopped Laughing Chapter 04

They Made My Life A Joke For 18 Years, I Stopped Laughing Chapter 04

A few minutes later, the bathroom door slammed open.

Mom stormed in and grabbed me hard by the ear.

She dragged me out and shoved me in front of everyone.

I lost my footing and hit the floor hard.

My vision flashed white.

Red wine soaked into my clothes, leaving me stained and humiliated.

Mom pulled a folded psychiatric evaluation from her pocket and flung it in front of me. Across the top: Major Depressive Disorder, severe.

“See this?”

“You keep complaining that we treat Sienna better. This is why!”

“We tease you because we’re trying to help Sienna get better. If she can laugh, then at least the rest of us can breathe.”

Sienna stood beside Mom with red-rimmed eyes.

“Mrs. Sutton, please. Don’t tell Willa.”

“She’ll feel guilty.”

“This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have messed with her… Honestly, when she said she was done being my friend, I thought my heart was going to stop.”

Ethan’s gaze snapped to her chest.

Like he thought she might collapse right there.

I laughed.

So this was their logic? As long as Sienna laughed, it was fine to humiliate me, make me cry, and send me running around for their entertainment?

“That diagnosis isn’t yours, Sienna.”

I stepped forward and, for the first time, pulled back the thick watchband on my left wrist in front of all of them.

Raised scar tissue covered the skin beneath it, layer upon layer.

“Depression isn’t something you prove by announcing it. If that report is really yours, show everyone your proof.”

A sharp crack split the room.

A hard slap landed across my face.

The force was enough to make even Mom recoil half a step.

My left ear rang, but this time, no tears came.

Gavin jabbed a finger at me.

“You little liar. Now you’re faking this too?”

“Who did the makeup? Those scars don’t even look real!”

Ethan’s friends started whispering. A few pulled out their phones and posted about me.

[College Drama Goes Viral: Freshman Fakes Self-Harm Scars for Attention]

Within minutes, the post had more than two dozen comments, all tearing me apart.

Satisfaction flashed in Sienna’s eyes.

Then it disappeared almost immediately.

She came toward me wearing concern like a mask. “Willa, I believe you even if no one else does. Can you please stop acting crazy?”

“Just apologize to your parents and Gavin.”

“And to Ethan and his friends. Everyone came over to have fun, and instead they had to watch you make a scene.”

I laughed again.

Then I swept my gaze around the room.

“So when do I get my apology for the last eighteen years?”

Mom’s face went scarlet.

“Willa Sutton, you…”

She snatched up the vase beside her and hurled it at me.

I ducked and ran out of that house without looking back.

Once I landed safely in Boston, I borrowed their favorite line and dropped two words into the family group chat: “Just kidding.”

Mom, Dad, and Gavin stared at the message for a long time.

What exactly was the joke?

First thing the next morning, they rushed to the entrance of Pacific Crest University looking for me.

A campus security officer checked the roster, made a few calls, then looked back at them, puzzled.

“We don’t have an incoming freshman named Willa Sutton.”

Mom shook her head hard and shouted,

“That’s impossible! Her father and I were here yesterday. She even left her suitcase at this security desk!”

The officer’s expression changed as he remembered me.

Then he shook his head.

“Oh. Her. She withdrew yesterday.”

“Wh… what?”

My parents stared at each other, their knees nearly giving out.