I Don't Deserve Any of This

When Bella Sinclair heard that, she finally snapped out of her stunned silence and picked her crying right back up where she'd left off.

"Mom, Dad, is this how much Luna hates me? She would rather sleep in a dog cage than touch a bed I've slept in?

"Maybe I should go. Better that than staying here and being an eyesore for her."

The butler, Damian Smith, chimed in. "That's not quite right. Ms. Luna actually shows a great deal of respect for your bed. Last night on her way past it, she stopped and prayed to it."

Bella's vision went black for a second. She nearly toppled over.

My brother, Nolan Sinclair, caught her just in time.

He rounded on our parents, his voice rising. "Mom, Dad, did you hear that? Luna's back for one day and she's already pulling stunts like this to make Bella look bad! We need to deal with her, now!"

He could see our parents, Theodore Sinclair and Lily Brown, wavering, so he pressed on. He hauled me up and shoved me down in front of the dog bowl.

"See? I told you she crawled into that cage on purpose just to get attention. Look at her, she can't even keep up the act in front of the dog's leftovers..."

I was groggy and starving. It was like a wish granted when a huge bowl appeared right in front of me the second I opened my eyes.

Nolan was still going on and on when Damian stepped forward. "Mr. Nolan, if you keep talking much longer, Ms. Luna is going to eat herself sick."

Everyone turned to look where Damian was pointing.

There I was, happily hugging the dog bowl. Crumbs were stuck to the corner of my mouth, and I looked up at all of them with an awkward smile.

The air went completely still.

Then everyone sucked in a breath at the same time.

Bella staggered back in horror. Our parents' knees actually buckled.

Damian calmly caught all three of them at once and steadied them, then stepped right back into place.

Nolan was the only one who stood firm. He gritted his teeth, then kicked the bowl from in front of me.

His face went dark, and he opened his mouth to lay into me.

But Theodore cut him off with a sharp, "Shh! Can't you see how insecure Luna already feels? Don't you dare scare her!"

Nolan's eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Are you serious, Dad? You're playing favorites already?

"She's the one acting crazy the second she walks through the door, and she's scaring Bella half to death, and you're still protecting her? What is Bella supposed to do?"

Bella rushed to step in front of him, forcing a brave little smile. "Don't say that, Nolan. I'm fine. Really, I'm fine..."

Then she turned back to me, her voice thick with hurt. "Luna, I know I'm just an outsider here. Now that you're back, Mom and Dad's favorite will always be you.

"You really didn't have to go this far just to compete with me for their attention."

I blinked and pointed at myself.

What was she talking about? I'd just slept normally and eaten a normal meal.

But before I could get the question out, Lily had already crossed the room in one stride and pulled Bella into her arms. Her voice shook with sympathy.

"Don't say that! You'll always be my favorite daughter, no matter what. No one's taking that away from you!"

Theodore nodded quickly. He patted Bella's back, his voice soft and soothing. "Luna's still adjusting to being back. Let's all try to be a little more understanding with her, okay?"

Just like that, they forgot I existed.

On their way out, one of them said, "Might as well let Luna stay in the cage for now. We'll know soon enough if she's really that far gone or just putting on a show."

Bella shot me a smug, sideways smirk at that, and caught my eyes going wide with delight in return.

Perfect. This house was so massive I hadn't been able to find a single spot all morning where I felt like I actually belonged.

In the end, Damian had been the one to carry me in.

But now, I finally had somewhere I could settle.

Bella's smile froze on her face, then she frowned.