My Family Betrayed Me for Her

Growing up, I was always the child my family forgot about. When we went shopping as kids, Dad would hold my older brother's hand while Mom held my younger sister's. They could walk halfway down the block before either of them remembered to look back. "Wait. Did we leave the middle one behind?" When we moved into a new house, my parents fought over who would get the only spare bedroom. "Logan gets his own study. He's the one with the good grades." "Ivy is gorgeous. She needs a walk-in closet for all her dresses!" After arguing in circles, they finally reached an agreement. "Well, the middle one's tough. She can sleep on the balcony. We'll give her room to someone who actually needs it." By the time we were old enough to work, Dad had used his connections to get Logan a job, while Mom had paid to secure Ivy a position at a company. When it was my turn, they exchanged helpless looks. "Sweetheart, we've used up all our connections and money. You're going to have to figure something out on your own." I nodded in agreement, keeping the plane ticket to Westhaven hidden in my pocket. I'd already found a job there. I'd started looking the day they decided I could sleep on the balcony. From that moment on, I'd stopped expecting anything from them. 1 "Make sure you find a job close to home. Something easy, with reasonable hours, so you can come back and make dinner." Mom was planning my life for me, just as she always had. "Oh, and the salary needs to be decent, too." "Don't take another job like your last one. Three thousand a month? That barely covers anything." "Your brother and sister are both just starting out. They might need you to help them financially." I curled my fingers around the plane ticket in my pocket and said nothing. My previous job hadn't paid much. But it had introduced me to the CEO of a company in Westhaven. She'd been impressed with my work, and after learning a little about my family situation, she'd gone out of her way to offer me a chance to start over in another city. I'd accepted. And I had no intention of telling my parents. If I told them, they'd never let me leave. Ever since I started middle school, I'd been the one doing the housework and cooking the meals. I washed Logan's and Ivy's clothes, too. As long as I was around, everyone else could take life a little easier. My parents loved telling people what a sensible, well-behaved daughter I was. But I was tired of being sensible. I wanted the freedom Logan had—the freedom to do whatever he pleased without worrying about anyone else. I wanted the kind of selfishness Ivy enjoyed, the sort that let her change her expression for half a second and send the entire family scrambling to make her happy. This was the one selfish thing I'd ever done for myself. I wanted out of that house. Out of their lives. Out of all of it. "Hey, middle child. Go downstairs and buy a few bottles of wine. Your brother's bringing some friends over for dinner tonight." As Mom spoke, Dad emerged from the bedroom. "And pick up some food while you're at it. Get plenty of appetizers. It'll save you some work." I held out my hand. "Money?" His face darkened. "You're asking your own family for money to buy groceries?" He sounded personally offended. "Do you have any idea how much we've spent raising you? When your brother makes something of himself, he'll help you out. That's how family works." I fell silent and headed downstairs. When I returned with the groceries, I started cooking while Mom stood beside me, issuing instructions. "Make sure you devein the shrimp properly. It's the first time your brother's bringing his new coworkers home. He needs to make a good impression." "And why did you buy so little cilantro? Is that really enough?" I turned to her, irritation simmering beneath my skin. "Why don't you do it yourself, then?" That finally shut her up. She shot me a look, walked away, and settled in front of the television. Mom loved fashion and makeover shows. My younger sister, Ivy, was beautiful, and Mom adored her more than anyone. She spent hours studying makeup tutorials and fashion videos, determined never to embarrass Ivy by looking anything less than perfect herself. A few minutes later, Dad started fighting her for the remote. "What is the point of watching this mindless garbage? Switch to the financial news." "We're running out of things to talk about with the kids," Mom protested. "We need to keep up with what's going on in their lives!" "Can't you watch something on your phone? Why do you have to steal the remote?" As their familiar argument filled the living room, I felt absolutely nothing. I simply turned up the faucet and let the water run louder. Ever since I could remember, this was how things