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Skylar turned her head and snorted dismissively when I spoke to her. Her eyes conveyed disdain as she looked over her shoulder at me. "Figures," she muttered under her breath. "I was the mistake he didn't plan for." Her words caught me off guard, and I struggled to respond.
"I don't think you were a mistake," I said softly. However, my words only seemed to upset her even more.
Skylar's expression turned hard as she spun around to face me, her eyes brimming with rage. "It doesn't matter," she spat out, "He never cared about me. He just left Mom and me to start a new family!" Her words cut through the air like a knife, and I could feel the tension rising in the room.
I stepped back, feeling uneasy with the sudden burst of emotions. "That's not true," I murmured softly.
As far as I knew, Dad had only recently learned about her existence. I overheard my mom talking to Ricky's mom about it. Skylar's mom had told dad he had a daughter as soon as he became a big-time lawyer. I remember my mom insisting that he take some tests to confirm that he was Skylar's father. But I kept that information to myself, not wanting to worsen the already tense situation.
Skylar shook her head, her blonde hair falling around her face. "He abandoned Mom and me in a cramped two-bedroom apartment while you live in this fancy house, with your new car and bedroom fit for a spoiled princess." Her words dripped with contempt as she stomped towards me, her fingers latching onto my braid and tugging it painfully, causing me to let out a sharp cry.
As Skylar pushed me against the wall, a picture frame of my family tumbled down. "You get all the attention, all the love," she sneered at me, her eyes filled with envy and bitterness. "And look at those nice clothes and shoes of yours." Her words stung like a bee, and I felt a lump in my throat.
Her slender fingers reached down to grab the wooden frame, her knuckles turning white as she clutched it tightly. She raised the frame to eye level and glared at the photo of me, Seth, Mom, and Dad. With a swift and sudden motion, she hurled the frame to the ground, shattering the glass. Her hands shook with emotion as she bent down to pick up the photo.
Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded with her not to destroy the picture. I stretched my hand, but she pushed it away with a forceful swat.
"You're such a crybaby," she sneered, tearing the photograph into tiny pieces. "Dad needs a strong daughter like me, not some pathetic whiner like you."
I couldn't stop the tears flowing from my eyes like a downpour.
"Why do you have to be so mean?" I whispered.
Skylar shot me a sharp glance. "Why? Why? I'll tell you why! It's your fault Dad is never around! He's too busy playing happy little family with you, your brother, and your mom to even bother with me!"
"It's not my fault," I whispered.
Skylar scoffed and let out a bitter laugh, her eyes filled with anger and pain. "Oh, of course," she spat. "That's what you'd say. You have no idea what it's like to be left behind, alone and abandoned, while your dad starts a new life with a new family across town. It's like being forgotten, like you never mattered, like you were just a temporary inconvenience that he no longer had time for." She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears, her voice shaking with emotion. "You have no idea."
A pang of sadness hit my chest as she spoke. I wanted to comfort her but feared her reaction.
"Don't look at me like that!" she hissed. "I don't need your pity. I want you and Seth to be out of the picture so I can finally have the family I deserve."
As she strode over to my shelves, she swung her arm fiercely without warning, sending my art supplies crashing to the ground. The paint splattered against the carpet and desk, and my heart sank as I watched the colors mix together in a chaotic mess. She turned to me with a mocking grin and uttered a single word: "Oops!" before strolling out of the room, leaving me to deal with the aftermath of her rage.
"It's going to be a transition for all of us.” Mom’s comforting words bring me back to the present. “Let's make her feel welcome, okay?" Mom said as she tucked a loose curl around my ear. See? Even Mom didn't think this was a good idea.
Seth and I exchanged glances, knowing that the next few months would be a nightmare. The silence that followed Mom's announcement about Skylar moving in with us was like a train ride to hell. We tried to distract ourselves with a movie, but sharing a house with Skylar was freaking me out. She blamed us for Dad leaving her mom and choosing me and Seth over her.
“Are you okay, Scar?” Seth ignored Mom and turned to me with a concerned look.
I smiled.
He always looked out for me.
“Yeah, it is what it is.” I shrugged, spun on my heels, and ran up the stairs to my room.
When Skylar finally arrived three days later, our worst fears were confirmed; she was determined to make my life as miserable as possible. She made fun of me because of my bipolar disorder and called me a freak. It was a constant battle to avoid her and keep our interactions to a minimum. Fortunately, we knew that we only had to endure this for one year, as Skylar was a senior and would be leaving for college in Denver soon.
As I sat in my room, trying to avoid Skylar's latest attempt to get under my skin, I heard Maverick’s voice from the other side of the door.
"He's worried," Maverick said, interrupting my thoughts.
I turned to face the boy who was no longer a boy. Maverick stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms across his chest. Maverick had grown up into a handsome boy. His voice had deepened, and his muscles grew over time. He was also the captain and quarterback of the football team.
“Yeah, well, he shouldn’t. I’m a big girl.” I turned away and faced the ceiling again while lying on the bed, tossing the stress ball and catching it.
For the past few days, my episodes had gotten worse. Seth worried and was on my ass about my meds and sticking to me like glue, but he didn’t understand that nothing would change, and it would be worse once he was in college. I needed to stand up for myself since he wouldn’t always be there.
