- 9.
Ashley wasn’t acting.
L
Mom and Dad looked at me like they wanted
me to say something.
But I had already said it all.
Ashley did have heart problems. When she
was adopted, I pushed her and she had a
heart attack.
Mom and Dad yelled at me. They said that I
tried to kill her.
After that, Ashley would collapse if I did
anything wrong.
But when she wasn’t sick, she jumped and
danced.
I told my parents that she was faking it, but
Eventually, her illness became her weapon.
She got sick when I got good grades.
She got sick when I did well at sports.
She got sick when I tried to help around the
house.
I became someone who wasn’t needed.
I think my parents knew it, but they felt bad
for Ashley because she didn’t have parents.
I had parents, but I wasn’t as good as an
orphan.
But then the trip made me realize that I could
be happy by myself.
A few days went by. I was nice to my parents.
But they were getting impatient.
They would take me to the mall like they used
- to.
When Mom asked if I wanted new clothes,
Ashley collapsed.
Mom looked at Ashley. “Autumn is our
daughter too. You can’t act like this.”
“We gave you a lot of love over the years. We
did this because we knew that you weren’t
safe. That’s why we focused on you.”
“But Ashley, you need to know that Autumn is
our real daughter.”
L
Ashley looked shocked.
But then she collapsed.
Dad looked serious. “Ashley, you’re not a kid
anymore. Stop acting like this to get
attention.”
Ashley didn’t get up.
Mom and Dad were scared again.
They didn’t look at me. They picked up Ashley
and ran downstairs.
I stood by the window and watched them
drive away.
I didn’t care.