worked in our house. I'd gotten used to it. By evening, Logan arrived with six friends. Our dining table wasn't big enough for everyone, so Dad waved a dismissive hand. "Middle child, you and your mother can eat with me at the coffee table." I was still wearing my apron. I hadn't even had a chance to wash my hands. Logan's friends looked uncomfortable and tried to include me. "Is she your sister? Come eat with us. We're all around the same age. I'm sure we've got plenty to talk about." "What would a little girl like her understand about the workplace?" Dad interrupted. He grabbed my arm and tugged me toward the kitchen. "Go wash your hands and get the rice!" I obediently went back inside and brought out three sets of dishes for the coffee table. Just as I was about to sit down, Logan looked at the wine I'd bought. "Where'd you get this? It was cheap, wasn't it?" He gave me an accusing look. "You knew I was bringing friends over. Is this really the best you could do?" Anger surged through me. I was about to snap back when his friends hurried to smooth things over. "It's fine, man. Really. We're not picky." Logan shot me a vicious glare but let it go. I thought that would be the end of it. After dinner, his friends left, and I started clearing the table. Logan leaned back with a cold smile. "I know you're jealous because Dad pulled strings to get me a job. That's why you've been deliberately making things difficult for me." "That dinner was disgusting. Almost everything was cold appetizers. You did that on purpose, didn't you?" I slammed the bowl down. Then I looked straight at him, my face expressionless. "I bought the groceries. I prepped everything, cooked it, and cleaned up afterward." "If you don't like it, why don't you do it yourself?" 2 I rarely talked back to Logan. But perhaps it was because I'd been holding everything in for so long. Perhaps it was because I was leaving soon. Whatever the reason, I suddenly couldn't bring myself to swallow another insult. Logan stared at me, stunned. He hadn't expected me to stand up to him. Behind me, Dad's voice thundered through the room. "Avery! Is that any way to talk to your brother?" "All you had to do was cook one meal. What's with all the attitude?" My anger flared. I was about to fire back when the door behind us suddenly opened. Ivy stumbled inside and threw herself into Mom's arms, her head bowed. "Mom, I got fired." Mom went pale. "What? How could that happen? I paid so much money to get you that job!" Ivy's eyes filled with tears. "My coworkers said I was useless. They said I was nothing but a pretty face." She sniffled, then added defensively, "I got so angry that I started fighting with them. They reported me to the boss." Mom drew a sharp breath, her face blanching. "What are we going to do? That kind of position is so hard to get!" "Ivy, don't panic. I'll figure something out. I'll find you another job." Logan had been sitting nearby, listening to all of this. Suddenly, he let out a mocking laugh. "But aren't you a pretty face with nothing behind it? Sounds like they got that right." Ivy's head snapped toward him. "Who are you calling useless?" Logan stood up. "You. I'm talking about you." "I'll kill you!" Ivy shoved Mom aside and lunged at him, swinging her fists and kicking wildly. The two of them tumbled into a full-blown fight. Logan was stronger, and before long, he had Ivy crying on the floor. My parents were frantic. They stamped their feet and shouted at me. "What are you standing there for? Break them up!" I had no intention of getting involved. I turned to leave. But Ivy was too furious to stop. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed a wine bottle from the table, and hurled it at Logan. The bottle smashed with a loud crack. It missed him. He shoved me into its path. The bottle struck my head. Red wine splashed across the floor, spreading in a dark crimson pool. For a moment, I couldn't tell where the wine ended and the blood began. Then everything went black. I collapsed. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. My head had required seven stitches. The doctor examined the wound with a deep frown. "Who does this to someone in their own family?" He turned to my parents. "There's a chance the injury could compress a nerve and affect her vision. You need to prepare yourselves for that possibility." Mom hurried to explain. "Doctor, this was just a family accident. We were fooling around." "My younger daughter didn't mean to hit her sister. She just—she just missed her target!" Dad stood nearby and muttered under his breath. "Thank God it wasn't Logan. Thank God." The doctor looked as though he'd run out of patience with all of us. After giving me a few instructions, he turned and