- 3.
I put my phone away and enjoyed the nature.
く
I was so surprised to see such a massive
forest. The sky was so blue.
I wondered why I had to be stuck in my house
with Ashley, trying to win Mom and Dad’s
attention.
Those wasted attempts were a big bummer.
I wanted to travel, see new places, and read
books. There were other things that I wanted
to discover.
So I stopped being sad and started paying
attention to the world around me.
At lunchtime, I got back to the hotel and saw
a bunch of missed calls.
Half were from my parents and one was from
Ashley.
I didn’t call them back. Instead, I checked my
messages.
Like I thought, Mom was mad and Dad was
comparing me to Ashley.
“Why would you say that to Ashley? She’s
your stepsister!”
“Stop competing with her. We’re your parents.
Isn’t that enough?”
“When are you going to learn to be more like
Ashley? I’m really disappointed in you!”
Then Ashley texted: “I’m really sorry. It’s my
Then Ashley texted: “I’m really sorry. It’s my
fault. Mom and Dad had to come back
because I wasn’t feeling well. Please don’t be
mad!”
I didn’t say anything. I just replied to each of
them:
“I’m not mad. I’ll be back when I’m ready.”
Soon, I got another notification.
Mom texted: “Relax. I was just worried. Here’s
some money for you.”
They always did that.
They would yell at me because of Ashley and
then give me money.
L
then give me money.
It was their way of saying sorry.
I knew she was waiting for me to say that I
wasn’t mad and that it was my fault.
But I didn’t reply.
I didn’t want to miss the last chance I had to
go on vacation.
I wanted to see new places by myself.
