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Chapter 6
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Both My Parents, Neither My Home Chapter 7
The moment she saw me, Mom burst into tears like a child."Have you given up on us? Do you have any idea what we've been through?"Preston moved out! Carol won't even speak to us! We're not young anymore. Are you trying to make our lives miserable on purpose?"Even though I'd braced myself for this, her shameless accusations still cut straight through me.For years, I'd been nothing but her trash can.Whenever she couldn't stand Carol, she dumped it all on me.Whenever she fought with Preston, she dumped it all on me.Whenever things soured with Dad, she dumped it all on me too.And every time she finished unloading, she'd walk away lighter, refreshed, like she'd been born again.Her goal was never to fix things with them. It was to pressure me into staying her trash can, willingly, without ever pushing back.But I wasn't who I used to be anymore."You brought this on yourselves.""What did you just say?"Mom's eyes bored into me, like she couldn't believe those words had
Both My Parents, Neither My Home Chapter 6
With that, Carol raised her voice toward Dad."Dad, say something! Preston and I both work. Why is it always me who has to do chores the second we get home?""What do you mean, only you? You think I don't do anything?" Mom's face flushed red, and tears sprang to her eyes."Does Preston not eat, or something?""Why do you keep dragging Preston into this?"Their voices climbed sharper with every exchange."Because you play favorites! Don't tell me you don't have a guilty conscience about it!""Enough!" Dad slammed the table and stood up, shouting. "It's just cooking dinner. What are you two even fighting about?"He took a deep breath and said, slower this time, "Carol, you and Preston can take turns."Preston, who'd just come out for a glass of water, refused flat out without even glancing up."I don't know how to cook. I'll just order takeout from now on."Dad's expression darkened instantly."You swear you won't eat a single bite of home cooking?"Preston didn't answer. He
Both My Parents, Neither My Home Chapter 5
"He checked out this morning."The exam was over, so I got on a bus and left town.I'd already lined up a factory job. Two and a half months of work would cover my tuition.Mom cried and screamed, beside herself with fury."Who have I done all this for, all these years? Now that he thinks his wings are strong enough, he actually ran away from home. If this family falls apart, it'll be because of him."Dad stood off to the side smoking one cigarette after another, his face dark as a storm cloud.Carol looked equally baffled."He really doesn't know how good he has it. What's he even got to be upset about, making this big a mess?"Preston, utterly indifferent, just wanted things wrapped up."Let's go home. I've got things to do."Back home, Mom looked like the life had drained out of her, sprawled listless in the bedroom. She murmured over and over, "Who have I done all this for…"Nobody cooked dinner. Preston and Carol ordered takeout.Dad heated up leftovers from the fridge
Both My Parents, Neither My Home Chapter 4
I cried. I cried for a long, long time.But deep into that same night, something became clear to me.Something that could finally set me free.So starting the next day, I became normal again, at least in Mom's eyes.I did everything she asked of me without complaint, and I stopped fighting back.A week later, she brought me home.The first thing waiting for me was a mountain of dirty dishes."Go wash these. Nobody's helped me out these past few days. I'm exhausted."I didn't say anything. I just walked over and got to work.Next came a basket of laundry.Some of it couldn't go in the machine and had to be scrubbed by hand.I scrubbed away at the basin over and over. Partway through, my sister pushed the door open and dropped off two more pieces. She said like she cared, "Ronald, you're finally back."The smile on her lips was completely genuine.But it had nothing to do with me. It was because there was finally someone around to do her laundry again."A stubborn brat like
Both My Parents, Neither My Home Chapter 3
My friends looked terrified. Before they could even finish, Dad cut them off and threw them out."That's enough. Leave."His face twisted with wounded sorrow."Ronald's dragging you kids down with him. Stay away from him, or you'll end up as ungrateful as he is."My tears finally broke free as I fell apart and screamed at him, "Why would you say this about me in front of my classmates? What did I even do wrong?""Ha. If you're so scared of us showing your true colors, maybe you shouldn't have acted the way you did."Mom lit up, practically thrilled, and pointed at me, shouting."See? This is exactly how he loses it. I told you, didn't I?"She looked so pleased with herself, so righteous. Like driving me out of my mind was the single most rewarding thing she'd ever done.My friends couldn't take it anymore. One by one, they got up and fled through the door.Mom looked like she'd just won a war, and sighed with satisfaction."See that? Even your own friends can't stand you. Ju
Both My Parents, Neither My Home Chapter 2
"What did you just say?" Mom froze for a second, and her voice shot up so sharp it nearly split my eardrums.I held back tears, the red welt from her slap still stinging across my face, and slowly turned to look at her."Getting hit every day, is that what you call lucky?""You wouldn't get hit if you didn't fight me on everything. You brought this on yourself."But this time, I didn't cower the way I used to. I said each word slow and clear."Maybe I didn't bring this on myself. Maybe you just pick on whoever's weakest."Mom's expression froze for a moment, then her eyes went red, like I'd just said something monstrous."Might as well just die, then," she shrieked, wailing like the world was ending.The door banged open. Dad stormed in, his face ashen with rage, and came straight at me.I couldn't stop myself from shaking.He looked at me for two seconds, then kicked me to the ground without warning."Ah!"I let out a scream as I slammed into the wall, my pained face refle
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