left. Logan glanced at me, guilt flickering across his face. "Hey, middle child. I drank too much last night. I wasn't thinking straight when Ivy and I started fighting." He hesitated. "I'm sorry you got caught in the middle." Once he'd apologized, Ivy grabbed my hand. "Please don't be mad at me, Avery. I was in a bad mood yesterday, and I lost control. It was my fault." She squeezed my fingers. "I'll make it up to you. Anything you want. How about I give you a couple of my dresses?" I pulled my hand away and stared blankly at the ceiling. My parents were immediately displeased with my reaction. "Your brother and sister have both apologized. What more do you want? Are you still going to hold a grudge?" "And what's the big deal if your eyesight is affected? You can just wear glasses." A dull ache spread through my chest. I fought desperately to keep the tears from falling. I'd heard those words my entire life. What's there to be afraid of? What's there to be upset about? What do you have to complain about? As if anything that happened to me was automatically too insignificant to matter. For the first time, I genuinely wondered what purpose I served in that family. I turned toward Mom, my voice breaking. "If Ivy had been the one hit in the head, and she'd needed seven stitches, would you still be talking about it like it was nothing?" Mom opened her mouth but couldn't answer. I looked at Dad. "If Logan's injury had compressed a nerve and put his eyesight at risk, would you really be this unconcerned?" His expression hardened. "What kind of thing is that to say? Are you cursing your own brother?" I gave a bitter laugh. "So it's because I'm the one who got hurt that none of you care." My throat tightened. "If that's how little I matter to you, why did you even have me?" That was enough to send Mom into a rage. Her chest heaved. Her face twisted with anger. "How can you be so ungrateful?" "Of all three children, you were the hardest one to give birth to!" "It was the middle of winter. You came early, and your father and I had to walk miles to get to the hospital in town. We nearly had you on the road!" "It took three hours just to deliver you. And that's before you even count all the years we spent raising you!" "You can't even be grateful for that? Instead, you stand there questioning your father and me?" Her voice rose to a furious pitch. "If I'd known you'd grow up like this, I never should have had you!" "I wish you hadn't." Her impassioned speech did nothing to make me feel sorry for her. Twenty-three years of hurt didn't simply disappear because she reminded me how difficult my birth had been. No one had forced my parents to have children. They'd made that choice. Whatever came with it was their responsibility. And as far as I was concerned, I'd done more than my share in this family. I'd done more than anyone else. Seeing the tension rise, Ivy hurried over. "Avery, please don't be angry with us. How about this? I'll give you my dresses, and I'll even wash your clothes for you." Before I could respond, she picked up my clothes and started toward the door. Then a piece of paper slipped from one of my pockets and fluttered to the floor. Ivy bent to pick it up. The moment she saw what it was, her eyes lit up. "An employment offer from Westhaven's Bellwether Corporation?" She looked at me, astonished. "Avery, you've had something this amazing all along? Why didn't you tell us?" 3 My heart sank. "Give it back." Ivy barely glanced at me. "Avery, this is a surprise you prepared for me, isn't it? You found out I'd lost my job and immediately arranged a replacement." She examined the letter with growing excitement. "Bellwether is a huge company. Even an ordinary position there pays at least thirty thousand a month." She beamed at me. "Thank you, Avery! I can't believe you got me this opportunity!" I was shaking with anger. "Who said it was for you? It's—" "What's wrong with giving your sister a job?" Mom cut me off. "You told us to find you a job close to home, but you'd already arranged to work in another city, hadn't you?" "No, I—" "Who says the offer has to be yours?" Logan interrupted this time. "Why can't I have it?" He walked over to Ivy and tried to snatch the letter from her. "Why should you get a job this good? I could do it just as well!" "It's mine! I just lost my job!" The two of them started arguing all over again. My parents rushed in to separate them. Meanwhile, my head was pounding so badly that I could barely think. I wanted to shout at them to stop, but every time I opened my mouth, a terrible ringing filled my skull. Thankfully, after several minutes of chaos, they finally reached a decision. Ivy would take the job. First, she'd just lost hers. Second, she could simply change