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Chapter 9
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Ignored Texts in a Family Group Chat Chapter 9
Dad, Avery, and Clarence arrived shortly after.Avery frowned when she noticed that my face was slightly sunburned. "Didn't you put on sunscreen? That's going to take a while to heal."I looked at her calmly. "It's fine. I don't care."I'd never had a fair complexion to begin with. After I first came to live with the Ashfords, people often made thoughtless comments about how different our complexions were and how much more delicate Avery looked beside me.Whenever that happened, I'd lower my head and pretend I hadn't heard them.If Avery stood beside me, people praised her for being pretty, outgoing, and charming. When Clarence was around, everyone laughed at his mischief and treated his endless energy as part of what made him lovable.Somehow, their flaws only made people like them more.But with me, the compliments were always about how little trouble I caused."Clary's such a mature girl. She's quiet, responsible, and never asks for much."I'd convinced myself that would
Ignored Texts in a Family Group Chat Chapter 8
"I'm sorry, but we can't release a student's personal information without her permission."Mom and Dad panicked."We haven't seen her in days," Mom said. "She's my daughter. How can I not have the right to know where she is?"The admissions staff looked troubled."Here's what I can do. I can contact Clary, explain that you're here, and ask whether she's willing to speak with you. If she permits us, then we can help you from there."Mom and Dad had no choice but to agree. They sat off to the side and waited.Ten minutes later, the staff member ended the call and returned to them. "I'm sorry. Clary said she doesn't want to see you, and she'd like you to leave.""Is that all she said?" Mom asked."Yes.""Call her again and tell her we came to pay her tuition and living expenses. If she refuses to meet us, then tell her she's not getting any money from us," Clarence snapped impatiently.Mom clearly didn't approve of the threat, but she didn't stop him.The second call ended just
Ignored Texts in a Family Group Chat Chapter 7
Clarence tapped on the group chat and started searching through the message history.They talked so much every day that scrolling back manually got him nowhere. After several minutes, he gave up and filtered the conversation by date instead, eventually pulling up June 25th, the day our college entrance exam scores had been released.There was my message, accompanied by a screenshot."My scores are out. I got a 1585."Everyone stared at the screen in silence.Mom took the phone from Clarence and scrolled to the conversation from that morning.I'd sent the message at 8:00 am, but not one person had responded.At noon, Avery had posted that she was craving grilled cheese, and Mom had answered almost immediately."I'll make you some right now."There were five people in that chat, yet whenever I said something, my messages might as well have been invisible.Mom couldn't stop imagining how excited I must've been that morning. After working so hard for that score, I'd probably se
Ignored Texts in a Family Group Chat Chapter 6
After leaving the police station, Mom and Dad had no idea where else they could look for me.By the time they returned home, Avery and Clarence were in the middle of another argument, their faces flushed as they yelled at one another."Clarence, just admit it! You took my autograph, didn't you?"Clarence rolled his eyes. "Why would I steal that? I couldn't care less about your stupid boy band. You're the one who treats those guys like gods and blows a fortune on their merch."Avery's face flushed with anger. "Don't call them stupid! And watch your mouth!""What, am I supposed to pretend your precious pretty boys are amazing just because you're obsessed with them?" Clarence retorted.Their voices could be heard before the front door even opened, so piercing that Mom and Dad finally snapped."Enough! Can you two go one day without screaming at each other?"Avery immediately turned to Mom with a pout. "My autograph is gone. Clarence has to be the one who took it..."Tears quickly
Ignored Texts in a Family Group Chat Chapter 5
Dad stared at Mom for a moment."What do you mean she called you for help? Why didn't you tell me about this?"Mom opened her mouth as if she wanted to explain, but whatever she meant to say seemed lodged in her throat.Mildred clicked her tongue. Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she added, "Actually, that girl did everyone a huge favor. If she hadn't found the camera and called the cops, who knows how many more guests would've been secretly recorded?"Mom's voice came out dry and strained. "Do you know her name? Where is she now? And when did the police shut this place down? How did I not hear about any of this?"Mildred thought for a moment. "I never got her name, but I happened to be outside when she left with the police that night. She was tall and skinny, and she looked like she'd just finished high school."You should've seen that poor girl. She was white as a sheet, and you could tell she'd never been through anything like that before. She looked terrified."
Ignored Texts in a Family Group Chat Chapter 4
I spent the night sleeping in the train station's waiting area.It was noisy, and the seats were hard and uncomfortable. Children cried, people snored, and the smell of instant noodles and takeout food drifted through the station.Yet somehow, I managed to sleep soundly.When I woke up, I ate some snacks.There were only two hours left before my train departed.I clicked on our family group chat. As always, there were more than 99 unread messages. And as always, every conversation was about something that had nothing to do with me.But this time, I didn't scroll through everything I'd missed or search for an opportunity to join in on their conversation. Instead, I clicked on the group settings and left the chat for good.Then, I pulled up Mom, Dad, Avery, and Clarence's contacts and blocked all four of them.For the first time in three years, the weight that had been sitting on my chest finally lifted.A woman sitting beside me smiled and struck up a conversation. "Heading out
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