- 3.
I hid out in Jake’s room, too scared to face
anyone.
My mom scolded me: “Tiffany didn’t mean to,
Mom and Dad already talked to her. Why are
you giving her the stink eye?”
My dad put his arm around Mom, trying to
soothe her. “She’s still a kid, and she’s got
thin skin.”
He turned to me, his face serious.
“But Mom and Dad don’t want you holding a
grudge against Tiffany because of this, got
it?”
opened my mouth to say something but I
I opened my mouth to say something, but I
couldn’t.
It was so weird.
I hadn’t even done anything.
But everyone was lecturing me, the victim.
They had a million excuses to defend Tiffany.
So, I just nodded. “Got it.”
Mom and Dad decided I would live in the
music room, telling Jake to move the piano.
Tiffany stormed in and slapped me hard
across the face.
“This is my music room!” she yelled.
<
“This is my music room!” she yelled.
My cheek was burning.
Mom forced a smile. “Tiffany, honey, Ashley
doesn’t have anywhere else to sleep…”
“I don’t care! This is my music room! Only I
can go in here!” Tiffany pointed to her
bedroom, her study, and her closet. “And
those rooms are mine too, all mine! Even
Jake can’t just go in whenever he wants, so
why can she?”
Jake looked uncomfortable.
“I hate you all! Ever since she came back, you
don’t love me anymore!”
Tiffany stomped her foot and slammed the
<
door, storming out.
“It’s not safe for a girl to be out alone at
night, Jake, go find your sister.”
Jake ran after her.
I touched my swollen cheek, looking at Mom
and Dad.
They were acting like I wasn’t even there, like
Tiffany slapping me was nothing.
I had to say something. “That really hurt.”
“She wasn’t trying to hurt you, she’s like that
with your brother too. Don’t take it
personally.”
“Tiffany only hits people she loves, so the fact
<
that she hit you means she’s accepted you.
That’s a good thing.”
Mom and Dad glossed over the slap like it
was nothing.
I looked down and quietly asked: “Does she
hit Mom and Dad too?”
They looked surprised, like I’d asked the
dumbest question ever.
“Mom and Dad said Tiffany only hits people
she loves. But she hasn’t hit Mom and Dad.”
I made a conclusion.
“That means she doesn’t see Mom and Dad
as ‘people she loves.“”
<
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Mom and Dad brushed it off.
I bit my lip.
Why did Tiffany only slap Jake and me, and
not anyone else, including Mom and Dad?
Because she would pay the price for hitting
anyone else.
But when she hit me and Jake, it was “family
stuff,” and Mom and Dad would always take
her side, so she never faced any
consequences.
Mom and Dad pulled out the sofa bed and set
it up in the storage room.
“There’s no extra room. I hope you’re okay
with staying here.”
I hugged my rabbit, trying to be
understanding. “It’s okay, Mom and Dad, I
don’t mind. It’s good to have a place to stay.”