her name on the paperwork, which would be easier than arranging everything for Logan. At last, Mom sat down beside me with a radiant smile. "Thank you, sweetheart. If it weren't for you, I'd have to start looking for another job for Ivy all over again." She patted my hand. "Don't worry. Once your sister settles in and does well, she'll put in a good word for you." Dad, however, looked dissatisfied. "How could you have an opportunity this good and keep it for yourself? Why didn't you offer it to your brother?" He shook his head dismissively. "You're both girls. What's the point of either of you working for such a big company?" I clenched my fingers and let out a cold laugh. "Bellwether doesn't hire just anyone. Ivy's grades were average, and she barely has any work experience." "Even if she gets in, she'll be one of the first people they let go." "Stop talking about your sister like that." Mom frowned. "I honestly don't understand what we've done to make you so resentful. Why do you walk around with that look on your face every day?" "Families are supposed to help one another. When you're old, do you think you'll be fine without siblings to rely on?" Help one another? The irony was almost unbearable. In our family, I always came last. If an apple was divided among the three of us, I got the smallest piece. When it came to clothes, I wore Ivy's hand-me-downs. We lived in a house of more than a thousand square feet, yet there wasn't even a bedroom for me. I wanted to ask them what, exactly, this family had ever done to help me. But lying in that hospital bed, my head spinning and my body exhausted, I couldn't find the strength to ask. When I fell silent, Mom assumed I'd finally given in. "Anyway, it's settled. You're giving Ivy the opportunity, and you'll find yourself another job closer to home." She smiled, apparently pleased with her own solution. "Since Ivy's going to Westhaven, you'll finally have a room to yourself." I closed my eyes. I didn't want to speak to any of them anymore. A few days later, I was discharged from the hospital. Ivy was already gone. But my narrow little bed was still sitting on the balcony. Dad explained the situation as if he were discussing something perfectly reasonable. "Middle child, your brother's gotten really into gaming lately. Work wears him out, and he needs a way to unwind. So we've turned Ivy's old bedroom into a gaming room." He glanced toward the balcony. "You can keep sleeping out here. You're used to it by now." "Sure." I kept my expression neutral. "Whatever you decide." After all, Ivy wouldn't last long at Bellwether. That employment letter had merely been a formality. When I showed up, the CEO herself was supposed to welcome me. 4 For the next several days, I barely left the house. I spent my time recovering from my injury and looking after my family, just as I'd always done. After more than a decade of being waited on, Mom had practically forgotten how to do housework. So I came home, did the laundry, cleaned the house, and cooked the meals. Nothing had changed. Logan went to work during the day. In the evenings, he either invited friends over to drink or disappeared into his new gaming room. Dad spent his days walking his pet birds, playing chess, and watching financial news. When my parents realized I wasn't making a scene, they all relaxed. They stopped paying much attention to me, just as they always had. That lasted until the third day. My parents went out for their usual walk. When they returned, they expected to find a hot meal waiting on the dining table. Instead, the house was silent. And I was nowhere to be found. Mom immediately grew angry, assuming I'd gone out for fun and forgotten to make dinner. She grabbed her phone and called me. I didn't answer. Dad tried several times, too. I ignored every call. When they turned to Logan, he responded with obvious irritation. "How should I know where she went? Why are you asking me?" Mom was furious. "That ungrateful girl! She didn't even buy groceries!" She stormed into the kitchen, looked around, and started cursing. "She leaves without saying a word, won't answer her phone, and doesn't even make dinner. Is she deliberately trying to starve us?" Then Dad noticed something. The little bed where I'd slept for years was gone from the balcony. His expression changed. "Do you think she actually left?" At that very moment, Mom's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and answered immediately. It was Ivy, crying so hard she could barely get the words out. "Mom, what am I going to do? Bellwether says they only hired Avery! They won't accept the employment letter I brought!" She broke into fresh sobs. "And—and now they're threatening to sue me for impersonating someone else!"