9
وو
The next day, Dad came.
“Sarah!”
I was peeling oranges for Lily.
Dad walked to me, slapping the oranges from
my hand.
“You have time for oranges? You slapped
Tiffany twice, her depression returned, and
Tiffany is worried sick!”
Depression? Was it a family thing?
Seeing Dad’s anger, my heart turned cold.
My leg was still injured, the treatment was
obvious, and Lily was vulnerable.
Yet he was here to take Tiffany’s side!
“Steven, don’t.”
My stepmother, Tiffany’s mom, came to him,
her perfectly groomed face showing sorrow.
“Sarah doesn’t like me, and therefore doesn’t
like Tiffany. It’s normal.’
“”
“Sarah, please, if you don’t like me, just take
it out on me.”
<
“Tiffany is my only daughter, it was hard
raising her alone…”
Hearing her “plea,” Dad raged, slapping me
again!
“Apologize to your Aunt Tiffany now!”
“Ungrateful wretch!”
Dad glared at me.
“Tiffany has cared for you for over ten years,
and what have you done?”
“You didn’t even let me and her celebrate our
anniversary! And you bullied Tiffany!”
“You’re so ill–mannered!”
Cared for us?
Two years after Mom died, Dad brought
Tiffany home.
Tiffany seemed sweet but was venomous!
When Dad was home, she cooked for us.
But most dishes contained our allergens.
If we didn’t eat, Dad would scold us.
When Dad was away, she wasn’t mean, but
she wasn’t nice either.
The necklace Dad gave me for my birthday
was given to Tiffany the next day.
When Dad asked, she said I gave it to Tiffany.
When Lily had a competition, she faked a
stomach ache, making the driver take the car,
causing Lily to miss it.
When I was bullied, she was there.
But she apologized to my bullies and made
me apologize too.
This happened often.
I didn’t want to upset Dad, so I didn’t make a
fuss.
“Are you blind?!” But now, I couldn’t take it
anymore!
I pointed at Lily, then my leg, tears in my
eyes, stubbornly staring at him.
“Can’t you see we’re injured! If I hadn’t
called the police, you’d only see us in the
morgue today!”
